BUCKHANNON, W.Va. -- The Fairmont State University football team traveled south to face West Virginia Wesleyan College in a Mountain East Conference battle. Behind a 231 team rushing attack, the Falcons bested the Bobcats, 40-21.

Fairmont State (3-3, 2-2) won the opening toss and elected to receive. On 3rd-and-6 from the Fairmont State 39, Nino Marzullo connected with Gage Michael for a 44-yard pickup to the Wesleyan 17. Not being able to move the ball, Emmanuel Richardson trotted on the field to attempt a 33-yard field goal and converted for the 3-0 lead with 12:11 on the clock.

West Virginia Wesleyan (0-6, 0-4) on its opening drive was able to move the ball across midfield. At that point, the Falcons defense stood tall and forced a punt to set up the offense at their own 17. On the first play from scrimmage, Marzullo was sacked and lost the ball. The Bobcats were able to recover the fumble and return it for a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead.

On the next Fairmont State drive, the offense strictly moved the ball on the ground. Dereik Crosby II, Quinton Young and LeJay Hatcher combined for seven rushes for 62 yards as Crosby II punched it into the endzone to give the lead right back to FSU, 10-7, as 5:35 remained in the first. 

The Bobcats were held in check as they were forced to punt with the Falcons taking over at their own 43. Marzullo hit a 28-yard pass to Winston Page on second down to set up 1st-and-10 from the Wesleyan 29. After a couple of completions and runs by Crosby II and Hatcher, Fairmont State was at the doorstep of the endzone as the first quarter came to an end. The first play of the second, Marzullo kept the ball and scored from two yards out to extend the lead to 10 (17-7).

Both teams punted the ball away on their next drives as West Virginia Wesleyan's next drive started at its own 35. After a short gain on the ground, the Bobcats scored on a 63-yard pass to make it 17-14 with 11:08 in the half.

Fairmont State started to piece together a solid looking drive as a seven-yard run by Crosby II set the ball at the Bobcats 44. A sack on first down put the Falcons behind the chains and were not able to recover as they punted the ball back to the hosts. The FSU defense once again stood tall and forced another three-and-out. 

Starting at their own 41, the Falcons had 1:47 to add to their lead. Marzullo completed four-consecutive passes to Kobe Harris and Michael with the ball resting at the WVWC 29. Three-straight runs by Crosby II followed by a 10-yard pass from Marzullo to Donovan Washington gave Fairmont State 1st-and-Goal at the 5. A few plays later, Marzullo hit Michael as time expired for a three-yard score. At the half, the Falcons' lead was once again 10 (24-14).

To open the third quarter, West Virginia Wesleyan's offense was still stymied by the FSU defense as it quickly went three-and-out. Fairmont State's next drive was all Crosby II as he ran the ball three times for 14 yards while also catching a pass for 42 yards. At the Bobcats 10, FSU was unable to pick up another yard as Richardson made another field goal, this time for 28 yards to make it a 27-14 game.

The Bobcats began to move the ball on its next drive as they moved the ball 68 yards over 13 plays to have 1st-and-Goal from the eight. After gains of three and four yards, WVWC went for it on 4th-and-1 but Donovan O'Malley made the tackle for a one-yard loss and a turnover on downs. The Falcons were able to move the ball from the shadow of their own endzone after a 15-yard completion to Carter Giacomo but they ultimately had to punt the ball away.

West Virginia Wesleyan's next drive stretched into the fourth quarter as it used 10 plays to go 54 yards over 4:43 to make it a six-point game (27-21) with 11:51 to go in regulation. 

Fairmont State went to its strongest player of the game with Crosby II on the ground. Following gains of seven and two yards, the junior running back broke free and scored on a 44-yard rush as the Falcons led by 13 (34-21) once more. 

Following punts on the next two Bobcat drives, FSU called Crosby II's number once again. Three rushes later, Crosby II scored from 21-yards out with 1:58 to go in regulation. 

West Virginia Wesleyan was able to move the ball on the next drive and after a roughing the passer, had 1st-and-10 from the Fairmont State 49. Consecutive runs of 15 and nine yards put the ball on the FSU 25. On second down, the Bobcats quarterback attempted to throw a short pass but it was intercepted by Howard Williams to secure the 19-point road win. 

Crosby II finished the afternoon gaining 193 yards on 29 rushes with three touchdowns while catching two passes for 44 yards. Marzullo went 19-26 for 232 yards and a touchdown while Michael finished with five receptions, 73 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, O'Malley made nine total tackles (2 solo, 7 assisted) and one tackle for loss. 

Fairmont State welcomes UNC Pembroke on Saturday, October 19 for the team's Pink Game and Kids Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.