A pair of West Virginia high school football standouts scored touchdowns to lead the way for State to top the UVA-Wise Cavaliers and win the 2018 home opener 33-12.
After UVA-Wise quarterback Brycen Lee connected with wide receiver Kaian Duverger on a 61-yard touchdown pass early in the first quarter, State entered the second quarter down 7-0. With just under 13 minutes left in the quarter, former Buffalo High School standout Dylan Lucas scored a touchdown from 50 yards out to tie the game up at 7-7 after an Aaron Ball PAT.
Ball would give State a 10-7 lead with a 47-yard field goal as they headed into halftime.
With a little more than eight minutes left in the third quarter, quarterback Faustino Saucedo connected with CalilWilkins on a 20-yard touchdown pass to push the Yellow Jackets ahead even further 16-7.
On the next State drive the Yellow Jackets were forced to punt from deep in their own territory, and the snap sailed over the head of Ball, and out the back of the end zone resulting in a UVA-Wise safety. On the ensuing UVA-Wise drive kicker Trevor Owens kicked a 23-yard field goal which chipped away at the Yellow Jacket lead even further, with State only leading 16-12 entering the fourth quarter.
Ball would connect a 39-yard field goal with around seven and a half minutes remaining in the final quarter pushing the State advantage to 19-12.
On the first play of the next UVA-Wise drive, former George Washington all-state linebacker Dustin Crouserintercepted a pass and returned it for a Yellow Jacket touchdown. With Ball’s PAT the State lead now stood at 26-12.
Keedrick Cunningham would add one final touchdown of the day with 3:25 remaining in the game, pushing State’s lead to 33-12, which is where the score would stay.
Quarterback Faustino Saucedo would be highly effecicient in his first start filling in for injured starting quarterback Austin Hensley, going 14-18 on his completions for 127 yards and the touchdown pass to Wilkins.
Calil Wilkins led all rushers going for 135 yards on 21 carries, while Dylan Lucas had 120 yards on 13 carries, and a touchdown, and Keedrick Cunningham added 22 yards on five carries and a touchdown.
Zach Pate was the top receiver for the Yellow Jackets, hauling in six catches for 39 yards, while Calil Wilkins had two receptions and a touchdown.
Tevon Littleton led all State defenders with eight tackles and an interception, while Dustin Crouser had interception returned for a touchdown, and Ibrahim Sesayhad a interception as well.
State will travel to South Euclid, Ohio on Saturday where they’ll face the Notre Dame Falcons. Notre Dame won last years game 47-35.
