After allowing what looked to be the game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds to play in the game, UVa.-Wise marched down the field quickly and gave Trent Martin the chance to kick his sixth field goal of the game with a second left as the Cavaliers topped West Virginia State 39-37 on Saturday afternoon at Lakin Field.
Following a 10-yard touchdown toss from Austin Hensley to Akil Washington, UVa.-Wise jumped back into the driver's seat right away, getting completions of 6, 33 and 16 yards from redshirt freshman quarterback Brycen Lee to three different receivers to get down the field. A personal-foul penalty against the Yellow Jackets (1-4) put the Cavaliers at the 11-yard line for the game-winning field goal.
"I hurt for those guys in that locker room right now," West Virginia State coach Jon Anderson said. "I hurt for our guys, but at the same time we have to find a way - they had the same opportunities as we did. We just didn't close out the game like we could have.
"We had chances until the very end, but the fight was very good. That's what I told them [in the locker room]."
West Virginia State had rallied back from a 33-24 deficit with less than 10 minutes to go in the game behind the arm of Hensley and his talented group of receivers around him.
The Cavaliers (3-2) were able to get out to that lead early in the final period thanks to an 82-yard interception return from Zach Blair, who picked off a Hensley pass and took off down the sideline untouched. After that, though, Hensley and the Yellow Jackets were efficient in the way they attacked the defense.
Hensley finished the game with 494 yards and four touchdowns on 38-of-58 passing, and had several key completions on WVSU's final drive before hitting Washington perfectly in the corner of the end zone to put the Jackets ahead.
West Virginia State also had three receivers finish with 100 yards. Tyrell Henderson had 183 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches while A.J. Barrette and Quinton Gray both had 11 receptions for 166 and 101 yards, respectively.
"Austin's a good one, and he really kept his cool on that last drive when we needed him to," Anderson said. "It was a good thing we had the receivers we have today. We thought they might load up the box, and we had guys who made plays. These are good kids who all work extremely hard."
UVa.-Wise fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter but was able to rally back with a two field goals from Martin and the first of two touchdown passes from Lee to James Cousins.
Despite amassing more than 600 yards of total offense, the Cavaliers struggled at times to take advantage of their chances to put away the Yellow Jackets, thanks to a stingy State defense that forced UVa.-Wise into three field goals and a turnover on downs on possessions in which they got inside the State 10-yard line.
"Those were big possessions that kept us in the ball game - it's always better to force three instead of giving them seven," Anderson said. "It kept us in there, so they had a good mindset then. No matter where the ball is, you have to make them snap it again.
"We had our shot there at the end because of those times they made them kick field goals instead of giving them the end zone."
Lee completed 31 of 56 passes for 423 yards and two touchdowns while James Cousins led the Cavaliers with eight catches for 127 yards. Carlton Griffith had 98 yards on 28 carries on the ground.
Martin's six field goals for Wise set a Mountain East Conference record.
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.