Glenville, W.Va. – The Glenville State Pioneers kicked off the 2017 season at home Thursday night under the lights as they hosted the UVa-Wise Cavaliers.
 
Glenville State (0-1, 0-1) would squander away an early nine point lead as they fell to the Cavaliers of UVa-Wise (1-0, 1-0) at Morris Stadium, 41-29.
 
Junior defensive lineman Austin Hill made his presence felt early with a powerful tackle for loss, forced fumble, and fumble recovery all on the same play.  That play by Hill set up senior QB Ja'quay Garmon for his first passing touchdown as a Pioneer hitting DJ Williams from 29 yards out as GSC took a 6-0 lead however UVa-Wise blocked the ensuing PAT.
           
The Pioneers defense then forced a quick three-and-out on the Cavaliers next possession.  During the Wise punt the snap was bobbled and would set up GSC deep in Cavaliers territory. Kelvin Flores was able to chip in his first Field Goal for the Pioneers from 29 yards out.  GSC held a 9-0 lead early and took that lead into the second quarter.
 
UVa-Wise was able to connect with their first points of the year on a field goal, making it 9-3.  Following the field goal, Garmon was able to hook up with Javon Butler from 80 yards out for another Pioneer Touchdown as they pushed the lead to 16-3.  UVa-Wise would move quickly down the field on their next possession and connect on a Brycen Lee to Kaian Duverger hookup as they cut GSC's lead to six points, 16-10. Wise then scored back-to-back TD's on a power rush from Carlton Griffith and a fade route to Kaian Duverger as they took a lead over the Pioneers 24-16 as we headed into halftime.
 
The second half would start out with punts for each team and the Pioneers throwing an interception. Wise was able to advance the ball deep into Pioneers territory before a Lee to Jake Barnett hookup from 19 yards out which pushed the Wise lead to 30-16.  The ensuing PAT moved the Cavaliers lead to 31-16.
 
GSC was able to put another seven points on the board with another Garmon to Butler hookup this time from 34 yards out. Following the Pioneers touchdown, UVa-Wise connected on a 31-yard field goal to move their lead to 34-23 as we headed into the fourth.   
 
UVa-Wise would score again quickly on a Griffith three-yard touchdown rush as they made it 41-23.  The Pioneers were able to answer behind a Garmon touchdown pass which connected with Javon Butler for his third touchdown catch of the evening.  The two-point conversion was no good. The ensuing kickoff was an onside attempt which traveled out of bounds as the Pioneers ended up falling to the Cavaliers 41-29.
 
Glenville State had 421 total yards of offense with 311 in the air and 110 on the ground. Quarterback Ja'Quay Garmon was 16-of-50 on the night for 311 yards, four touchdowns but had two costly interceptions.
 
Javon Butler led the receiving corps with three receptions for 128 yards and three TD's while DJ Williams also contributed eight receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. 
 
On the ground, Dominique Gibson led GSC with 15 carries for 68 yards.
 
 For the GSC defense, Corey Roberts paced the Pioneers with 12 total tackles, while Andre Dalton and Quintavius Twine each contributed nine tackles.
 
For the Cavaliers of UVa-Wise they racked up 485 total yards, on 87 plays. Quarterback Brycen Lee was 27-of-45 through the air for 318 yards and three touchdown passes. Running back Carlton Griffith carried the ball 15 times for 39 yards and two touchdowns. Backup quarterback Jarome Johnson led the Cavaliers rushing attack with four carries for 92 yards. 
 
Kaian Duverger led the UVa-Wise receivers as he caught eight passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Defensively, Ed Kargbo and Dylan Giovine led UVa-Wise with 9 total tackles a-piece.
 
The Pioneers are to travel to Notre Dame College next weekend on Saturday, September 9^th, to take on the Falcons at 12:00 p.m.