WISE - - Senior Javonte Latney scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 21 seconds to play as UVa-Wise upended West Virginia State 34-24 in the Cavaliers' home opener at Carl Smith Stadium Thursday. Latney's put-away score put an exclamation mark on junior linebacker Donavan Montague's career night as he finished with two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the triumph.

West Virginia State (1-1, 1-1 MEC) jumped out to an early lead as Calil Wilkins raced 54 yards for the first score of the game. Aaron Ball's PAT split the uprights to give the visitors a 7-0 lead with 13:46 to play in the opening quarter.

With 5:49 to play in the first play quarter, Montague (Altavista, Va./Altavista H.S.) began his big night as the UVa-Wise (2-0, 2-0 MEC) linebacker intercepted a Matt Kinnick pass and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown. The conversion kick by Daryian Basco (Suwanee, Ga./St. Francis H.S.) knotted the game at 7-7.

Montague would continue to assert himself on the Yellow Jackets ensuing possession. Kinnick would complete a pass to Zach Pate down to the Cavs' 10-yard line only to see Montague recover a fumble and return it 42 yards.

Senior Carlton Griffith (Ft. Belvoir, Va./Mt. Vernon H.S.) would give UVa-Wise the lead when he capped a 4-play, 32-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard touchdown scamper. Following Basco's extra point, the Cavs had a 14-7 lead.

The score would remain unchanged until the final minutes of the first half as the Yellow Jackets' Dionta Brown capped a 6-play, 81-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown catch. Following a PAT by Ball, the game was again tied.

UVa-Wise quickly answered as redshirt sophomore Brycen Lee (Mayo, Fla./Eastern Kentucky University) went a perfect 3-3 on a scoring drive that was finished off with a 38-yard touchdown pass to James Cousins. Basco's extra point would send Dane Damron's team to intermission up 21-14.

After the Cavs would be forced to punt on their opening possession of the second half, West Virginia State took over on its own 10-yard line.

Kinnick would direct his team's most impressive drive of the game as the Yellow Jackets put together a 13-play, 90-yard drive that consumed 7:17 of game clock to again tie the game. Kinnick finished the drive with an 18-yard scoring strike to Quinton Gray.

The momentum for West Virginia State was short lived as junior Darius Jones (Hampton, Va./Phoebus H.S.) returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to near midfield. A play later, Griffith rushed 38 yards to the Yellow Jackets' 15-yard line. Two plays later, Lee found junior Kaian Duverger (Greenacres, Fla./Lackawanna J.C.) on a fade pattern in the corner of the end zone to put the Cavs back in front. The extra point sailed wide left leaving the score 27-21.

UVa-Wise would have a chance to go in front by two possessions but Lee would be picked off by Kyle Alexander in the end zone. With 13:43 to play in the game. 

Kinnick would once more march his team down the field as the quarterback and Wilkins opened the drive with six consecutive rushes to get the ball to the Yellow Jackets' 49-yard line. After a 22-yard completion to Gray, West Virginia State moved the ball inside the 10-yard line on a personal foul against UVa-Wise.

The guests appeared to have taken the lead but a Kinnick pass was ruled to be caught out of bounds on third and goal forcing a field goal attempt. Ball would boot a 24-yard field goal to make the score 27-24 in favor of UVa-Wise.

West Virginia State would force a UVa-Wise punt only to see Montague come up big one more time. The former Altavista Colonel picked off a Kinnick pass to give his team the ball inside the Yellow Jackets' 20-yard line.

UVa-Wise would milk the clock down before Latney (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponox H.S.) scored what proved to be the game securing touchdown with under 30 seconds to play.

The Yellow Jackets tallied 477 offensive yards in the loss but were doomed by four turnovers.

Wilkins finished with one of the greatest individual performances in school history as he finished with 201 rushing yards.

Lee passed for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Duverger hauled in four catches for 52 yards in addition to his touchdown reception.

Defensive back Ed Kargbo (Springfield, Va./South Co. H.S.) led all players with 14 tackles while Dylan Giovine (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee Staunton H.S.) registered 10 tackles and a sack.

With the win, UVa-Wise is 2-0 for the first time since 2008. The Cavs will try to go 3-0 for the first time since 2007 when the team visits Concord in a 7 p.m. kickoff next Thursday.