Salisbury Earns First Career Win As Hilltoppers Rally Past Seton Hill
Trending
WEST LIBERTY -- Chad Salisbury's first career victory came in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon as West Liberty rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Seton Hill, 28-24, at West Family Stadium.
Originally scheduled to be played at Seton Hill, the game was moved to West Liberty less than 24 hours before kickoff after recent weather left the Griffins' home field unavailable. The unexpected change turned West Family Stadium into the setting for Salisbury's first win as a collegiate head coach.
"It is really, really special that it happened at home for me," Salisbury said. "I'm really happy about that. But I thought Seton Hill's administration and then our people, Brad Forshey and Rex Lancaster, did an amazing job throwing this game together in 24 hours."
The Hilltoppers improved to 1-1 on the season by overcoming a 24-21 deficit entering the fourth quarter. West Liberty rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, converted all three of its fourth-down attempts and forced two turnovers, including Luca Neal's game-sealing interception with 1:24 remaining.
Oak Glen graduate Hunter Patterson led the charge offensively, rushing 30 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns while adding two receptions for 46 yards and another score. The performance pushed Patterson over the 2,000-yard mark for his career, leaving him with 2,147 career rushing yards.
West Liberty opened the scoring on its first possession, marching 81 yards in 12 plays. The Hilltoppers converted a fourth-and-21 at the Seton Hill 33-yard line when Kohl Meisman connected with Patterson for a 33-yard touchdown with 2:46 remaining in the opening quarter. Aidan Grella's extra point made it 7-0.
Seton Hill answered with a 3-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7, but West Liberty responded with a 41-yard scoring drive capped by Patterson's 3-yard touchdown run with 5:43 left in the half.
The Griffins added a 43-yard field goal later in the quarter, but the Hilltoppers answered immediately.
Patterson broke loose for a 63-yard touchdown run on West Liberty's next possession, pushing the Hilltoppers to a 21-10 halftime lead.
West Liberty controlled much of the third quarter, but Seton Hill turned the momentum with two touchdowns.
DeMario Manning returned a Hilltopper fumble 73 yards for a touchdown with 9:45 remaining in the quarter. West Liberty answered the turnover with a Patterson rushing first down, but the Hilltoppers were forced to punt.
Seton Hill then took the lead when D. Williams broke free for a 76-yard touchdown run with 6:23 left in the quarter, putting the Griffins ahead 24-21.
Salisbury acknowledged that the turnover changed the momentum.
"We had a little fumble and then I don't think we reacted real well to it," Salisbury said. "Once we finally calmed down, I thought we reacted better in the fourth quarter. We just need to, when those things happen, overcome them a little bit faster and just play a full game."
That response came in the fourth quarter.
Seton Hill appeared poised to extend its lead after a Meisman interception, but the Hilltopper defense came up with a critical fourth-down stop at the West Liberty 39-yard line. Dominic Maultsby recorded a sack, while Kamar Perlote and Samuel Hobbs added tackles for loss during the defensive stand.
West Liberty then drove 39 yards in eight plays to reclaim the lead.
Patterson carried four times for 30 yards on the decisive drive, including gains of 11, 3, 9 and 7 yards. Meisman also connected with Khalon Simmons for a 7-yard first-down completion before scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:40 remaining.
Grella's extra point put the Hilltoppers ahead, 28-24.
Meisman completed 8-of-16 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown while adding a rushing touchdown.
Patterson's 265 total yards accounted for nearly half of West Liberty's total offensive yardage, and his three touchdowns accounted for all three Hilltopper touchdowns.
For Salisbury, however, the most memorable part of his first victory came after the final whistle.
"The emotional thing for me was their reaction to me, quite frankly," Salisbury said. "I was happy, but just the hugs. They tried to get me, but they missed me. It was emotional. We've been hard on these kids, and it was really cool."
The Hilltoppers now turn their attention to their Saturday matchup at Post University in Waterbury, Conn.