WISE - - UVa-Wise heads into the final week of the 2018 season looking to build off a solid 54 minutes against league champion Notre Dame College and forget the final six minutes when the team travels to Shepherd University Saturday. The Cavaliers squandered an 11-point lead in the final six minutes to come up short 25-17 to the Falcons.

Saturday's game will mark the final Mountain East Conference game for both Shepherd and UVa-Wise. The Rams will be joining the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference while the Cavs will be heading to the South Atlantic Conference next fall.

Shepherd has won three consecutive games, including a 25-20 win at Charleston last week and needs a win over UVa-Wise to post its eighth consecutive eight-win season. First-year coach Ernie McCook's team has relied heavily on freshman signal caller Tyson Bagent who has passed for 2,784 yards and 28 touchdowns in his first collegiate campaign. The Rams also have one of the league's top linebackers in sophomore Ponce DeLeon. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder has  tallied five interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and six tackles for loss to go with his 53 tackles this season. In the backfield, Shepherd has seen Antwan Squire and Zyan Sturdivant split carries. Squire has gained 485 yards while averaging 5.7 yards a carry on 85 attempts while Sturdivant has posted 405 yards on 4.7 yards an attempt, both players have scored four rushing touchdowns.

UVa-Wise's defense has been among the best in the MEC and in NCAA Division II this fall. Entering Saturday, teams are passing for just 210.9 yards per game against the unit. Defensive coordinator Shap Boyd's crew has also tallied seven interceptions, 22 sacks and recovered seven fumbles in the first nine games.

Turnover margin has plagued UVa-Wise, the Cavs have turned the ball over 29 times this season and are a league worst -15 in turnover margin. Most recently, UVa-Wise forced a pair of turnovers against Notre Dame College but turned the ball over five times.

A win at Shepherd would give UVa-Wise its first win in six tries against the Rams while allowing the program to post three consecutive seasons of at least four wins for the first time since 2007-09 when the school was a member of the NAIA.