INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Glenville State held a 10-point lead at West Virginia State on Saturday afternoon, but the Yellow Jackets materialized a strong late comeback to take the victory 38-27. The loss spoiled what was another sterling performance from senior wide receiver
Javon Butler, who caught eight passes for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
State jumped out to an early lead, scoring on their first two possessions. Dant'e Jones found the end zone from 21 yards after taking a swing pass from Donovan Riddick. Martin Ahlstroem's extra point marked the WVSU lead at 7-0 with 7:12 left in the first quarter. Ahlstroem added a 24-yard field goal on the following drive, extending the Yellow Jacket lead to 10-0 with 2:31 left in the opening stanza.
Glenville answered quickly with the day's most explosive play. Quarterback
Tim Heltzel found the speedster Butler over the top, and the track star sprinted to the end zone for an exciting 92-yard touchdown.
Josh Jones' point after cut the margin to 10-7. GSC answered midway through the second quarter, connecting on a 27-yard field goal, his tenth of the season. Jones' boot culminated a solid 14-play, 59-yard drive that included some successful plays in the running game.
State regained the lead just before the half, with Jones' scoring again. On this drive, he scored on a four-yard rush. At the intermission, it was WVSU up 17-10.
State fumbled on their opening possession of the second half, with
Sean Bowers recovering for the Pioneers on the Yellow Jacket 39. GSC moved to WVU 18, but could not convert on fourth down. Moments later, GSC was back in the red zone, and this time the Pioneers converted. DeAndre Clayton connected with
Orion Bonner for a 31-yard gain to the one.
Alfred Menjor plunged in for the score on the ensuing play. Jones' PAT squared the contest at 17-17 at 7:22 of the third quarter.
Glenville snagged their first lead of the day with 1:05 left in the third quarter, Jones was successful on a 23-yard field goal. The score was set up by a 50-yard completion from Heltzel to Butler. The Glenville defense only allowed one State first down in the third quarter.
State recovered a fumble at the GSC 37 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, and moments later was in a position to tie the game, but Ahlsteom's 38-yard field goal attempt was blocked by the Pioneer defense. Glenville responded to the big special teams play with conviction; just three plays later, Heltzel found the fleet Butler again, this time for an electrifying 70-yard touchdown. Jones added the PAT to extend the Pioneer lead to 27-17 with 9:55 remaining.
State answered quickly with an eight-play, 81-yard drive, culminating with a 10-yard TD pass from Riddick to Keedrick Cunningham. With only 6:30 remaining, GSC was clinging to a 27-24 lead. After holding the Pioneers on downs, State began their final drive form their own 33. They converted a key fourth-and-three from midfield, and five plays later, Riddick scored on a 12-yard run, giving State back the lead at 31-27. Henry Houchins tallied the final score of the day, a taking an interception to the end zone from 32 yards, closing the scoring at 38-27 Yellow Jackets.
Total yardage ended up almost even, as State held a slim advantage, 410-406. Butler's 238 receiving yards was complemented by another strong day from
Alfred Menjor, who rushed for 87 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. Through the air, Heltzel was 12-of-30 for 270 yards, including the two touchdowns to Butler.
Riddick was 26-of-41 passing for State, accumulating 302 yards. Jones ran for 74 yards on 22 carries, with receiver Tyrone catching eight passes for 120 yards.
Defensively, the Pioneers were led by
Darnell Davis and
Isaiah Macklin with nine tackles each, followed by
Brandon Penn with eight.
Ellis Lilly's stat line included a sack and a forced fumble.
State improves to 5-4 on the season, and 5-3 in the Mountain East Conference. Glenville falls to 2-6.
GSC returns home next week for their final home game of the season, hosting long-time rival Fairmont.
