Football

Falcons Host Rival West Liberty on Homecoming Saturday

The Matchup
  • Fairmont State returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. when it hosts West Liberty University for homecoming at Duvall-Rosier Field.
  • The game will be broadcasted live on SKY 106.5 FM, the radio home of Fairmont State Football, with Travis Jones and Duane Cochran on the call.
  • Fans can also watch an HD live stream on FightingFalcons.com or by logging on to Mountain.tv/Fairmont.
  • Fairmont State is coming off a 56-27 victory over Concord University last Saturday in Athens. It marked the second 50-point scoring performance of the season for the Falcons. With the win, Fairmont State snapped its first four-game losing streak since the 2013 season.
  • In three of the Falcons' four losses during that stretch, they held the lead in the fourth quarter, but couldn't maintain it.
  • After starting the season 1-2 the Hilltoppers have rallied and won three of their last four outings to improve to 4-3 overall and to 3-3 in the Mountain East Conference.
  • Saturday's game will be the 87th meeting between the two schools. Fairmont State leads the all-time series 43-38-5. The Falcons have won the last four meetings with West Liberty, including a 61-28 win last year at West Family Stadium.
  • West Liberty's last win in the series was a 39-16 victory in 2014.
  • Fairmont State coach Jason Woodman is 4-2 in games against West Liberty. The Hilltoppers' Roger Waialae, who is in his 15th season as head coach at West Liberty, is 8-6 all-time versus Fairmont State.
  • Woodman comes into Saturday's game with a 41-30 overall record in his seven seasons at Fairmont State (.577). Waialae, who is in his 15th season at West Liberty, has a career record of 81-81 (.500)
  • Under Woodman, Fairmont State is 5-1 in homecoming games and has won five straight. Ironically, the last loss for the Falcons on homecoming was a 27-21 setback against West Liberty in 2013.
 
Offensive Outlook
  • Despite its 2-5 start, Fairmont State's offense has been productive through seven games. The Falcons are sixth in the nation in NCAA Division II (first in MEC) in total offense with an average of 517.1 yards per game and 16th in the country in scoring with an average of 40.6 points per contest.
  • Of the top 20 teams ranked in the nation in scoring offense only Fairmont State has a losing record.
  • As a team the Falcons are averaging 282.1 yards per game through the air which is 19th in the nation and 235.0 yards per contest on the ground which ranks 19th in the country.
  • Fairmont State ranks eighth in the country and first in the Mountain East Conference in third down percentage (.520).
  • During last Saturday's 56-27 win over Concord, Takwan Crews-Naylor went over 5,000 yards passing for his career, becoming just the fourth player in program history to accomplish the feat (Jarrod Furgason, Cooper Hibbs and Bryan Harman).
  • Crews-Naylor, Fairmont State University's senior quarterback, recently moved into fourth place in school history in career passing yards (5,140), career touchdown passes (46) and career total offense (5,321) and needs just eight more completions to move into fourth place in Fairmont State history in that category as well.
  • Crews-Naylor, arguably, is having his best season in a Falcon uniform in 2019. In seven games he's completed 111-of-184 passes for 1,930 yards and 18 touchdowns and has been intercepted nine times. He ranks 11th in the nation in NCAA Division II in passing yards and is tied for 13th in the country in touchdown passes.
  • In Crews-Naylor's five seasons with the program, the Falcons have won 35 of 51 total games.
  • The 56 points on Saturday at Concord were a season high for Fairmont State which rolled up 567 yards of total offense in the win.
  • Fairmont State scored on each of its first five possessions against the Mountain Lions, with the longest drive during that stretch being just 66 yards.
  • It was also the fifth time this season in which the Falcons have totaled 500 or more yards of total offense in a game. Fairmont had a season-high 590 total yards in a week two 53-10 victory over Wheeling University.
  • The Falcons ran for 310 yards in Saturday's win and threw for 257 yards.
  • For the second consecutive week and the third time this season Fairmont State had a pair of running backs go over 100 yards in a game. Prior to this season Fairmont State had not accomplished that in a contest since 2009.
  • Sophomore Tyree Randolph led the Falcons with 125 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, while senior Rakeem Darden finished with a career-high 109 yards and two TDs on 17 attempts. Fairmont State's leading rusher for the season, Khalik Hamlin, finished with 59 yards on just nine carries. He did not play after the first series of the second half.
  • For Darden it marked the first time in his four-year career that he was able to eclipse the 100-yard mark in rushing yards in a game.
  • This season, Hamlin leads Fairmont State in rushing this season with 673 yards and five touchdowns on 119 carries. Randolph is second with 621 yards and six TDs on 95 carries, while Darden has 169 yards and three scores on 40 attempts.
  • Hamlin currently ranks 19th in the country in rushing yards (673), while Randolph ranks 33rd in NCAA Division II at 621 yards per game this season.
  • As a team Fairmont State has 1,645 yards on the ground this fall. The single-season school record for team rushing yards is 2,537 and was set by the 1978 Falcons.
  • Junior receivers Andre Hall and Javon Hayes combined for 12 receptions, 182 receiving yards and three touchdowns Saturday in Fairmont State's 56-27 victory over Concord.
  • Hall and Hayes both rank in the top 20 in the country in receiving yards per game this season. Hall is 15th in the country at 95.5 yards per game, while Hayes ranks 18th with 92.7 yards per outing.
  • Hall, who missed the week 6 game against WV State with a shoulder injury, returned to the lineup this past weekend and caught a team-high seven passes for 77 yards and a pair of scores. Hall now has 28 receptions this fall for 573 yards and six touchdowns.
  • For his career he has 95 catches for 1,510 yards and nine scores. He needs 23 catches and 131 receiving yards to move into the top 10 in Fairmont State history in both of those receiving categories.
  • Javon Hayes, meanwhile, posted his third straight game with 100 or more receiving yards Saturday when he hauled in five passes for 105 yards and one TD.
  • Hayes leads Fairmont State this fall in receiving with 36 catches for 649 yards and six touchdowns. For his career Hayes has 80 receptions for 1,343 yards and 14 TDs.
  • He needs just one more touchdown reception to move into a five-way tie for 10th place in Fairmont State history in career touchdown catches with Khalid Dover, Jason Trent, Josh Romeo and Larry Goodine.
 
