It will be an emotional afternoon at Lakin Field on Saturday when Senior Day festivities begin for the West Virginia State football team.
Some of the seniors to be honored were among the first players recruited by Yellow Jackets coach Jon Anderson and have been a vital part of the foundation that Anderson has been attempting to build in his first few years at the helm.
"They all mean a tremendous amount to our program here and they've played so many meaningful downs for us over the years," Anderson said. "They've been great, high-character kids who have helped us establish the culture that we want to have here. They care for each other and they've done so many great things, and it's going to be a great week as we try to highlight what they've done and what their impact on our program has been.
"It'd be nice if we can get back on track and send them off with a two-game winning streak at the end of the year."
West Virginia State (1-8) will take on Concord at 1 p.m. in its home finale, trying to snap a seven-game losing streak against a team that has emerged as one of the toughest defensive units in the Mountain East Conference.
The Mountain Lions, who come into the game with a 2-7 record, are second in the MEC in pass defense, which could prove to be vital against a Yellow Jacket squad ranked second in pass offense.
"They're structured very well defensively and play great team defense," Anderson said. "They do enough different things that it really keeps you off-balance and they're good at what they do. It makes for a challenge."
Concord has held West Virginia State to just 17 points in their last three meetings.
While the Yellow Jackets are at home, the University of Charleston will hit the road once again - this time for a non-conference match-up versus Alderson Broaddus.
The Battlers consistently have sported one of the top Division II defenses in the country. AB is currently first nationally in total defense, allowing 222.6 yards per game, while also sitting atop national rankings in passing yards allowed per game and No. 7 in rush defense. They've done that while allowing just 11.6 points per contest.
"They have been an outstanding defense all year and they have really done a nice job with the guys they have," UC coach Pat Kirkland said. "They return a lot of experience on both sides of the ball. They have a bunch of seniors that have played a lot of football, and when you have that much experience with the same coaches you're going to be pretty strong and doing some good things."
But in the last few weeks the offense has started to come along as well. After struggling to score early in the season, the Battlers have averaged 36 points in the last five games and enjoyed a five-game winning streak to improve to 7-2 on the year.
That's expected to be a big challenge for a Charleston team that has lost its last four games, but has lost each of those despite having chances to win on their final drive of the game.
"I'd be hitting the panic button if we were getting blown out and the kids weren't working hard," Kirkland said. "But we're in the game, we just have to get it done down the stretch.
"Right now, this week we have an opportunity to get back on track against a good football team. That's what matters to us right now, it's about handling our business and trying to get better."