Archive for the ‘Topper Football’ Category

WL football wraps up spring season

WL football wraps up spring season

By Kyle Lutz, Sports Editor The West Liberty football team closed out their spring season after having their annual Black and Gold spring game Saturday, April 20. “It was about what I expected,” Hilltopper Head Coach Roger Waialae said after the game. “It is hard sometimes because when the quarterback is touched, the play is [...]

Spring ball off to good start at West Liberty

Spring ball off to good start at West Liberty

Story Provided Midway through his ninth set of spring football practices at West Liberty, head coach Roger Waialae likes what he’s seen. “We have a pretty good nucleus back from last season,” Waialae said, “and I think we got a boost from some of the new faces we brought in at the semester break. They [...]

O-line coach Hopkins happy to call hilltop home

O-line coach Hopkins happy to call hilltop home

By Nathan Johnson, Contributing Writer When you think about football, you probably think of players at the skilled positions, and maybe the head coach. However, not too many people may know about the assistant coaches, especially the offensive line coach. Well, Dan Hopkins is not the head coach, but he is an interesting guy with [...]

Football team finishes season above .500

Football team finishes season above .500

By Tony Viola, Sports Editor A year after the West Liberty football team went a dismal 1-11, the Hilltoppers were able to bounce back, despite many disadvantages, to finish the season 6-5, giving Roger Waialae his seventh winning season in eight years as head coach of the Hilltoppers. With a 23-22 victory against visiting UNC-Pembroke, [...]

Topper football falls to Mountain Lions

By Tony Viola, Sports Editor Roger Waialae and his Hilltopper football team came into it’s matchup with Concord on Nov. 3 hoping to come out of the game with a winning record for the season. Both the coaches and players will have to wait another week for a chance to get above the .500 mark. [...]

Bradley, defense lift Toppers past Seton Hill

Bradley, defense lift Toppers past Seton Hill

By Tony Viola, Sports Editor The West Liberty defense came into it’s matchup against Seton Hill ranked in the NCAA Division II Top Five in turnovers gained. As quarterback Andrew Jackson and the Griffins walked off the field, they understood why. Marquis Bradley intercepted two passes and took one back for a score as the Hilltoppers [...]

Golden Eagles capture one from West Liberty

Golden Eagles capture one from West Liberty

By Tony Viola, Sports Editor For Roger Waialae, victories come in the form of putting more points on the scoreboard than the other team. But after West Liberty’s 27-14 loss to the University of Charleston on Oct. 20, the Hilltoppers’ head man had to admit that his team had a moral win. “I told the [...]

Hilltoppers pull an upset

Hilltoppers pull an upset

By Kyle Lutz, Staff Writer For West Liberty students and alumni attending Saturday’s big homecoming game against the 25th-rated Shepherd Rams, the game seemed to be in the books. With 1:40 remaining and trailing 17-10,  shell-shocked Shepherd faced a fourth-and-23 after receiving an intentional grounding penalty the play before. The Rams’ Booby Cooper then threw [...]

Hilltoppers hammer State

By Tony Viola, Sports Editor For weeks, coach Roger Waialae has been preaching confidence to his team. After a 52-19 thumping of West Virginia State on Oct. 6, his squad looked as though they had all the confidence in the world in getting their coach his 50th career win.

Ricchetti named WVIAC defensive POW

Ricchetti named WVIAC defensive POW

By Tony Viola, Sports Editor Behind a staunch defensive effort, the West Liberty football team squeezed out a 14-13 victory against Virginia State on Sept. 8. Many Hilltopper defenders came up with big plays during the game, but it was Marco Ricchetti who walked away with WVIAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Although, according [...]