Falcon Football Notebook

By: By Duane Cochran for FightingFalcons.com

Football | 10/19/2015 11:04:00 AM

Third-year Fairmont State University football coach Jason Woodman admittedly was a bit dejected sitting alone outside of his team's locker room Saturday afternoon at University of Charleston Stadium.

His team and it's three-game winning streak had just come to an end at the hands of the University of Charleston, 38-31. On this particular day Fairmont didn't have all of the answers, but Woodman learned one specific thing about his 2015 squad – no matter what it won't quit.

The Falcons spotted UC a 24-7 halftime lead and then allowed the Golden Eagles to extend the margin to 24 at 31-7 on their first possession of the second half half. While some fans headed to the exits, FSU's football team regrouped and produced three consecutive UC turnovers all of which the Falcons' offense turned into points and made it a game again at 31-24 with 13:43 left in the contest.

"As a staff we're definitely happy with the way our guys fought back, but what really upsets us is the way we started the game," said Woodman, whose team fell to 3-3 both overall and in the Mountain East Conference standings. "We had good practices all week and today we gave some things away early on both sides of the ball. We gave up some big plays on defense that we were prepared for and offensively we had some chances to convert on some things and didn't. That's frustrating, but the thing I'll say about this team is it's completely different than any team we've had here in the past.

"Inside of that locker room are a bunch of guys who genuinely care about one another and want to play hard and fight for each other. That showed in the second half. The makeup and character of this team came through in the second half. That's what we're building upon and that's what our team is about right now. The direction we're headed in as a program is positive."

Charleston regrouped itself after FSU cashed in on the Golden Eagles' mistakes and took advantage of a 55-yard kickoff return to extend its lead back to 14 at 38-24, but once again Fairmont rallied back. A 13-yard screen pass from quarterback Cooper Hibbs to running back Austin White, who dove into the end zone, capped a five-play, 76-yard scoring drive and got FSU back within seven at 38-31 with 9:05 remaining. The Falcons had two more possessions in the contest and got to the Golden Eagles' 17 on their last one inside of the final minute before the drive stalled and UC held and prevailed.

"The biggest different between this year's team and last year's team as a group is we have a lot of fight on this year's team," said FSU sophomore linebacker Marcus Porter, who recorded a team-high nine tackles and intercepted a pair of passes Saturday giving him a team-high three for the season. "We're tired of losing and no matter what we're not going to give up and we're not going to stop fighting. We're really focused on what we want to achieve as a team and we play hard together and for one another."

White, a senior who finished with 76 yards on 16 carries and caught two passes for 20 yards and two touchdowns, agrees.

"I really think the changing of the mindset of this team started in fall camp for us," he said. "We wanted to be a different team and change the atmosphere at Fairmont State. We want to prove to people that we're not going to give up no matter what the score is and that we can be a threat at any time to the other team.

"Trust me this loss hurts bad for all of us. There's no happy guys in that locker room right now, but in a strange way there's some positives that we can take out of this one and build on. Right now they're a little tough to see, but they're there."

Fairmont State will have a chance to prove its moxie in front of its alumni this coming Saturday when it hosts Virginia-Wise (0-7, 0-6) for homecoming at 2 p.m. at Duvall-Rosier Field. The Cavaliers have played very well against FSU the past two seasons. Fairmont eked out a 47-44 victory over Wise with a touchdown with 40 seconds remaining in 2013 and then lost, 24-21, to the Cavaliers last year on the road on an 18-yard field goal as time ran out.

"The weekend coming up for us is a big one for our program," Woodman said. "We'll have a lot of alumni back and one of the things I can say about our guys is that they're hungry to win. I think our focus this week will be good. It has to be. Wise has always played us tough, but I think we're anxious to learn from this one, put it behind us and get ourselves back on track."

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Senior receiver LaChristopher Lee, a transfer from Texas Southern, has elevated his play the past four weeks for the Falcons. Lee enjoyed his best day in an FSU uniform Saturday with nine catches for 163 yards. He also returned three punts for 32 yards.

For the season, Lee is second on the team in receiving with 28 catches for 315 yards and one touchdown. The 5-9, 175-pounder from Cleveland, Miss. has recorded 19 of those catches for 251 yards the last three weeks.

