Both the University of Charleston and West Virginia State football teams enter their games this weekend trying to continue their march toward uncharted territories.
The Yellow Jackets will attempt to reach a win total they haven't seen in years. The Golden Eagles want to stay in the hunt for the program's first NCAA Division II playoff berth.
To accomplish its goal, State must get past dual-threat dynamo quarterback Malik Grove and Notre Dame (Ohio) College at 1:30 p.m. today at Lakin Field. UC visits West Liberty at 1 p.m. and faces a Hilltoppers team that pulled off the first big shock of the Mountain East Conference season.
By coming back from a four-touchdown deficit to defeat the University of Virginia College at Wise 52-45, WVSU moved to 3-2 on the season. That matches State's best win total since going 3-7 in 2009. For everything that went wrong in the first half Virginia-Wise game - including an interception and punt block both returned for touchdowns - West Virginia State coach Jon Anderson was proud of how his team ignored the scoreboard and rallied for the victory.
"I'm hoping a couple years from now that we can look back on this game and say that this game was a program-changer for us," Anderson said, "from the standpoint of confidence and believing in each other and all those great things that can lead to so many more great things. I'm hopeful of that and we're certainly going to try to capitalize on that."
State's next win will give it the most in a season since Earl Monroe led the Yellow Jackets to back-to-back 7-3 seasons in 2007 and 2008. To get there today, State must slow down the Mountain East Conference's leader in total offense.
The Falcons (1-4, 1-4 MEC) have struggled at the season's outset, but Grove has played well in his first year as a starter. His 326-yard average leads the conference by nearly 40 yards per game. He also briefly held the conference's single-game rushing record, gaining 251 yards in Notre Dame's season-opening loss to Charleston, but Glenville State's Rahmann Lee eclipsed that the next week with his 412-yard night.
In the hours after the Yellow Jackets' win over the Cavaliers, State corner Will Merritt went right to work watching film and studying Grove in preparation for today's game.
"That offense is pretty prolific," he said. "We know what they have coming. It makes it more of a task for us as a defense. At that time, we have to prepare for more than what we usually would. We have to prepare for him scrambling out of the pocket and extending plays with his legs. We have to guard for longer plays and go after him more consistently."
State has a knack for big plays in its pass defense, and the Yellow Jackets' nine interceptions lead the MEC. Merritt said winning has started to get addictive, and the team is motivated to add to its total.
"We haven't had that feeling in a while, that consistent winning," Merritt said. "The fact we have that now, we know what winning tastes like, it's almost like blood in the water for sharks. We want more."
UC (4-1, 4-1) scored one of the biggest wins in program history, holding off then-No. 21 Concord 29-21 in a game broadcast over ESPN's online streaming service, ESPN3. The Golden Eagles now sit behind undefeated and 10th-ranked Shepherd in second place in the conference and, if UC can get through the rest of the season with the Shepherd loss its only blemish, that should put the team in prime position for a postseason berth.
Charleston and West Liberty (3-2, 3-1) actually share a common thread. The Hilltoppers were the first team this season to hang a loss on the Mountain Lions, upsetting them 29-28 at West Family Stadium when they were ranked ninth in the country.
WLU has a dangerous dual threat of its own at quarterback in Dakota Conwell. The former University of Arizona linebacker bounced back from an earlier high ankle sprain to lead the Hilltoppers over West Virginia Wesleyan 38-31 last week. He rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries, and also completed 19 of 30 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.
"He's an athlete," UC linebacker Luke Sears said. "He makes plays with his feet and makes decent decisions. He had a lot of yards against Wesleyan with just 'offense by accident,' just getting out of the pocket and making plays. He's definitely a guy we have to contain."
UC doesn't want to be the Hilltoppers' next upset victim, not after everything it has gained with the Concord win. Golden Eagles coach Pat Kirkland said the players can't lose themselves in the euphoria of beating the Mountain Lions with so much on the line. They must remember, though, what allowed them to celebrate that victory.
"I told them that the hardest thing is handling success, and the reason we beat a very good Concord team is that we worked really hard in a short week and prepared," Kirkland said. "Now we can't take anything for granted. We've got to understand that the only reason we're having success is because of the work we put in throughout the week. And I think our guys have bought into that."