After losing two straight road games, the West Virginia State University football team returned home looking to get back to its winning ways.
The Yellow Jackets did just that, picking up a huge win as WVSU earned a 38-24 victory over perennial Mountain East Conference power Frostburg State on senior day at Lakin-Ray Field at Dickerson Stadium Saturday afternoon.
WVSU won its first four conference games to begin the season but then lost back-to-back road games at Wheeling (35-33) and UNC Pembroke (62-17). With the win, State (6-3, 5-2 MEC) is tied for second place in the league with two games left.
“That has to be right up there with one of the best wins I’ve had since I’ve been here,†Yellow Jackets coach John Pennington said. “Unfortunately, we stumbled on the road, but coming off those two losses, especially the last one, the resiliency of this team has been incredible all year.
“To see them come back and beat a really good football team like that, it was incredible and so much fun to watch. We had 24 seniors out here today, so it was emotional. Just to see the joy on their face makes every minute of extra work worth it.â€
The most significant play of the game came in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 24. Frostburg faced a fourth-and-4 from its own 27-yard line with 10:10 left. The Bobcats attempted a fake punt, but State stuffed the punter for a 2-yard loss.
WVSU made Frostburg (6-3, 4-3) pay for the failed attempt, driving 25 yards for what proved to be the winning score. Quarterback Caleb Jantuah ran for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Yellow Jackets a 31-24 lead with 7:53 left in the game.
On the next Bobcats possession, State defensive back Mike Fontaine intercepted a pass and returned it all the way to the Frostburg 8-yard line. On the next play, Joel Felder ran for a touchdown to give WVSU a two-score lead at 38-24.
“We knew they were a little desperate and were going to try some stuff,†Pennington said. “They had faked a couple punts earlier in the year and we ran a punt safe. I can’t believe they still ran it, but we are glad they did because it put us in good field position.â€
Frostburg coach Eric Wagoner took the blame for the failed fake punt call.
“It's 100% on me,†Wagoner said. “It was a miscommunication. It’s a rugby punt, and if it’s open, you run it, and if it’s not there, you punt the ball away. We should have punted it, but at the end of the day, that’s not on our punter, that’s on me.â€
The Yellow Jackets were playing with Jantuah, their backup quarterback. Starting QB Isaiah Bess broke his arm last week and is out for the rest of the season.
Jantuah looked good early, leading State to two straight touchdowns on its first two offensive possessions. He connected with Amare Ary for a 16-yard TD pass on the first drive, and Felder rushed for a 10-yard touchdown.
The Yellow Jackets led 14-7 after the first quarter. Sandwiched between the two offensive touchdowns for WVSU, Frostburg’s Jordan Marcucci returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.
After Frostburg tied the game at 14 with a touchdown, Jantuah connected with Ary for a second TD pass (45 yards) to give State a 21-14 halftime lead.
Jantuah was efficient, completing his first nine passes. He was 9 of 10 passing in the first half for 124 yards for WVSU with two touchdowns. The senior finished with 136 yards through the air and was helped by Felder, who had 146 yards on the ground on 20 carries.
“Caleb is a senior that stuck with it throughout his whole career,†Pennington said. “He has never been the main starter. We weren’t worried about it, and it wasn’t surprising to us. He played the way we figured he would. He was incredible out there, and it was awesome to see.â€
