WISE, Va. – UVa-Wise held West Virginia Wesleyan to 20 yards rushing and 130 total offensive yards on its way to a 35-14 win on Saturday afternoon. The Cavaliers took a 14-0 lead into the halftime break and outscored the Bobcats 21-7 in the final stanza to earn their third win of the season.
Kaian Duverger caught a five-yard touchdown pass with 11:46 on the clock in the first quarter to give UVa-Wise (3-4, 3-4) the momentum early. A six-yard touchdown run by Von Purvis midway through the second quarter left West Virginia Wesleyan (1-6, 1-5) looking to recover from an early deficit.
Jujuan Linzy's 46-yard punt return gave the Bobcats their first score of the game with 13:33 left in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, a pair of short touchdown runs by Victor Mitchell pushed the Cavaliers ahead 28-7. West Virginia Wesleyan used
Matt Vinson's 17-yard touchdown pass to
Sterling Dewdney to cap a six-play, 42-yard drive with 5:38 left in the game before Mitchell came through with another score for the Cavaliers on a 33-yard run to secure the 35-14 win.
UVa-Wise compiled 232 yards on the ground behind Mitchell's 141 yards on 21 carries. He scored three times over the course of the contest. Purvis added 38 yards on 10 carries with one score in the win. Tanner Bernard completed 23-of-30 pass attempts for 244 yards. He connected with eight different receivers including Duverger seven times for 63 yards and one touchdown.
Luke Casey and
Matt Vinson combined to throw 110 yards on 11-of-34 passing for West Virginia Wesleyan. Dewdney hauled in three passes for 60 yards with one touchdown on the day.
Devin Montgomery notched seven carries for 48 yards in the loss.
Defensively,
Trey Lee led the way for West Virginia Wesleyan with 10 tackles (six solo, four assisted).
Zechariah Johnson,
Anthony Hill, and
Robby Huddleston all added nine tackles over the course of the contest.
Dylan Glovine paced the Cavaliers with seven stops, three tackles for loss (11 yards), three sacks (nine yards), and two quarterback hurries in the win.
Story Courtesy of Mountain East Conference
