WISE - - No. 23 Fairmont State University took another step towards a berth in next month's NCAA Division II Super Region I playoffs with a 58-3 Mountain East Conference victory over UVa-Wise at Carl Smith Stadium Saturday. The victorious Fighting Falcons limited the Cavaliers to 217 yards of total offense while forcing four turnovers to win their eighth consecutive game to open the season.
Things started poorly for UVa-Wise (5-3, 4-3) as the Cavs fumbled the opening kickoff.
Fairmont State (8-0, 7-0) would recover at the UVa-Wise 31-yard line and quickly move to the host's 1-yard line.
The Cavs' defense would come up with a goal line stand as the Falcons would get stopped inside the 1-yard line on a fourth and goal play.
Two plays later, the momentum turned back to Fairmont State as the visitors dropped Carlton Griffith in the end zone for a safety to take a 2-0 lead.
It would be the first two points of what proved to be a 23-point period for the Falcons. Laurence King would take the ensuing free kick 82 yards for a touchdown before a 43-yard TD run by Cooper Hibbs allowed the score to balloon to 16-0 with 9:08 to play in the first.
Tailback Terrell Charles' 27-yard TD run at the 6:04 mark of the first quarter would cap the 23-point splurge.
Charles' TD capped a four-play, 43-yard drive in 1:49; it was the second scoring drive of the quarter that consumed under two minutes of game action.
A pair of TD passes by Hibbs would account for the second quarter scoring. The signal caller hooked up with Andre Hall on a 31-yard connection before finding Shane Faett for a 1-yard strike with nine seconds to play in the half. Hibbs' TD tosses sent Fairmont State to halftime with a 37-0 advantage.
King would score his second TD of the day on the opening drive of the third quarter when he scored on a 21-yard pass from Hibbs. It would be Hibbs' fourth and final TD of the game.
The only points for UVa-Wise came with 10:32 to play in the third period when senior Trent Martin booted a 29-yard field goal. The field goal was the 21st of Martin's career, establishing a new school record.
Martin's record setting kick made the score 44-3 with 10:32 to play in the third quarter. Fairmont State would add two fourth quarter scores as Takwan Crews-Naylor and Daniel Rodriguez had TD runs to provide the final margin of 58-3.
In addition to the early goal line stop, the Cavs held the Falcons scoreless on two other red zone trips. Ian Kemp blocked a 25-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter and Ed Kargbo picked off a pass in the second quarter. The INT was the team-leading fourth of the season by Kargbo.
Zachary Blair led all players with 10 tackles in the loss. The senior finished with seven solo stops, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. It marked the third time this season the linebacker has reached double digits in tackles.
Freshman Kier Townsend caught a team-high three passes and finished with 49 receiving yards while James Cousins had a 36-yard catch as part of his two-reception, 52-yard performance in defeat.
King caught six balls for 55 yards and the TD, in addition to his special teams score. Hibbs finished 14-20 for 157 yards with three TDs through the air. The quarterback added 30 yards and a score on the ground.
Demonne Cox registered six solo tackles, intercepted a pass and forced two fumbles in the win.
As a unit, the Falcons defense tallied four sacks in limiting the Cavs to 76 rushing yards.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for UVa-Wise while the win allowed Fairmont State to continue its best start to the season in nearly five decades.
Next week, UVa-Wise visits Urbana University in a 1 p.m. kickoff.
