MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As if No. 4 Musselman wasn’t enough, now Morgantown (1-5) takes on its second top-10 opponent, No. 6 Wheeling Park.
“We’ve got to be able to slow them down on offense because they’re pretty fast,” Morgantown coach Matt Lacy said. “If they get going vertical – and we saw that last week against Musselman – it’s off to the races. We have to eliminate them gassing us like that and get them moving sideline-to-sideline.”
The Patriots (4-1) may not be a Martinsburg-caliber team or led by a national top-100 quarterback, but the group is still not to be trifled with. Senior quarterback Alex Dunlevy is coming out of a bye week following a 187-yard, two-score game over Zanesville (Ohio) that helped down the Blue Devils 35-34. So far, Dunlevy has 1,072 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. He has also completed 65-of-99 pass attempts and averages 214.4 yards per game.
He’s also quick out of the pocket, accumulating 292 yards and five touchdowns on 43 carries.
“When you look at the film, Dunlevy can make all the throws needed to be successful,” Lacy said. “They’re a true spread team, either in 2-by-2 or 3-by-1. If they don’t make it difficult to line up (they) do so with their jet motions and zone reads. He can run the ball, not necessarily (to the point) of lighting you up … (but) he’s very capable of picking up first downs with his legs.
“(Our) guys really have to hone into their keys. When they watch the jet motions and what we call orbit motions – when they
Dunlevy alone will be a tough matchup for the Mohigans, especially with a defense that allows 31 points per game while Wheeling Park averages 41.6 points per game. The Patriots’ defense may not look stingy averaging 22.8 points allowed through five games, but contests against Ohio-powerhouse schools have to be taken into account.
“When a defense is out there a long time, they tend to give up plays because they’re tired,” Lacy said. “I think when you watch the film, what stands out the most is how much speed they have in all their positions.”
The Mohigans will look once more to Gunner Lattimore and Preston Fox to work their magic. Since taking over for Cam Rice earlier in the season, Lattimore has 364 passing yards and five touchdowns through five games – an average of 72.8 yards per game. He’s not afraid to air it out, going 25-for-40 on completions (62.5 percent). He, too, is quick on the run, racking up 173 yards and two scores on 34 carries. Fox is Lattimore’s main target with 24 receptions for 349 yards and two touchdowns and will continue to get plenty of looks with Quin Thompson out.
“Gunner and Preston need to keep working. Teams obviously hone in on Preston and bracket him sometimes, so we have to make sure we’re trying to find different ways to get him the football,” Lacy said.
One way the Mohigans have switched up the way defenses track Fox is using him into the backfield. So far this year, Fox has 53 yards on 14 carries.
Lacy and his staff will limit Lattimore’s run game without a solid quarterback depth behind him. Rice, who was moved to full-time linebacker, is now out for the season after aggravating a persisting knee injury he sustained in the preseason. The loss is a major blow to the Mohigans middle line, but early-season playmaker Kyle Hawkins remains healthy after returning from injury last week. With a full week of practice behind him, he’ll help bring stability to the defensive backs. Jackson Wolfe, Jace Whetsell
“We have to limit Jace (on defense) since he’ll be the main ball carrier. We have a lot working on us, but we’ll manage and make do. It sounds cliche, but it’s about the ‘next man up’ mentality. We can’t go out and recruit guys or pull them off waivers, so the next guy available needs to be ready to go into the game.”
Whetsell has 377 yards and three touchdowns through the Mohigans’ six games. He also has one reception for 50 yards and one lost fumble. On defense he has 10 tackles (2 solo, 8 assisted) and one tackle for a loss.
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