FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State was held scoreless in the second half in a 34-13 defeat at West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon at Ross Field.
Despite occasional rain fall and constant wind throughout the afternoon, Jeremy Musselman completed 22-of-39 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns to lead WVWC to the MEC victory. Fairmont State was limited to just 236 yards of total offense and turned the ball over three times in the game. Both teams had over 100 yards of penalties on the afternoon.
Tyler Pate made his second start of the season and completed 11-of-24 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in the game. Pate also threw one interception. Austin White led the Falcons on the ground with 14 carries for 50 yards. Sharmarte Banks hauled in five catches for 54 yards to lead the FSU receivers.
In addition to Musselman's damage through the air, he also added a touchdown on the ground in the third quarter. Zach Schademan caught seven passes for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory for WV Wesleyan. Chase Blackwell also had a productive day with five catches for 91 yards and a score. Michael Anderson led the Wesleyan ground attack with 18 carries for 60 yards, most of which came late in the game.
WV Wesleyan produced the only points of the opening quarter when Blackwell hauled in a four-yard touchdown pass from Musselman. At the 8:39 mark of the second quarter, Schademan capped a three-play, 48-yard drive for Wesleyan with 34 yard strike from Musselman that ended in the end zone.
However, White answered for the Falcons with just over four minutes remaining in the half with a one-yard touchdown run to cap a nine-play drive. Fairmont State wasn't done late in the second half as Pate found Daniel Marc-Sears from 19-yards out with just 16 seconds remaining to cut the Wesleyan lead to one point at the half after a missed extra point.
Wesleyan scored 20 unanswered-points in the second half to run away with the 34-13 victory to improve to 4-5 on the season. Fairmont State fell to 3-5 with the loss.
The Falcons will play their final home game of the season next Saturday at 1 p.m. against the University of Charleston.