Defensive Outlook
  • Fairmont State's defense held Concord to negative 19 yards rushing Saturday. It was the first time since 2012 that the Mountain Lions had been held to negative rushing yards in a game. That season Winston-Salem State University limited Concord to negative 13 yards rushing in a 30-22 win.
  • It also marked the first time since 2015 that Fairmont's defense was able to hold an opponent to negative rushing yards. That season the Falcons held Urbana to negative 27 yards on the ground and negative three total yards for the game in a 6-0 victory.
  • The Fairmont State school record for negative rushing yards in a game was turned in by the Falcons' 1979 nationally-ranked defense which limited Concord to negative 68 yards on the ground in a 14-7 win.
  • Four of Concord's first five possessions on offense ended with three-and-outs and punts last Saturday. The other ended after just one play when Fairmont cornerback Brandon Ruffin picked off a Kyle Akin pass at the Mountain Lion 48.
  • Consequently, Fairmont's first five drives, none of which were longer than 66 yards, all ended in touchdowns and a 35-0 Falcons' lead with 7:15 left in the second quarter.
  • Fairmont State's defense ranks fifth in the 11-team Mountain East Conference in total defense (360.9 yards allowed per game) and 76th in the nation.
  • The Falcons have been strong against the run, allowing just 90.6 yards per game on the ground, which is second in the MEC and 17th in the country.
  • However, Fairmont's pass defense is allowing 270.3 yards per contest which ranks 10th in the MEC and 152nd in the country.
  • The Falcons have allowed two opponents this season, Charleston (429) and West Virginia State (414), to throw for over 400 yards. Fairmont's defense had not allowed an opponent to throw for 400 or more yards in a game since 2015 (West Virginia Wesleyan 473 in a 31-27 Fairmont State win). The last time a Fairmont State defense allowed two 400-yard passing games in the same season was 2012.
  • The Falcons are also giving up 35.0 points per game which is seventh in the Mountain East Conference and 133rd in NCAA Division II.
  • Fairmont is a disappointing -6 in turnover margin this fall, which has the Falcons sitting in eighth place in the MEC in that category. The last time a Fairmont State team finished negative in turnover margin was back in 2014 when the Falcons were -11 and ended the season with a 3-7 overall record.
  • Fairmont State only has nine quarterback sacks this fall. The Falcons rank eighth in the MEC and 121st in the nation in total team sacks.
  • Fairmont State senior linebacker Trevon Shorts leads the Falcons in tackles with 57, including a team-high 34 solo stops and 11.0 for losses.
  • Shorts, for his career, now has 181 total tackles, including 108 solo stops. He also has 29 career tackles for losses. Shorts needs just three more tackles for losses to move into a tie for 10th place in school history in that category.
  • Seven different Falcons have interceptions this fall. Junior cornerback Desoto McKenzie, who used to play wide receiver for the Falcons, leads the team with three. Brandon Ruffin has two interceptions this season for the Falcons. Jordan Schaeffer and Siddiq Kanneh have each returned an interception for a touchdown this season.
  • Eight different players have recorded a sack for the Falcons this season, including a team-high two sacks by senior Glenwood Williams this season.
  • Six different players have at least 20 tackles this season for the Falcons, including Shorts (57), Chrinovic Mukulu (27), Alec Solano (25), Jordan Schaeffer (24), D.J. Adediwura (24), and Keyshawn Hailey (21).
 