"I've got to give credit for my play recently to what we're doing in practice," Lee said. "The receivers as a group are all trying to step up and push each other to produce for this team. Also, give some credit to the big guys up front for us on the offensive line. Those guys have really stepped up and they're providing Cooper (Hibbs) with time to find us down the field.

"Every day our goal as individuals and as a team is to get better. I'm happy I came here and I'm glad I'm contributing something positive for us. Fairmont has been a good fit for me. The coaches here really care about the players on this team and they show us they care with their actions instead of just talking about it."

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Speaking of Fairmont State's offensive line after a somewhat rough start the Falcons' front wall had settled in and played well the past four weeks. Seniors Garrett Stanley and Ira Davis, Jr., juniors Cody Wilburn, Curtis Crabtree, Rodney Carroll and Mike Kuheleloa and freshman Josh Kaulave have all played significant roles up front this season for FSU.

The first two games Fairmont allowed seven quarterback sacks and was averaging 291.5 yards of total offense per game, including 203.5 through the air and 88.0 on the ground. In FSU's last four outings, three of which were victories, Fairmont allowed just five total sacks and averaged 437.5 yards of total offense per game, including 259.5 through the air and 178.0 on the ground.

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West Virginia State's interception of a Shepherd University quarterback Jeff Ziemba pass this past Saturday means that Fairmont State junior quarterback Cooper Hibbs is the lone starter in the Mountain East Conference to have not thrown an interception this season.

Hibbs completed 27-of-44 passes for a season-high 378 yards and a season-high four touchdowns in the 38-31 loss to Charleston Saturday.

For the season, Hibbs has completed 115-of-195 passes (59 percent) for 1,445 yards and 12 touchdowns with no interceptions. Only Fairmont State, Eastern New Mexico and Lenoir-Rhyne in NCAA Division II have not suffered an interception this season.

Hibbs' 378 passing yards Saturday allowed him to move past Luc Tousignant and into third place on Fairmont State's all-time passing yards leaders' list. He now has 4,818 passing yards for his career. He's thrown 37 touchdown passes and has suffered 20 interceptions.

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Fairmont State junior Fabian Guerra turned in his third 100-yard receiving performance of the season Saturday. Guerra finished with nine catches for 109 yards and one touchdown.

Guerra leads FSU in receiving with 38 catches for 517 yards and five touchdowns. Those 109 receiving yards Saturday allowed Guerra to pass both Jim Mertens (1965-68) and Germaine Johnson (1999-02) and move into

ninth place all-time in FSU history in career receiving yards with 1,654. His nine catches Saturday also allowed him to pass Larry Goodine (1972-75) and move into eighth place in school history with 133 career receptions.

Guerra, who now has 12 touchdown catches for his career, has ironically never caught more than one touchdown in a game for the Falcons.
 
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Players Mentioned

Curtis Crabtree

#56 Curtis Crabtree

OL
6' 3"
Junior
Fabian Guerra

#86 Fabian Guerra

WR
6' 0"
Junior
Cooper Hibbs

#14 Cooper Hibbs

QB
6' 3"
Junior
Marcus Porter

#44 Marcus Porter

LB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Garrett Stanley

#76 Garrett Stanley

OL
6' 2"
Senior
Austin White

#23 Austin White

RB
6' 0"
Senior
Cody Wilburn

#61 Cody Wilburn

OL
6' 2"
Junior
LaChristopher Lee

#8 LaChristopher Lee

WR
5' 9"
Senior
Mike Kuheleloa

#53 Mike Kuheleloa

OL
6' 0"
Junior
Josh Kaulave

#77 Josh Kaulave

OL
6' 3"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Curtis Crabtree

#56 Curtis Crabtree

6' 3"
Junior
OL
Fabian Guerra

#86 Fabian Guerra

6' 0"
Junior
WR
Cooper Hibbs

#14 Cooper Hibbs

6' 3"
Junior
QB
Marcus Porter

#44 Marcus Porter

6' 2"
Sophomore
LB
Garrett Stanley

#76 Garrett Stanley

6' 2"
Senior
OL
Austin White

#23 Austin White

6' 0"
Senior
RB
Cody Wilburn

#61 Cody Wilburn

6' 2"
Junior
OL
LaChristopher Lee

#8 LaChristopher Lee

5' 9"
Senior
WR
Mike Kuheleloa

#53 Mike Kuheleloa

6' 0"
Junior
OL
Josh Kaulave

#77 Josh Kaulave

6' 3"
Freshman
OL