West Virginia Blanks Long Island in Blowout Win

Morgantown, WV - It didn't take the Mountaineers long to get on the scoreboard in the 2021 home opener against Long Island as Winston Wright Jr. returned the opening kickoff for a 90-yard touchdown.

The first offensive possession on the day for West Virginia was a long, 14-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown rush by Leddie Brown. Just a few minutes later, Leddie Brown found the end zone once again, this time from two yards out to extend the lead to 21-0 late in the first quarter.

After getting out to a rather comfortable lead, head coach Neal Brown rotated in some of the backups, including redshirt freshman quarterback Garrett Greene. As expected, Greene did the majority of his damage with his legs, rushing for 34 yards and a score. He went 1/3 through the air on that drive with the only completion going for 28 yards down the sideline to Isaiah Esdale on 4th and 5.

Jarret Doege and the rest of the starters were inserted right back into the game to try and finish off the half strong with an opportunity to tack on a couple of more scores. Doege went 4/6 for 56 yards on his next drive which ended in an 18-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Sam James in the end zone.

Long Island finally found some rhythm offensively and marched their way deep into West Virginia territory for the first time on the day but couldn't come away with any points after a botched hold on the field goal attempt. With roughly 40 seconds to go in the half, Neal Brown wanted to see his first-team offense in a two-minute situation. Doege completed a pair of passes for a combined 41 yards and then rushed for a 12-yard gain to set up the field goal. Casey Legg sailed one through the uprights from 44 yards out to give West Virginia a 38-0 lead at the half.

The Sharks went three and out on their first drive of the 2nd half and gave the Mountaineers great field position following a 16-yard punt. Three plays later, Doege tossed over a screen to Sean Ryan who took it to the house for a 39-yard score. Minutes later, Doege connected with Sam James for the 2nd time on the day to push the lead out to 52-0.

Garrett Greene was re-inserted into the game, closing the book on Doege's day. Greene showed off some of his passing ability throwing for 39 yards on his next series but ended it with another rushing touchdown.

West Virginia would add one more score with about six minutes to go as A'varius Sparrow collected his first career rushing touchdown. Will "Goose" Crowder came into the game at quarterback and hit Morgantown native and walk-on Preston Fox for a gain of eight. He then found Kaden Prather near the sideline for a 20-yard pickup to set up the Sparrow touchdown.

West Virginia will be home once again next Saturday when they play host to rival, Virginia Tech. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. EST.

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