WHEELING, W.Va. – The UNC Pembroke football team used a big second half and key defensive stops late in the fourth quarter to hold off Wheeling 35-32 on Saturday afternoon at Bishop Schmitt Field.
The victory for the Braves (1-4, 1-2 MEC) snapped a four-game skid and improve to 4-0 all-time against Wheeling. The Cardinals (2-3, 1-2 MEC) have now lost their last two contest and are 0-3 when playing on their home field.
After a scoreless first quarter, Wheeling started an offensive drive on the UNC Pembroke 35-yard line and marched down the field, highlighted by a 15-yard completion to Jermawn Ford from Javon Davis. Wheeling continued to move down the field and used a pair of UNCP penalties to extend the drive before Dewaun Green ran the ball up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Braves were limited to three-and-out on their next offensive drive and the hosts took over on their own 38-yard line. Davis connected to an open Dasyn Hores for a gain of 20-yards followed by another 20-yard completion to Tre Holloway. Holloway caught a 17-yard pass to setup Steven Mitchell for a one-yard touchdown run up the middle to take a 14-0 lead.
Colin Johnson was intercepted on UNCP’s 46-yard line, but Wheeling turned the ball back over to the Braves on their next play when Caleb Hester forced a fumble and Mike Matthews recovered it to start the UNCP offensive drive. Johnson found and open Jo Hayes for a 45-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead in half at 14-7.
Davis completed a 20-yard pass to the Cardinals’ Dasyn Hores, and then found an open Colin Oberdick on the right side for a gain of seven yards. Davis would eventually rush to the left for a 14-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds left on the clock before the half, giving the Cardinals a 21-7 lead at intermission.
The Braves outscored Wheeling 21-0 in the third quarter. On their first drive, Johnson connected with Que Kennedy for a gain of eight yards and then completed a short pass up the middle to Hayes for 13 more yards. Johnson completed another pass to Hayes for 12 yards before Sincere Baines rushed up the middle for an additional 14 yards. JaQuan Albright caught a deep pass for 20 yards in the end zone from Johnson for a UNCP touchdown to cut the Wheeling lead to 21-14.
The UNCP defense forced Wheeling to punt where the Braves started the offensive drive on the Wheeling 31-yard line. Alright rushed down the left side for a 31-yard touchdown to even the score at 21-21.
Evan VanMeter ended the Wheeling drive with a sack for a loss of eight yards to give UNCP the ball back on their own 15-yard line. Johnson completed a short pass to the right side to Hayes who ran the ball in for an 85-yard touchdown and give the Braves the lead at 28-21, which they carried to the fourth.
Javon Davis completed a short pass to the left to Colin Oberdick for a gain of 12 yards followed by an 11-yard rush to the left from Davis. Wheeling would have to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Joao Lima to cut the lead to 28-24.
Johnson found an open Albright for a gain of 13 yards followed by a 16-yard completion to Albright. Albright rushed up the middle for an additional seven yards followed by a 6-yard run from Baines to set up Johnson to find an open Hayes for an 18-yard touchdown to extend the advantage to 35-24.
Davis completed a 14-yard pass to Dasyn Hores and then an 11-yard pass to Chris Charles to move the Wheeling offense down the field. Davis found an open Holloway for a gain of 18 yards, then Davis found Charles again for a 7-yard touchdown. Wheeling was successful on the two-point attempt to pull within three points at 35-32.
The Cardinals defense forced a Braves punt, but UNCP’s Carson Perusse recovered a fumble on the punt return and the Braves were able to run out the clock.
Johnson threw for 324 yards and four touchdowns for the Braves. Hayes had a successful day with eight receptions for 183 yards and three touchdowns.
VanMeter finished with five tackles, two tackles for a loss of 11 yards, and two sacks for a loss of 11 yards.
UNC Pembroke finished the contest with 547 yards of total offense and limited Wheeling to 289 offensive yards. The 547 offensive yards for the Black & Gold marked the most this season for UNCP.
UNCP maintained possession for 24:33 of the game, while Wheeling held possession for 35:27 of the game.
The Braves will make the long-awaited return to Grace P. Johnson Stadium on Saturday when they welcome West Liberty to town for Education Day. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at uncpbraves.com/tickets.