WHEELING, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University football team shutout Wheeling, 24-0, on Saturday at Bishop Schmitt Field. In South Euclid, Ohio, Glenville State pulled off an overtime upset of Notre Dame College, 23-20, to snap the Falcons' 20-game regular season winning streak. Now, West Virginia State has a chance to become co-champions of the Mountain East Conference with a victory over NDC on this upcoming Saturday.

Following the win over Wheeling, Head Coach John Pennington had this to say:

"I thought our team did an outstanding job coming together and responding after a tough loss last week. Our defense was incredible today and got back to the basics of what we do well. I couldn't be more proud of how they responded to adversity...This was our best team win yet and I'm looking forward to one final home game with our seniors on Saturday."

West Virginia State (7-3, 7-2 MEC) reached seven in-conference wins in a season for the first time in program history by defeating the Cardinals. On the other hand, Wheeling (0-10, 0-9 MEC) remains winless in the football program's first year.

Freshman running back Taylor Carter set a new career-best by rushing for 121 yards on 20 carries (6.1 yards per carry). This was the second time this season that Carter broke the century-mark rushing. He crossed the goal line once in the contest. The other two touchdowns scored by the Yellow Jackets came from junior fullback Dant'e Jones smashing into the end zone in goal-to-go situations. Junior running back Dylan Lucas was also productive in the ground game with 10 rushes for 87 yards (8.7 yards per rush).

On defense, junior linebackers Dustin Crouser and Noble Zuschlag were the leaders of the shutout performance. Crouser recorded 10 tackles while Zuschlag registered eight. Senior defensive backs Kyle Alexander and Tevon Littleton each had an interception in the game.

The first half was a stalemate between the two teams until the final minute. The Cardinals took over possession on their own two-yard line with three minutes remaining in the second quarter. The WVSU defense stuffed the run twice and forced Wheeling to throw an incompletion on third down. After Wheeling punted from its own one-yard line, the Yellow Jackets started their drive from the WU33. Carter broke off a 25-yard run before rushing eight yards for the score that put WVSU up, 7-0, going into halftime.

West Virginia State put together an 11-play, 70-yard scoring drive early in the third quarter. Freshman quarterback Donovan Riddick completed two long passes and picked up over 20 yards on the ground to get the Yellow Jackets into scoring range. Jones finished off the drive by punching the ball into the end zone from one yard out (14-0). Later in the third quarter, Lucas rushed for over 50 yards in a drive to set up a 41-yard field goal by Martin Ahlstroem (17-0).

In the fourth quarter, an interception by Alexander near midfield set up West Virginia State's final scoring drive of the game. A face mask penalty on the first play gave the Yellow Jackets even more favorable field position. Carter got WVSU inside the 10-yard line, while Jones got WVSU across the goal line with five minutes left in the contest (24-0). The WVSU defense maintained its shutout by forcing a three-and-out on the next possession. The WVSU offense was then able to run the clock out when it got the ball back.

The Yellow Jackets had their best defensive performance of the season by holding the Cardinals to under 100-yards rushing and allowing only 146-yards passing. With wildcat quarterback Donovan Riddick behind center for most of the game, West Virginia State rushed for a season-high 302 yards.

Following the weekend's results, West Virginia State ranks sixth in Super Region One while Notre Dame College holds the third spot in the region. The top seven teams in the region at the end of next week are considered for the NCAA Division II playoffs. When West Virginia State hosts Notre Dame College on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Dickerson Stadium, a shot at the MEC Championship and a chance to make the playoffs will both be at stake. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.