BUCKHANNON – West Virginia Wesleyan once again piled up the offensive numbers, but was unable to slow down the other team's offense as they dropped a 52-31 decision to the visiting West Virginia State Yellow Jackets today in a Mountain East Conference contest.
Wesleyan piled up 453 yards of offense, but allowed West Virginia State 585 yards of offense.
The Bobcat offense was also guilty of five turnovers in the setback.
"You just can't committ five turnovers," Wesleyan head coach George Shehl remarked. "This was a heartbreaking loss. I am just sick about it right now."
Despite racking up 453 yards, Wesleyan was only four of 17 on third-down conversions.
"Our third downs just killed us," Shehl stated. "We still have a lot of work to do."
Following a field goal by West Virginia State, the Bobcats reeled off 14 unanswered points for a 14-3 lead.
Michael Anderson scampered inside for a yard for the first touchdown with 3:08 remaining in the first half.
Quarterback Luke Casey kept it himself for a nine-yard run just 55 seconds into the second quarter for Wesleyan's second touchdown.
West Virginia State scored the next two touchdowns for a 17-14 lead, but Nick Banta kicked a 22-yard field for Wesleyan to deadlock the game at 17-17.
That score remained at the half.
Wesleyan was the first to score in the second half when Ross Kim hauled in a five-yard pass from Casey that staked Wesleyan to a 24-17 lead.
West Virginia State though scored the next 28 points to open up a 45-24 lead with 6:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Anderson caught a screen pass from Casey and darted 55 yards down the left sideline for a score with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter to make it a 45-31 game.
The Yellow Jackets added a late touchdown to wrap up the scoring.
Casey completed 28 of his 52 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns.
Kim hauled in six passes for 81 yards while Stephen Rogalski caught five passes for 50 yards.
Casey gained 84 yards on 15 carries while Anderson tacked on 29 yards on 17 attempts.
Nate Simmons led the defense with eight tackles.
Wesleyan, 0-3 overall and in the MEC, will visit Concord next Saturday.
Kick-off is slated for 12:00 p.m.
