Neal Brown predicted that the Mountaineers would be the focus of WVU’s third game. Following through, his team dominated Towson 65-7 to earn its first victory of the year.
On its first six drives, West Virginia scored points, five of which resulted in touchdowns. The first came on an orderly 10-play drive to start the game, which was completed when JT Daniels connected with Kaden Prather for a two-yard touchdown and the receiver’s first touchdown of his career.
But Towson quickly tied it up again when D’Ago Hunter returned his first kickoff 96 yards for a score.
The rest of the first half was dominated by West Virginia. CJ Donaldson ran eight times for 101 yards and three touchdowns as he maintained a strong start to his college career. In the second half, Tony Mathis Jr. added 88 yards for two scores, giving him a total of 104 yards.
After completing 16 of 24 passes for 174 yards, Daniels, who played for the majority of the first half, sat down. Prather became a new favorite target for him, and he connected on six of his ten attempts for 51 yards. In the game, Bryce Ford-Wheaton had four catches for 47 yards and came close to scoring a touchdown, but the replay review called it back.
Towson was limited to 56 yards in the first half by WVU’s defense, including just three rushing yards in the first two quarters. Just 180 yards were all that the Tigers gained during the game.
Brown saw to it that some of his younger prospects received some playing time. Late in the second quarter, Garrett Greene took over for Daniels, and the redshirt sophomore led two drives for WVU. He ended his stint with a rushing touchdown after they both led to scores.
Greene completed 3 of 6 passes for 45 yards in the air.
In the third quarter, Will “Goose” Crowder replaced Greene and scored his first touchdown while playing for a college team. He completed a perfect 6-of-6 passes for 57 yards, connecting on a five-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Aaron’s back shoulder.
In the third quarter, Will “Goose” Crowder replaced Greene and scored his first touchdown while playing for a college team. He completed a perfect 6-of-6 passes for 57 yards, connecting on a five-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Aaron’s back shoulder. Additionally, it was Aaron’s first score for the Mountaineers.
When he completed his first career pass to Preston Fox for eight yards, Nicco Marchiol made his college debut. To cap off the drive with a 26-yard touchdown, the pair connected once more.
Late in the half, Towson’s offense did have a chance to score when quarterback Nathan Kent guided the Tigers on a late drive. WVU held on and prevented the offense from scoring.
After suffering a painful pair of losses to start the year, West Virginia picks up its first victory of the year. The Mountaineers have a short turnaround as they get ready to play Virginia Tech on Thursday and defend the Black Diamond Trophy.
