It came down to the final play, and West Liberty's defense made a goal line stand to preserve a thrilling 35-32 victory at nationally-ranked Seton Hill.
West Liberty running back Branden Ore, the D-1 transfer from Virginia Tech, threw a touchdown pass to tight end Ryan Travis, and ran for three more TD's on 25 carries. He finished the game with 135 yards, and his only season at West Liberty with 1,371 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The game went back and forth, with West Liberty opening up an early 21-7 lead. Only to see the Griffin's rally to take a 24-21 lead midway through the 3rd quarter.
But after taking the lead in the 4th quarter, it appeared the Hilltoppers were running out the clock when Ore fumbled and Seton Hill recovered.
The Griffins drove inside the West Liberty 10 yard line and gambled on the final play of the game on 4th down. But instead of settling for what could have been the game tying field goal, they went for the touchdown and the win from the two yard line. West Liberty's Paul Kallevig proved to be the hero as he intercepted a pass in the end zone and the clock expired.
When asked what he would have done in that position.
"I have the best kicker in the country. I would have kicked it,"
said West Liberty head coach Roger Waialae. "But I'm glad they gambled and our defense came up big."
West Liberty finished the season with three marquee victories. They came over Shepherd (29-28), Charleston (26-24), and conference-leading Seton Hill (35-32).
The Griffin's may have gambled with their post-season chances as well. They were ranked fifth in the latest NCAA Division II Super Region I rankings, and will find out their post-season fate on Sunday when playoff selections are aired by ESPNews at 3:00 p.m.
The Hilltoppers finished the season at 7-4 overall and 6-3 in the West Virginia Conference. They finished 3rd in the league, behind Seton Hill (9-2) (6-2) and Glenville State (8-3) (7-1).
