INSTITUTE, W.Va. - - West Virginia State forced five UVa-Wise turnovers and rushed for 246 yards in a 33-12 win at Dickerson Stadium Saturday afternoon. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Yellow Jackets against the Cavaliers and marked the first time in school history UVa-Wise lost in Institute.
Kaian Duverger hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass from Brycen Lee to get UVa-Wise (0-2, 0-2 MEC) on the board with 10:46 to play in the opening period. Following Trevor Owens' conversion kick the guests held a 7-0 lead.
On the following possession, West Virginia State (1-1, 1-1 MEC) moved the ball 77 yards before sending out Aaron Ball to attempt a 21-yard field goal only to see it blocked and keep the game 7-0.
From there, things went south for the Cavaliers as the team would move the ball to near midfield or further on the next two possessions just to come up with no points.
The missed opportunities would haunt UVa-Wise as West Virginia State would tie the game on a 50-yard touchdown run by Dylan Lucas.
The Cavs would move the ball to the West Virginia 16 yard line behind the running of sophomore Jamorya Cousin before Lee would be stripped sacked and the drive would go for naught.
After forcing a 3-and-out, UVa-Wise would again be in scoring territory when four consecutive runs by Cousin moved the ball to the Jackets' 29-yard line. On a fourth and four play, a pass would fall incomplete, once again leaving points on the board.
After the fourth down stop, West Virginia State took possession and move the ball 41 yards on 11 plays before Ball converted a 47-yard field goal attempt to give the hosts a lead they would not relinquish.
An interception on UVa-Wise's first drive of the second half proceeded a 29-yard touchdown pass from Faustino Saucedo to Calil Wilkins, the extra point was no good leaving the score 16-7.
After a Cavs punt, the defense would score as a botched snap by the Jackets sailed over the punter's head for a safety to cut the deficit to seven points.
After a free kick, UVa-Wise took over on their own 47-yard line and the visitors put the ball in the gut of Cousin. The Bluefield, Va. product would rush the ball on 5-of-6 plays to move the ball to the Jackets' 8-yard line. Once more, the Cavs would be unable to get in the end zone and be forced to settle for a 23-yard field goal off the foot of Owens to make it a 16-12 contest.
The remainder of the game belonged to West Virginia State as the hosts finished the game by scoring 17 unanswered points to claim the 33-12 win.
Dustin Crouser had a 29-yard pick six for West Virginia State while Keedrick Cunningham added an 8-yard touchdown run as part of 17-point fourth quarter.
Cousin finished the game with a career-high 127 rushing yards and a career-high 194-all-purpose yards as the back added three catches for 67 yards in defeat. On defense, Marcus Tarrer led all players with 14 tackles, the redshirt sophomore has now made 30 stops in the first two games of the season.
Wilkins posted 135 rushing yards and Lucas added 120 as part of a 246-yard rushing performance for West Virginia State. Saucedo completed 14-of-18 passes without an interception as the hosts played turnover free football.
Next week, UVa-Wise will entertain Concord University in a 1 p.m. kickoff.
