WISE - - Limestone limited UVa-Wise to 199 yards of total offense en route to a 27-6 South Atlantic Conference football victory at Smith Stadium Saturday. The Cavaliers posted just 13 first downs and 86 yards rushing in the homecoming defeat.

Limestone (3-6, 2-4 SAC) quarterback DJ Phillips entered the game as the league's leading passer but, the 6-foot-7 signal caller used his legs to generate offense Saturday. Phillips rushed eight times for a pair of touchdowns including the game's opening score with 3:37 to play in the first quarter.

UVa-Wise (1-8, 0-7 SAC) never recovered. Limestone successfully executed an onside kick only to see AJ Felton Jr intercept Phillips on the opening play of the possession to give the Cavs the ball at the UVa-Wise 44-yard line.

The drive would move the ball to the Limestone 13-yard line as Shaheim Revel picked up 13 yards on the drive on the ground. The scoring drive would go for naught as a 30-yard field goal would sail wide, leaving the score 7-0.

The Saints would put together a sustained drive on its following possession as Phillips hooked up for Quay Brown on a 4-yard completion for a touchdown. The drive consumed nearly seven minutes while spanning 14 plays and 80 yards.

Leading 14-0 at intermission, Limestone pushed its lead to 24-0 after three quarters of play as Thomas Cook nailed a 49-yard field goal and Phillips scored his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon.

UVa-Wise scored its only points with 6:17 to play in the game when Mykael Anderson hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Lendon Redwine. The two-point conversion try failed before Cook kicked his second field goal of the day, a 42-yarder, providing the final margin of 27-6.

Cavs' linebacker Austin J. Hicks registered a career-high 15 tackles while Rondre Knowles-Tenner and Drew O'Bryan each recorded a sack in the loss.

Tanner Bernard, Garrett Cropp and Redwine combined to go 18-for-29 through the air for 113 yards and two interceptions.

Malik Brooks gained 98 yards on the ground on 12 attempts in the win while Phillips finished 14-for-24 through the air passing for 103 yards in the victory.

Drew Vermillion punted five times averaging 36.6 yards per punt. The freshman has now punted 72 times this year, one shy of the single-season school record.

Next week, UVa-Wise will host Catawba for Senior Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. from Smith Stadium.