FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Fairmont State defeated West Virginia State 41-18 on Saturday at Duvall-Rosier Field. The Falcons recovered three fumbles and recorded five sacks, while their offense threw for 229 yards and rushed for 181. The league win moved the Falcons to 1-1 in conference play while the Yellow Jackets fell to 0-2.
DJ Dailey returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown at 14:45, and
Emmanuel Richardson's extra point put the Falcons ahead 7-0. The Falcons' defense followed with an early stop, and the offense drove 55 yards on its first possession, using
Nino Marzullo completions and
James Borbor's 22-yard run before
Connor Mollohan made a 25-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.
Montel Sims added a sack,
Karron Watties broke up a pass and
Demarcus Daniels had a tackle for loss during a first quarter in which the Falcons held the Yellow Jackets to minus-6 rushing yards. The Yellow Jackets answered with a 49-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter, but
Darrick Badley blocked the extra point, and the Falcons ended the first quarter with the ball near midfield and a 10-6 lead.
The Falcons scored all 21 second quarter points, pairing three touchdown drives with takeaways and fourth-down stops to carry a 31-6 lead into halftime. Marzullo's 46-yard completion to
Ralo Wesley opened the quarter's scoring march, and Marzullo finished it with an 8-yard touchdown pass to
Jules Alvarado at 12:53 before Richardson's kick made it 17-6. The defense quickly gave the Falcons another short field when Wesley recovered a fourth-down fumble at the Yellow Jackets 13, and Marzullo found Alvarado again two plays later for a 10-yard touchdown and a 24-6 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets reached the Falcons 20 on their next possession, but Sims forced a fumble that
Quadir Lockett-Smith recovered, and the Falcons later ended another drive on downs when
Jeffery Polk stopped a fourth-and-5 rush at the Falcons 36. The Falcons converted that stop into a 64-yard drive in 1:04, with Borbor scoring from 8 yards out with 35 seconds left, and
Jamar Grimball's late sack helped keep the Yellow Jackets off the board through the end of the quarter.
The Falcons turned a third quarter takeaway into points when Grimball forced a fumble and
Gavin Smith recovered at the Yellow Jackets 43, leading to Mollohan's 34-yard field goal and a 34-6 lead with 44 seconds left. Early in the third, the defense limited the Yellow Jackets to punts on their first two drives, with Grimball recording a third-down sack on the opening possession and Watties adding pressure on the next series.
Marzullo moved the Falcons across midfield on consecutive possessions, including a 73-yard drive from the Falcons 14 that featured completions of 22 and 14 yards to
Gage Michael before a missed field goal. After Mollohan's field goal, the Yellow Jackets answered with Devin Cox's 84-yard touchdown run, but the kick failed and the Falcons ended the quarter ahead 34-12.
The Falcons built their fourth quarter scoring chance off a stop at their own 34, where Polk hurried an incomplete fourth-down pass at 7:23 with the score 34-12. At the start of the fourth, the Falcons moved the chains on Marzullo's 8-yard third-down rush and flipped the field when
Ethan Vargo-Thomas punted 62 yards out of bounds at the Yellow Jackets 4. After the turnover on downs,
Elijah Tidwell had gains of 8, 4 and 24 yards, Marzullo hit Wesley for 25 yards on third-and-2, and Tidwell's 24-yard touchdown run followed by Richardson's kick made it 41-12.
The Yellow Jackets answered with an 84-yard drive and a 3-yard touchdown pass at 3:33, but the rush attempt failed and the score remained 41-18. The Falcons then took over at midfield after an out-of-bounds onside kick, converted fourth-and-5 on Marzullo's 5-yard run at the Yellow Jackets 34 and kneeled out a 41-18 win.
Marzullo completed 19 of 27 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 57 yards on 12 carries. Alvarado caught four passes for 26 yards and two touchdowns. Wesley finished with three receptions for 80 yards and added a fumble recovery. Grimball recorded seven tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Fairmont State (1-4, 1-1) remains at home as it welcomes Glenville State to campus on Saturday, October 3 for Homecoming. The Battle for the Bit is set to start at 2:00 p.m.
