Fairmont, WV -- West Virginia Wesleyan Football got a taste of a primetime on Thursday night, as their game at Fairmont State was the only one on the schedule for the Mountain East Conference until Saturday. With all eyes on the hosting Falcons, they jumped out to a 21-0 lead, and would outlast a few turnovers, and Wesleyan scores, to win the game 42-13. This was the last game of the season for both teams, Fairmont State finishes the year 5-5, and Wesleyan 1-10. 

The highlight for the Bobcats from Thursday was an 86-yard touchdown run from Redshirt Junior Lawrence Brown. On a third and two run, he took the handoff and found a gap through the left side, and took it down the sideline to the house. It was the longest scoring play of the season for Wesleyan. Shaq-Freeman Parks also added an exciting touchdown run himself in the second quarter, bolting right up the middle and outrunning the Falcon safeties for a 37-yard score. Ephraim Moore was all over the ball defensively, collecting a season-high twelve tackles and a pass breakup. Chris Parker made three-and-a-half tackles for loss, and Aman Speed Jr. made one-and-a-half sacks to finish the season with eight, which will be a top five finish in the MEC. Deontre Logan forced and recovered his second fumbles of the season, and the Bobcats also got fumble recoveries from Dante Hooker Jr. and Ridge Stokes. In addition to his 86-yard touchdown run, Lawrence Brown added 45 receiving yards in the passing game and finished with 137 scrimmage yards, good for the second most in the game from any player.

Fairmont State's offense was as advertised on Thursday night. They came in scoring the second most points a game in the MEC, and their performance on Thursday will grow their final average. The MEC's fourth leading rusher Tyree Randolph was a force in this one, rushing for 164 yards and two touchdowns on just 22 carries. That is good for an average of 7.1 yards per carry. In his final game under center for the Falcons, Takwan Crews-Naylor was almost as efficient as possible, connecting on fourteen of his eighteen passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns. He was locked in with Andre Hall all night, finding his junior receiver five times for 130 yards and three touchdowns. Chrinovic Mukulu forced his way into the backfield for two-and-a-half sacks for seventeen defense yards. 

The Bobcats will be disappointed to end the season 1-10, especially with many opportunities over the past three games to grab wins from good football teams. The challenge for Coach Testa and his staff this offseason will be to prepare this group to win the tight contests next season, and close out leads over the final minutes of a game. Playing a full 60-minute contest is difficult in the Mountain East Conference, where there is no easy game on the schedule, but that is the task ahead. Strides were made this season over 2018, and the next step for 2020 is to turn improved performances into a collection of victories. This will be an important incoming recruiting class for Coach Testa, due to the amount of impact seniors that finished their careers on Thursday. Coverage of the recruiting class and signing days will be provided by WVWC Bobcats on Twitter, and wesleyanbobcats.com.