FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Fairmont State (4-1) football team secured a dominating win on homecoming weekend over Post (0-5) in front of a home crowd of over 2,100 alumni, students and fans at Duvall-Rosier Field in Fairmont, W.Va. on Saturday (Sept. 30) afternoon.
 
Quarterback Will Adkins made his first start in a Fairmont State uniform and impressed with throwing for 214 yards and three touchdowns to go along with a rushing touchdown.
 
"It feels amazing to go out there and perform like that in my first start," said Adkins, a native of Huntington, W.Va. "We had a great game plan going. We schemed their defense appropriately. We were able to throw the ball deep and a lot of holes opened up in the running game. It was a great team performance, and everyone was clicking."
 
Fairmont State scored five rushing touchdowns with six different Falcons crossing the goal line for a score. Gage Michael hauled in a 30-yard pass from Adkins and punched in a seven-yard rushing touchdown. LeJay Hatcher rumbled for 113 yards and scored one touchdown while averaging 11.3 yards/carry.
 
The Falcons gave the Eagles' offense fits all day long and forced six turnovers. Reigning MEC Defensive Player of the Week Eltayeb Bushra snagged his third interception in two games. Brocton Blair and Kaire Umoja recorded their first interceptions of the season. Jovon Jackson led the Falcons with nine tackles and one tackle for a loss. Matt Pack recorded a sack while Ben Brzezinski and Izuchukwu Igwe both teamed up for a sack.
 
"I feel like we have guys who have bought in on what we are trying to do on defense," said Blair. "I try to be a leader and we have guys that want to work towards improving each day."
 
The Falcons got to work early and scored within three offensive plays. Adkins launched a 63-yard pass to Luca DiLorenzo to give the Falcons an early 7-0 lead. The score was Adkins' and DiLorenzo's first touchdown as Falcons. Post answered with a 14-play, 76-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 7-7. Fairmont State jumped right back in the lead after Leonard Farrow ripped off a 40-yard rushing touchdown to pull the Falcons ahead, 14-7. Fairmont State extended their lead to 21-7 before the end of the first quarter when Adkins hit Michael in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
 
Fairmont State faced a 4^th and goal from the one-yard line early in the second quarter. Adkins kept the ball on a QB sneak and crossed the goal line to add to Fairmont State's total, 28-7. Bushra picked off a pass at midfield and gave favorable field position for the Falcons. Adkins dumped off a pass to Farrow in the flat and Farrow sprinted into the end zone to put the Falcons ahead by 28 points. On the next Post drive, Blair intercepted a pass and the Falcons started their next drive in Eagles' territory.
 
"The quarterback was going down and threw the ball in desperation and I was right there to make the play," said Blair.
 
Michael stretched for the pylon and on an end around and made it into the end zone for his second score in the first half to complete the drive to push the lead to 42-9. The Falcons added another touchdown with 2:36 remaining in the first half when Hatcher bulldozed into the end zone for a 15-yard score to increase the Falcons' lead to 49-7 at the half.
 
After Post scored a touchdown on special teams to open the second half, the Falcons pushed the lead back to 42 points when Donovan Washington capped off a six-play, 63-yard scoring drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown. Emmanuel Richardson tacked on a field goal to end a nine-play, 44-yard scoring drive to push the lead to 59-14 at the end of the third quarter. Brzezinski and Izuchukwu recorded a sack to end a Post scoring opportunity in the fourth quarter and Umoja picked off his first pass of the season to wrap a bow on the 59-14 homecoming win for Fairmont State.
 
The Falcons will return to MEC action and face Concord on a short week this Thursday (Oct. 5) night at Duvall-Rosier Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.