WISE - - Mistakes proved costly on Saturday as UVa-Wise was shutout in the second half for a second consecutive week in a 23-7 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan at Carl Smith Stadium.  The Cavaliers missed two field goals, had another field goal attempt botched on a poor snap-hold exchange, and dropped a pair of touchdowns in the home opener. 

UVa-Wise (0-2, 0-2 MEC) held a 7-6 halftime advantage after an Andre Dickerson two-yard touchdown scamper and extra point from Trent Martin despite the miscues.

West Virginia Wesleyan (1-1, 1-1 MEC) used a pair of field goals from Kasper Bernild for its six first half points. Bernild connected on a 42-yard kick on the first possession of the game to give his club a 3-0 lead before booting a 34-yard field goal with 1:50 to go in the opening quarter to cut the deficit to one.

Despite having a lead at intermission, the Cavs missed on opportunities to hold a larger margin. UVa-Wise appeared to be on the cusp of extending a 7-3 lead mid-way through the first quarter after quarterback Ty Ryans scrambled out of the pocket and raced 33 yards to the Wesleyan 28. The Bobcats' Denzel Butler ended the drive on the next play as he picked off Ryans at the 15 yard line.

Following a Wesleyan field goal, UVa-Wise again moved into scoring position. The Cavs moved the ball 57 yards before stalling out at the Bobcats' five-yard line. On fourth down, coach Dewey Lusk elected to attempt a field goal. The kick sailed wide right, leaving the score 7-6.

Wesleyan's offense was forced to punt after taking over at the 20 following the missed kick and once more UVa-Wise moved the football.  The offense started at its own five yard line and moved the ball to its own 37 before Butler made a leaping one-handed interception on a deep route for his second takeaway of the game.

The inability to take advantage of opportunities continued as Bernild was called on to attempt a 25-yard field goal after Wesleyan moved the ball to the UVa-Wise eight. Bernild's field goal attempt hit the right upright to keep the score at 7-6 with just under two minutes to play in the half.

Using a hurry-up offense, the Cavs executed the two-minute drill to near perfection as Ryans connected on a pair of passes to Juwaine Massenburg and one to Terrence Younger to move his club into field goal range.  On the final play of the half, Martin's field goal sailed wide left to keep the margin at one.

The missed chances overshadowed an otherwise productive half for the Cavs as the team produced 17 first downs and converted on six of eight third down chances while limiting the Bobcats to six points.

Wesleyan would take a lead it would not relinquish on its first drive of the second half as quarterback Jeremy Musselman moved his club 85 yards on nine plays. Musselman finished off the drive when he hooked up with Chase Blackwell on a five-yard touchdown pass. Bernild's point after gave the Bobcats a 13-7 lead.

After each team had a defensive stop, UVa-Wise would put together its longest drive of the early season; a 19-play drive that moved the ball 69 yards and consumed more than five minutes of the game clock. Again, the drive ended in disappointment as a botched snap-holder exchange on a field goal attempt turned the ball over to Wesleyan.

Bernild would make a 22-yard field goal on the next Bobcats' possession before his team put the game away for good on a 36-yard Musselman touchdown pass to Stephen Rogalski late in the fourth quarter.

The loss snapped a two-game home winning streak for the Cavs that dated back to last season. UVa-Wise finished the game with 31 first downs compared to 16 for Wesleyan while also running 97 plays in defeat.  It was the 17th consecutive game that the Cavs have lost the turnover battle.

Ryans rushed for 87 yards and threw for 268 more for UVa-Wise while Younger hauled in 10 receptions for 104 yards.

Musselman hit 20 of 36 pass attempts for 317 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Rogalski finished with 142 receiving yards and running back Michael Anderson led all players with 94 rushing yards on 13 carries.

UVa-Wise will play the first of back-to-back road games next week at the University of Charleston. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 pm.