GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Glenville State Football is looking to end their two-game losing skid and secure a fourth straight win over Fairmont State on Saturday (Oct. 3) when the Pioneers make the trip up I-79 for the Battle For The Bit. The rivalry game will kickoff at 2 p.m. inside Duvall-Rosier Field and will be streaming live on the Mountain East Conference Digital Network.
THE JAKE CASTEEL SHOW
Watch this week's edition Presented by GoMart on YouTube!
SERIES HISTORY
- 98th meeting between Pioneers and Falcons
- Named "The Battle For The Bit"
- GSU is (42-51-4) all-time against Fairmont State
- Glenville State has won the last three and four of the last five matchups
- First meeting took place in 1909, when the Pioneers won 6-0 at home
GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, October 3 | 2 p.m. | Duvall-Rosier Field
Glenville State at Fairmont State
Watch Live on MECTV |
Live Stats
THE OPPONENT
FAIRMONT STATE
2026 Season
The Falcons enter Saturday's matchup with a (1-4) overall record and (1-1) mark in conference play following a blowout win over West Virginia State last week. FSU opened the league slate with a 28-24 defeat at Wheeling and had losses to Dayton, Bloomsburg and No. 12 Findlay in non-conference.
Head Coach
Luke Barker is in his third season leading the Fighting Falcon football program after serving as associate head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Charleston. Barker led Fairmont State to seven wins in 2024 and six victories in 2025 as well as 25 all-conference selections during those two seasons. Barker also had stints at Indiana (Pa.) and West Virginia Wesleyan.
Falcons Offense
The Falcons have played two quarterbacks this season but former MEC Freshman of the Year Nino Marzullo is coming off of a two-touchdown performance versus West Virginia State and will start this week again. Marzullo has honed in on Ralo Wesley (11 catches, 208 yards, 1 TD) and Gage Michael (18 catches, 201 yards, 1 TD) as his favorite targets with Jules Alvarado (8 receptions, 95 yards, 2 touchdowns) also being in the mix.
Similar to Charleston last week, the Falcons feature four running backs who have played significant snaps. James Borbor leads the charge with 51 carries for 269 yards and one touchdown while Elijah Tidwell (34 carries, 156 yards, 1 TD) and Joshua Jones (20 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD) have supplied plenty of backup juice.
Falcons Defense
The league's leading tackler headlines the Fairmont State defense, as middle linebacker Jeffery Polk has accounted for 48 tackle, 3.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup through five contests. Longtime Falcon linebacker Nick Longo is second on the team with 31 stops while former Glenville State edge rushers
Jamar Grimball and
Kalon Curry have combined for 27 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss.
Gavin Smith highlights the backend of the defense, bringing in a team-leading two interceptions and batting down an impressive five passes thus far. Smith has also added a forced fumble and fumble recovery to his season totals. Demarcus Daniels has an interception and one PBU from his defensive back spot as well.
Falcons Special Teams
Ethan Vargo-Thomas is averaging over 45 yards per punt and has blasted eleven 50-yard punts in 2026. Emmanuel Richardson and Connor Mollohan have shared field goal duties, with Mollohan two-for-three and Richardson four-for-seven in 2026. Return man DJ Dailey was the MEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his 100-yard kickoff return against West Virginia State.
THE PIONEERS
GLENVILLE STATE
2026 Season
The Pioneers come in (1-3, 0-1 MEC) following a 27-7 loss at the University of Charleston. The Pioneers have a pair of Division 1 defeats and a win against Millersville at home to their record this season as well.
Pioneers Offense
The Pioneers have had to mix up the look at quarterback since
JD Sherrod exited the Mercyhurst game early with an injury, thrusting Morgantown native
Maddox Bowers into action. Sherrod had thrown for 464 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions and Bowers has 395 passing yards, one TD and three picks since taking over.
Kyree Bunny (12 catches, 241 yards, 3 TD) and
Caden Harris (25 catches, 197 yards) have been the top targets for Glenville State.
Fifth-year running back
Zavione Wood leads the ground game with 187 yards on 48 carries this season. Lenoir-Rhyne transfer
Jamir Fox and redshirt junior
Graylan Holland have both carried one into the endzone and Valparaiso transfer
Amir Simmons has a receiving touchdown out of the backfield.
Pioneers Defense
Jacob Clark (31 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) and
Knowel Smith (30 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 INT) lead the charge for
Jake Casteel's defense.
Tyson Garrett,
Maddox Gillespie and
Bryson Oliver have all surpassed 20 stops on the year, with Gillespie causing havoc behind the line of scrimmage with 3.0 TFL and four QB hurries. Nine different Pioneers have batted a pass down, with cornerback
Khaliq Johnson breaking up a team-leading three.
Pioneers Special Teams
Francisco Gamboa and
Brody Layman have combined to average around 50 yards per kickoff while Layman is 3-for-4 thus far on field goals with a long of 38 yards. Australian
Kody Davis-Warrington will take over the punting duties this week.
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