 
Scouting West Liberty
  • West Liberty, which has won two games in a row, averages 33.3 points per game and allows 27.5 per contest. The Hilltoppers average 382.2 yards of total offense, including 116.5 on the ground and 265.8 through the air.
  • WLU is led by senior quarterback Zach Phillips who has completed 99-of-179 passes for 1,497 yards and 13 touchdowns. He's only been intercepted three times this fall.
  • Phillips' favorite targets are sophomore H-back Thomas Cole who has 31 catches for 434 yards and five touchdowns, junior receiver Isaiah Robinson, who has 23 receptions for 419 yards and four scores and senior receiver Christian Rita, who has 19 catches for 307 yards and one TD.
  • The Hilltoppers are led on the ground by junior Quincy Wimbish who has 237 yards and five touchdowns on 62 carries.
  • West Liberty's defense allows 363.8 yards per outing, including 144.7 on the ground and 219.2 through the air.
  • The Hilltoppers' defense is led by senior defensive back Logan Deri, who has 52 tackles, including six for losses and graduate student Josh Ojo, a defensive back, who has 38 tackles.
 
Last Season vs. West Liberty
  • Fairmont State scored 61 points and racked up 525 yards of total offense in a dominating 61-28 victory over West Liberty to cap the 2018 regular season at West Family Stadium in West Liberty.
  • In addition to five offensive touchdowns, the Falcons also scored on a pair of interception returns, a punt return and recorded a safety in the victory.
  • Fairmont State possessed the football for over 38 minutes in the win, and converted on 8-of-15 third downs and 4-of-5 redzone scoring chances.
  • Crews-Naylor connected on 19-of-30 passes for 274 yards and three TDs in the win. Javon Hayes was on the receiving end of six of those passes for a career-high 115 yards.
  • The Fairmont State running attack featured three running backs with 88 yards or more in the victory, led by Darden with 14 carries for 93 yards to go with his pair of touchdowns. Timothy Smith also chipped in 90 yards on 11 carries, and Tyree Randolph totaled 88 yards on 18 carries.
  • WLU managed just 58 yards on the ground and converted on just 4-of-14 third-down attempts.
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Takwan Crews-Naylor

#3 Takwan Crews-Naylor

QB
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
Cooper Hibbs

#14 Cooper Hibbs

QB
6' 3"
Senior
Siddiq Kanneh

#6 Siddiq Kanneh

DB
5' 10"
Sophomore
Jordan Schaeffer

#10 Jordan Schaeffer

DB
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
Khalik Hamlin

#13 Khalik Hamlin

RB
5' 9"
Freshman
Rakeem Darden

#22 Rakeem Darden

RB
6' 0"
Freshman
Brandon Ruffin

#30 Brandon Ruffin

DB
6' 0"
Freshman
Trevon Shorts

#35 Trevon Shorts

LB
6' 1"
Freshman
Glenwood Williams

#50 Glenwood Williams

DL
5' 11"
Freshman
Andre Hall

#82 Andre Hall

WR
5' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Takwan Crews-Naylor

#3 Takwan Crews-Naylor

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
QB
Cooper Hibbs

#14 Cooper Hibbs

6' 3"
Senior
QB
Siddiq Kanneh

#6 Siddiq Kanneh

5' 10"
Sophomore
DB
Jordan Schaeffer

#10 Jordan Schaeffer

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
DB
Khalik Hamlin

#13 Khalik Hamlin

5' 9"
Freshman
RB
Rakeem Darden

#22 Rakeem Darden

6' 0"
Freshman
RB
Brandon Ruffin

#30 Brandon Ruffin

6' 0"
Freshman
DB
Trevon Shorts

#35 Trevon Shorts

6' 1"
Freshman
LB
Glenwood Williams

#50 Glenwood Williams

5' 11"
Freshman
DL
Andre Hall

#82 Andre Hall

5' 9"
Freshman
WR