FORT WORTH, Texas – The West Virginia University Football Team delivered a defensive masterpiece in the second half of a 24-21 comeback victory at TCU on Saturday night at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
“The difference in the second half was that we were playing for our brothers and knew we had to win it for them,” WVU defensive lineman Mike Lockhart said. “We did it for No. 2 (Aubrey Burks) and Trey (Lathan).”
Both Burks and Lathan had to be carted off the field after separate plays on Saturday and remained in a Fort Worth hospital overnight. The team announced that Burks was discharged early Sunday and was walking under his own power.
The Mountaineers (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) held the Horned Frogs (3-2, 1-1) scoreless in the second half. The defensive effort is part of a larger trend for WVU, which has held its last four opponents to three touchdowns or less since the season-opening loss at Penn State.
Lockhart, who transferred to WVU from Georgia Tech, blocked TCU’s field goal with less than five minutes to play which would have tied the game at 24-24. Teammate Sean Martin pulled off the same feat minutes later.
“Sean and I shared the game ball,” said Lockhart, who finished with three tackles and a half-sack. “Both of us blocked a field goal. The game ball represents our brotherhood. I told all of my teammates that I was going to block the field foal for us. The hole came out, and I blocked it. It was my first time blocking a field goal in a game — I had blocked one in practice. I see the ball when it’s coming, and I try to marry it with my hand.”
Anticipating a lot of close games in the Big 12 Conference, WVU head football coach Neal Brown said the Mountaineers “probably practice field goal blocks more than most teams.”
“Defensively, I can’t say enough about tonight’s performance,” Brown said. “There’s nothing harder than seeing someone really get hurt and being able to bounce back from that.”
Brown said it was important to keep the defense off the field, and they did, by possessing the ball for 33 minutes. The Mountaineers regularly rotate defensive linemen in and out of the lineup to keep them fresh.
“I’m as proud of a football team as I’ve ever been,” Brown said. “The only people who really believed in us were ourselves. Nobody plays harder than we do. We’re a tough team that’s mentally tough.”
Senior linebacker Lee Kpogba led the way with a game-high 11 tackles and a sack.
“We used the (injuries) as motivation tonight, knowing those guys would want us to keep going,” Kpogba said. “We didn’t have the best first half as a defense. We realized we had to play harder to win the game, and that’s what we did.”
Lockhart said the bye is coming at the perfect time, and the Mountaineers will be back in the Lone Star State on October 12 at Houston.
“We definitely need a break, recover, get some treatment and come back ready to play Houston,” Lockhart said.
BY MICHAEL SUDHALTER/For The Dominion Post
