Glenville, W.Va. – GSC's Mario Pender rushed for 228 yards and three scores as the ground attacked help propel the Pioneers past the Hilltoppers of West Liberty on a cool and crisp fall afternoon on Homecoming, 33-23.

Glenville State (3-4, 3-3) racked up 383 total yards with 236 coming on the ground while West Liberty (2-5, 2-5) was held to 231 total yards of offense with just 86 rushing yards.

West Liberty struck first in the first as Owen Rozanc nailed a 38 yard field goal to put the Hilltoppers up, 3-0. That field goal would be the only score in the quarter as GSC headed into the second trailing by three.

Glenville State would take their first lead of the contest at the 8:13 mark. After a fumble by the Hilltoppers, Gary Bacon then hauled in a 17 yard touchdown catch from Jaylen McNair as the Pioneers led 7-3.

West Liberty would answer back as they drove 54 yards on 10 plays as Brenton Colabella scored from one yard out as the Hilltoppers jump back out in front, 10-7.

Marion Pender then gave the lead back to the Pioneers as he scampered 60 yards to the endzone. Pender scored his first touchdown of the day to put GSC up 13-10 as we headed to halftime.

In the third quarter, Mario Pender would start right where he left off as he scored his second touchdown run of the game this time from 49 yards out. The PAT would be blocked as the Pioneers held a 19-10 lead.

With just 24 second left in the quarter West Liberty found pay dirt as Michael McLean scored on a five yard touchdown pass from Zach Phillips. GSC then blocked the PAT as they headed into the fourth leading the Hilltoppers, 19-16.

Javon Butler would help put the Pioneers back up by 10 points as he caught a 17 yard highlight reel touchdown pass from Jaylen McNair. Justin Watts PAT would be good as GSC took a 26-16 lead.

Glenville State then struck again at the 8:05 minute mark as Mario Pender scored on a 50 yard runs, his third of the game, as the Pioneers led 33-16. West Liberty would add another late score at the 4:49 minute mark but the Pioneers would end up being victorious on Homecoming defeating the Hilltoppers, 33-23.

Glenville State rushed for 236 yards while throwing for 147 yards. The Pioneers won the time of possession as they held the ball for 31:55 while West Liberty had it for 28:05.

The Hilltoppers were just 8-of-19 on third downs while the Pioneers finished the day 5-of-14.

Mario Pender had another amazing performance for GSC as he rushed for 228 yards, his second straight game over 200 yards rushing, to go with three touchdowns. On the day Pender averaged 9.9 yards per carry.

Quarterback Jaylen McNair went 14-for-21 for 147 yards and two scores.

Javon Butler hauled in five passes for 77 yards and a score while Gary Bacon caught two passes for 28 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively for the Pioneers, Dominic Cizauskas led the team with eight tackles, a tackle for loss, and three pass breakups. Tyler Patron, JT Ngangum, and Will Mayes all finished with seven tackles. Ngangum also had two sacks on day.

Keevin Gillard had six tackles and 2.5 sacks to go with 2.5 tackles for loss. Also for GSC, Ellis Lilly had five tackles while Daniel Robinson had six tackles and four pass breakups.

West Liberty was led by Charles Westbrook as he rushed for 91 yards on 23 carriers.

QB Zach Phillips went 6-for-24 for 63 yards a touchdown while rushing for 27 yards. Fellow quarterback Brenton Colabella went 15-of-22 for 82 yards.

Darien Mitchell caught five passes for 44 yards.

Defensively for West Liberty, Logan Deri and Clifford Clark each tallied 11 tackles.

Glenville State (3-4, 3-3) will now travel to Fairmont State University this coming Saturday, October 20^th for a 1 p.m. matchup with the Fighting Falcons.