×

Glenville State eyes quick start

Pioneers open MEC play versus W.Va. State

GLENVILLE — Test number two of the Mike Kellar era at Glenville State College won’t be an easy one as the Pioneers open Mountain East Conference play 1 p.m. Saturday at Lakin Field against host W.Va. State.

The Yellow Jackets, who are seeking their first 2-0 start since 2008, rallied from a 17-8 halftime deficit last week to clip Frostburg State, 20-17.

Head coach John Pennington’s squad, picked to finish third in the MEC preseason poll while the G-men were selected seventh, rolled up 517 yards of offense in the win.

GSC is coming off a 33-21 road triumph a week ago Thursday at Alderson Broaddus. In that affair, the Pioneers were plus-three on turnovers and had the ball for 40-plus minutes.

“That formula will definitely win,” quipped Kellar. “I’d love to tell you that’s our exact plan. It just so happened to turn out that way. We were able to kind of play ahead the entire game.

“It got tight for us. A lot of young guys and when they cut it to a one-possession score, you could feel them getting tighter on the sideline. We were able to make enough plays to win the game.”

Nowhere was that youth more evident than on the offensive line

“You start three freshmen and I think we gave up one sack and had 230 some yards rushing and 40 minutes in possesion,” Kellar added. “We left Thursday thinking they graded out very well, but you get in the room the next day and you have a tough grader (Rick Trickett).

“He doesn’t grade on a curve. Deep down I think he was pleased, but we could’ve done things a lot better. It’s a good group of kids who will continue to work hard and they have a really good coach.”

Jacket signal-caller Austin Hensley is back for one more season and he finished the opener going 18 of 29 for 251 yards and a touchdown.

The Pioneer defense not only will have to defend the likes of wideout Zach Pate, who had seven grabs for 84 yards, but W.Va. State also boasts a pair of solid tailbacks. Carl Garmon and Dylan Lucas combined for 28 carries and 143 yards rushing. Donovan Riddick and Dant’e Jones also had a combined 10 totes for 80 yards.

“State has a good football team, an experienced quarterback, very good skill and they do a very good job schematically on defense. They got some guys who can run and cover who are very good.”

“It’s back-to-back road games. At least now they have something they can draw upon. It’s a day game, which will be different for them, but it’s more of a routine they are used to.”

Versus AB, the G-men started the contest with a 12-play, 59-yard drive which culminated in a Justin Watts 32-yard field goal. After a three-and-out, running back Mario Pender gave GSC a 10-0 cushion thanks to a 59-yard scoring jaunt.

Watts was named the MEC special teams player of the week after booting a quartet of field goals last week.

Glenville State, which was upended 31-17 by the Jackets last year at Morris Stadium, managed to possess the ball for more than 40 minutes despite going 4 of 17 on third-down conversions.

Aside form Pender (12-83), GSC also had solid rushing efforts from Danrell Jackson (18-69) and Thomas Boles (8-39).

Quarterback Jaylen McNair hit on 16 of 24 attempts for 180 yards, which included a TD toss to Edward Webber for his first career score. Pender also added four catches for 40 yards while McNair also hooked up with Austin Ratliff (4-67), Javon Butler (4-35) and Osai Brown (2-37).

Leading 19-7 early in the third after another field goal by Watts, GSC had its lead cut to 19-14 and then was stopped at the 3 twice on a third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 play.

However, freshman linebacker Jonathan St. Jacque blocked the Battlers’ ensuing punt, which Samuel Thomas proceeded to scoop-and-score.

GSC, which got a pair of interceptions from Delonte Hood, also had a big play in the second half when Dominic Cizauskas forced a fumble that Jansen King recovered.

“We took care of the ball pretty well last week,” Kellar stated. “Fortunately, that’s probably what won us the game more than anything. It was a good team win.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today