Football Bobcats look to build on first win against UC Saturday

Sports Release
October 29, 2022

The Basics
The West Virginia Wesleyan football team will return to Cebe Ross Field on Saturday (Oct. 29) for a battle versus Charleston at 2 p.m. in Buckhannon.

Quick Hits
Last Saturday (Oct. 22), the Bobcats came back from a 16-point deficit and defeated Alderson Broaddus on the road. Nathan Payne logged 203 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Wide receiver Devin Washington hauled in both receiving passes from Payne. Amani Woods rumbled for a 51-yard touchdown rush. Kicker Cam Ceccotti made the go-ahead field goal with four minutes remaining in regulation. The Bobcat defense forced three fumbles and Ely Ghameshlougy picked off a pass.
Payne has completed 115 passes for 1,407 yards and eight touchdowns. Payne’s yardage mark is the sixth-highest in the Mountain East Conference.
Wesleyan’s rushing attack has been facilitated through sophomore running back Javian Tomlinson. Tomlinson has gained 315 rushing yards and has reached the end zone four times.
Devin Washington has been a dependable offensive asset for the Bobcats’ offense. Washington racked up 234 all-purpose yards in WVWC’s win over AB. Washington’s 82.6 receiving yards per game is the third-highest average in the MEC. Washington has hauled in five receiving touchdowns and 578 yards.
Deontre Logan, a senior from Richmond, Va., has been the leader of the WVWC defense. Logan averages 9.5 tackles per game, which is the fifth-highest average in the MEC. The linebacker has made 6.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and has totaled two sacks.
The Bobcat defense has forced 10 fumbles in eight games played. Donovan Woods and Ghameshlougy have both caused two fumbles. Cameron Lomax, Chris Taylor, Derrick Smith, Renard Matthews and Khalil Smith have all forced one fumble.
Woods has been an anchor for the Bobcat defensive secondary. The Charlotte, N.C. native has snagged a pair of interceptions and recorded a scoop-and-score in WVWC’s home opener versus Concord. Woods has six pass breakups in his sophomore season.
Ghameshlougy, a freshman from Woodbridge, Va., has been a welcome addition to the Bobcat defense. The WVWC defensive back picked off his first pass last week at Alderson Broaddus and has recorded 44.0 total tackles in his first collegiate season.
A Blackshear, Ga. native, Matthews has made 37.0 stops in his fourth season donning the Black & Orange.
WVWC alum Dwayne Martin picked up his first career win as a head coach last Saturday (Oct. 22) at Alderson Broaddus.

Scouting Charleston
The Golden Eagles enter week nine of the 2022 campaign with an overall record of 4-4 and a MEC record of 4-3. UC’s success this season has been catalyzed by its high-powered offense. The Golden Eagles are currently at the top of the conference in multiple offensive categories including scoring, rushing and passing. The Charleston offense has totaled 44 touchdowns on the year and averages 42.3 points per game. The Golden Eagles average 168.3 yards on the ground per game and 291.3 passing yards per game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Javonte Howard ranks second in the MEC with 230.2 passing yards per game. The Golden Eagles receiving front is led by redshirt freshman Marquan Herron, who has a total of 590 receiving yards on the season and averages 73.8 receiving yards per game.

On the defensive side, sophomore Wille Floyd leads Charleston’s defense with a total of 39 solo tackles on the season, the sixth-highest mark in the conference. Redshirt junior Nick Evans leads the Golden Eagles in sacks with a total of five and tackles for loss with a total of 10. Evans holds the fifth-most sack total in the MEC.

Head Coach, Quinn Sanders is currently in his inaugural season leading the Charleston football program. Sanders was named head coach in March. Sanders has been a member of the Golden Eagles coaching staff since 2015 and before receiving the head coach position, he served as the wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach, and offensive coordinator. Before returning to his alma mater to coach, Sanders coached the running backs at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Matchup History
In Charleston’s previous two road trips to Buckhannon, the Bobcats have come out on top. WVWC handed UC a defeat in 2016 at Cebe Ross Field thanks to a Tyler Fischer game-winning field goal. In 2018, Jujuan Linzy hauled in the game-tying 10-yard touchdown with 1:28 left in the fourth quarter. Fischer’s PAT gave the Wesleyan faithful a win on homecoming weekend. Four of the previous five meetings between WVWC and Charleston have been decided by less than a one-possession margin. Charleston defeated the Bobcats in 2021 with a score of 45-6.

Up Next
Wesleyan returns to Cebe Ross Field on Nov. 5 for a matchup versus Frostburg State. The senior day game will start at 1 p.m. in Buckhannon.