West Virginia Punishes Eastern Kentucky in Season Opener

Six months to the day that West Virginia had to stop all operations due to the pandemic, they picked up their first win of the season by defeating Eastern Kentucky 56-10 in front of a very limited crowd (parents and family of the team) at Mountaineer Field.

The Mountaineers won the coin toss and elected to receive and it didn't take long for them to get on the scoreboard. Junior running back Leddie Brown opened the drive with a 38-yard run and then finished it off with a 10-yard scamper into the end zone just three plays later.

Eastern Kentucky went three and out on their first drive of the game and the Mountaineers went right back to Leddie Brown on the ensuing drive. Prior to Brown hauling in a touchdown reception from 15 yards out, true freshmen Sam Brown (Savannah, GA) and Reese Smith (Danville, KY) both hauled in their first receptions of their collegiate career.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Eastern Kentucky came up with their first defensive stop of the day and forced punter Tyler Sumpter into action, in which he pinned the Colonels deep inside their own one-yard line. The Mountaineer defense allowed one first down on the drive before a sack by BANDIT VanDarius Cowan ended the possession and the first quarter.

Sam James recorded his first touchdown reception of the season to open up the beginning minutes of the 2nd quarter with a 32-yard pass from Jarret Doege, giving the Mountaineers a 21-0 lead. However, that did not last all that long as the Colonels got on the board for the first time in 2020 with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Parker McKinney to UConn transfer Keyion Dixon. The drive lasted just five plays and only took 2:10 off the clock - fairly easy drive to say the least.

West Virginia responded with a quick score which was powered by RB2 Alec Sinkfield. He racked up 43 yards on three carries on the drive and had an impressive 28-yard run down the sideline.

Late in the second quarter, the Mountaineer defense produced their first turnover of the season with an amazing leaping play by senior safety Alonzo Addae toward the sideline intercepting McKinney.

The offense capitalized on the turnover with another four-play scoring drive, hammering it back on the ground with Brown as he trotted in for his third touchdown of the day (2nd rushing) from eight yards out. With less than a minute in the first half, the WVU offense struck again with an 8-yard TD pass over the middle of the field to redshirt sophomore Bryce Ford-Wheaton.

West Virginia led at the half, 42-7.

Eastern Kentucky knocked through a field goal on the opening drive of the second half but was followed up by a methodical, 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped off by a 17-yard TD rush by Sinkfield.

Austin Kendall replaced Doege at the start of the second half and went 3/6 for 43 yards for the day. With the score at 49-10, Neal Brown wanted to get true freshman quarterback Garrett Greene into the game and get his feet wet.

With the game well in hand, it was mainly a run option attack. Greene went 3/3 for 24 yards through the air and rushed for 27 yards on four carries.

Although West Virginia did their best to try and milk out the clock, they did add one more touchdown to the ledger in the final two minutes of play thanks to Tony Mathis punching one in from three yards out.

The Mountaineers cruised past Eastern Kentucky 56-10.

Notes:

- S Alonzo Addae recorded first interception at WVU

- DL Ahkeem Mesidor recorded first career sack

- LB Taurus Simmons recorded first career sack

- RB's Leddie Brown (123 yards), Alec Sinkfield (123 yards) career high in rushing yards

- WR's Sam Brown, Reese Smith, and TE Charles Finley recorded their first career receptions

- CB Jaïro Faverus and DL Jalen Thornton recorded their first career tackles

- Most total yards (624) since 2018 vs Oklahoma

Stats:

QB Jarret Doege 19/25 228 yards, 3 TD

RB Leddie Brown 10 car, 123 yards, 3 TD's (2 rushing)

RB Alec Sinkfield 15 car, 123 yards, 2 TD

WR Sam James 5 rec 72 yards, TD

WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton 4 rec, 67 yards, TD

West Virginia (1-0) will be off next week and will return to action on September 26th when they travel to Stillwater to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Kickoff time for the game is still to be determined.

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