Box Score West Virginia Wesleyan hit the road on Thursday evening to the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia as they took on the West Liberty Hilltoppers. The Bobcats found themselves on the end of a comeback that fell short 37-34.

Wesleyan got on the board with 5:23 left in the first quarter as Keith Johnson Jr. forced a fumble off of West Liberty's Michael Mclean. The fumble was recovered by Zechariah Johnson and taken to the house to put the Bobcats up 7-0. 

West Liberty started the following drive from their 33-yard line after the kickoff, and slowly built some momentum when Zach Phillips rushed for 27 yards for the Hilltoppers first score of the game. 

Wesleyan would be full steam ahead on the following drive led by a 50 yard rush from Devin Montgomery who took it to the West Liberty 25. Following a face mask penalty on WLU, the ball was spotted at the West Liberty 12.  The Bobcats settled for a 25-yard field goal from Tyler Fischer to take the lead 10-7. 

Early in the second quarter, West Liberty put a 11-play drive together and took the lead with a Charles Westbrook 2-yard run. The extra point was blocked by Wesleyan, which gave the Hilltoppers a 13-10 lead. 

After a Jujuan Linzy 37-yard return to the WLU 40. The Bobcats put together a short yardage drive that led to another field goal for Fischer, this time from 41- yards. The field goal for Fischer tied the game at 13. 

Just before half, West Liberty climbed back on top just before half after a 7 play, 51 yard drive. Zach Phillips had a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 20-13 West Liberty. 

West Liberty put together a 11-play drive early in the second half which resulted in 47-yards and a field goal by Owen Rozanc, which put the Hilltoppers up by 10. 

Wesleyan put a short drive together when Luke Casey was picked off by West Liberty's Joshua Ojo. The interception was returned for a touchdown which made the score 30-13 after the PAT with 7:06 left in the third. 

Just before the end of the third quarter, West Liberty tacked on another score when Zach Phillips passed to Mosby for a 7-yard touchdown. Hilltoppers up 37-13 with 1:14 left in the third.

Wesleyan found some life before the end of the third, when Luke Casey hit Kenny Lewis Jr. for a 19 yard touchdown. The Bobcats went for two, and converted making the score 37-21 Hilltoppers.

After a West Liberty punt, Wesleyan had the ball with 14:01 left in the ball game. After some short yardage plays, Luke Casey connected with Derek Drapen for 28-yards to the WLU 22. A few plays later, the duo connected again for 16-yards and a touchdown. With 12:11 left in the game, West Liberty was holding onto a 37-27 lead after a failed two point conversion from the Bobcats.

On the following drive, the Wesleyan defense forced a fumble which was recovered by Shondell Parks. The fumble recovery would lead to a field goal attempt from Tyler Fischer from 35 yards that went wide left with 10:36 left in the game. 

Late in the game, Wesleyan connected on some big plays. None bigger than the pass from Luke Casey to Sterling Dewdney for 40-yards and the touchdown. The Bobcats trailed 37-34 with 1:19 remaining in the game. The Hilltoppers would run out the clock on the following drive to pick up their first win of the season.

Trey Lee would lead the Bobcats in tackles with 8 on the game. Other leaders on the defense would be Harry Lewis, and Aman Speed Jr. with a sack a piece.  Jujuan Linzy would lead Wesleyan in receptions and receiving yards with 5 and 82 respectively. Devin Montgomery led the Cats with 80-yards rushing, while Luke Casey had 234-passing yards.

The Bobcats will be back in action September 15th at home against Fairmont State.