WISE - - Off to a 4-2 start for the second consecutive season, UVa-Wise will try to claim its second road win of the year when the team visits West Virginia Wesleyan Saturday. The Bobcats have lost four consecutive games while the Cavaliers scored a season-high 51 points in a win over Urbana University last week.
Wesleyan has averaged just 9.3 points per game during its current losing streak and enters play Saturday ranked 10th in total offense at 252.7 yards per game. The Bobcats are led on offense by sophomore running back Devin Montgomery. Montgomery ranks fifth in the MEC in rushing yards per game average at 86.2 yards but did not play in last week's 15-7 loss at the University of Charleston.
Senior Brandon Grayson is one of the league's premier players and enters play this weekend as the conference's top tackler. Grayson has at least seven tackles in each game played this season and is averaging 10.2 stops per contest. Earlier this year, he tallied 18 tackles in a loss against Urbana.
Marquis Hamilton provided a special teams spark for the Cavaliers last week. The redshirt freshman returned the opening kickoff in the second half 99 yards for a touchdown before later blocking an extra point. For his efforts, Hamilton was named MEC Special Teams Player of the Week. UVa-Wise limited Urbana to 3-of-16 on third down conversions and 247 yards of total offense. It marked the fourth consecutive game the Cavs have held an opponent under 265 yards of total offense. For the season, opponents are averaging 297 yards per game against UVa-Wise, the number ranks the Cavs' defense 18th among all NCAA Division II programs.
Sacks played a big part in the team's defensive effort against the Blue Knights. Senior Ben Funny posted two sacks in the win to lead a unit that registered a season-high five sacks. For the season, the Cavs rank 11th nationally with 20 sacks in 2017.
Freshman quarterback Jerome Johnson passed for a season-high three touchdowns in the win while completing 13 passes to six different receivers. Fellow freshman Chris Thaxton caught his first collegiate touchdown in the win, a 44-yarder in the third quarter to put his team up 35-21.
On the ground, the Cavs gained a season-high 206 yards against Urbana. Junior Von Purvis averaged 5.6 yards on seven carries while putting the game away with a 28-yard touchdown scamper in the final moments. Purvis was one of four Cavs to have at least seven rushing attempts in the game, Johnson led the way with 13 attempts while senior Carlton Griffith posted 65 yards on nine attempts.
Next week, UVa-Wise returns home to face the University of Charleston while Wesleyan hits the road to face Notre Dame College.
