URBANA, Ohio -- Urbana football (3-1, 2-1 MEC) raced out to a 21-0 halftime lead and cruised past West Virginia Wesleyan (0-4, 0-4 MEC) 42-10 Thursday night at UU Stadium. The Blue Knights won their fourth straight at home while remaining undefeated all-time in night games played at UU Stadium (4-0).
UU held the visitors to negative-three rushing yards, a new school record, while racking up 257 yards on the ground with four rushing touchdowns. The Blue Knights went a perfect 5 for 5 in the red zone, didn't turn the ball over and out-gained the Bobcats 404-383. WVWC quarterback Luke Casey, who leads the nation in passing yards, threw for 385 yards and a touchdown but he was sacked five times with a pair of fumbles.
The Blue Knights are 20-3 since 2010 (first year as NCAA member) when rushing for 200 or more yards in a contest.
UU scored on its first three drives of the game with a pair of rushing touchdowns from junior
Isaiah Young and another by sophomore
David Hickey. Freshman
Bailey Wallen added another score in the fourth as all three running backs recorded their first touchdown as a Blue Knight. Wallen led the three-pronged attack with 89 yards on six carries, including a 53-yard gallop down the Blue Knight sideline. Young finished with 86 yards on 19 carries while Hickey produced 46 yards on six attempts.
Starting quarterback
Eddie Stockett completed 8 of 12 passes for 128 yards before exiting the game with an injury in the second quarter.
Making his second career appearance, redshirt freshman
Zairn Davis stepped in and tossed a touchdown on his first collegiate completion. The Cincinnati native made a momentum-shifting play in the fourth quarter when he found junior receiver
Jesse Bray in the end zone on a 19-yard strike. That touchdown came in response to 10 unanswered points scored by the Bobcats in the second half. Bray, who has a touchdown grab in every game this season, led with four receptions for 68 yards.
Defensively, UU recovered four WVWC fumbles, one of which was returned 84 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter by defensive tackle
Jamari Collins. Defensive end
Mikal Toliver, who forced that fumble, continues to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks, posting a career-high eight tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss with two sacks and a pass breakup. The junior leads the nation in tackles for loss this season (10.5) and is tied for second in sacks (6.0).
In addition, Collins,
L.A. Kelly and
Calvin Bransford registered sacks.
Tobias Hailey Jr. and
DeArmon Lewis each totaled eight tackles.
// UP NEXT
UU travels to first-place Charleston (WV) next Thursday for the MEC Game of the Week. Kickoff at UC Stadium is slated for 7 p.m. in Charleston, West Virginia. The Golden Eagles (4-0, 4-0 MEC) received votes in this week's national poll and are coming off a 23-17 road win over Fairmont State.
UU leads the all-time series with UC, 4-3, after a 25-21 win last season in the first-ever football night game at UU Stadium. The Blue Knights had seven takeaways in that contest and led 25-0 in the fourth quarter. In the last meeting at UC Stadium, UU overcame a fourth-quarter, 10-point deficit to claim a one-point victory, 35-34. The Blue Knights are 2-1 all-time in road games against the Golden Eagles.
UU has never started 4-1 in football during the Division II era (2010) and has only started the season 4-1 three times in the program's history which happened in consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2007.
