Glenville State University sophomore wide receiver Tariq Miller, whose seven touchdown receptions has him tied for 35th in Division II, will try and help the G-men to a fourth straight victory come 1 p.m. Saturday on senior day when W.Va. State invades Morris Stadium in a Mountain East Conference clash. (Photo courtesy of Glenville State University)

GLENVILLE – The battle for second place in the Mountain East Conference will get underway at 1 p.m. Saturday when West Virginia State invades Morris Stadium on senior day to take on Glenville State University.

The G-men (5-4, 5-2) of head man Mike Kellar have won three straight and sit at 5-2 for the first time ever in the MEC.

“Nice win. Road win. Anytime you can get a road win in the Mountain East Conference you’re happy with that,” admitted coach Kellar on his weekly show after the Pioneers led 21-0 and scored late to escape Wheeling with a 28-21 victory last Saturday.

“Wheeling was playing really well going into the game. I think they had a little bit of momentum and for us to come out and start hot like we did and kind of control the game early was huge for us.”

Although the Pioneers scored touchdowns on their first two drives and led 21-0 at intermission, the coach is always looking for consistency.

“We’ve had some issues obviously this season and we’ve been working on it every week and there’s time at practice where I watch us and think, my God, we are really going to be humming it and there’s other times where we struggle. Defensively we got a lot of seniors and a lot of guys who have played a lot of ball.

“Offensively there’s like a group that’s played a lot together and there’s some really new pieces in there, especially at the skill positions, some young receivers. Trying to get everyone on the same page has kind of been a tough thing for us all season long, but it came together Saturday and executed really well.”

The Yellow Jackets (6-3, 5-2) of seventh-year head coach John Pennington snapped a two-game slide thanks to a 38-24 win on senior day against Frostburg State at Lakin-Ray Field at Dickerson Stadium.

Caleb Jantuah completed 11 of 16 attempts for 136 yards with two touchdowns, which went to Amare Ary (6-87). Running back Joel Felder (20-146) also reached the end zone twice and W.Va. State got seven totes and 46 ground yards apiece from Justin Pessoa and Tavis McAdoo.

“Seems like everyone is playing well when they come to play us,” quipped coach Kellar, who has sophomore defensive end Jamair Diaz tied for first nationally in sacks (10.5) and tied for second in the country in tackles for loss (17). “A very good football team. Offensively, you know, it’s your typical State. A really skilled football team, playing two different quarterbacks (Isaiah Bess) right now. I don’t know if that’s an injury thing.

“Running game, got three backs that all carry the ball and can do some things with it, and then they will split them out wide and make some hay with it. They are a very good offensive football team. Defensively they are kind of very similar to their offense. Their secondary is excellent. I mean they can cover and do some things to you. Their front seems like it’s the same kids year in and year out. Well coached football team. We have them here, but we’re going to have to play well to beat them.”

Pessoa and Felder, who leads the team with 30 catches for 470 yards, have each surpassed 800 yards rushing.

“I was telling coach (Brian) Hill it reminds me of when I played here,” coach Kellar added. “They play the 7 (Pessoa) and 5, Felder, and the other kid. When I was here we had Kevin Blaney and Shane Haddox and when Kevin wasn’t playing in the backfield, which was a lot, he played in the slot. They kind of do the same thing with the Felder kid.

“It kind of reminds me of the way we did it here when I played with coach (Rich) Rodriguez and they are keeping those two guys on the field, and it makes it tough on you gameplan-wise because you never know what set they are in, how they are using it. You can’t just look up and say when this kid is in the game they do this. They played them together a lot.”

GSU signal-caller Anthony Garrett has thrown for 14 touchdowns and nearly 1,400 yards. Mark Rucker (478) and Zay Wood (474) continue to lead the ground game.

Although Tariq Meredith broke out last week with a pair of touchdowns receptions, Tariq Miller continues to lead the wideouts with his seven touchdowns grabs, which has him tied for 35th in Division II.

“They run to the football,” coach Kellar said of a Yellow Jacket defense that’s allowing 34 points an outing. “They are going to know what we do. They’ll know our tendencies inside and out with our sets. We just got to execute.

“If we execute at a high level, I’ve always thought this, 30 years. If you execute at a high level things take care of themselves. If you’re not and they force you to execute, State doesn’t give you anything. They forced you to execute at a high level.”

Picked fifth in the preseason MEC poll, coach Kellar is hoping the G-men can continue rolling.

“We had a tough start at the beginning of the year with that non-conference and then won a couple games in conference,” added the coach. “We had a really, really hard stretch of games right there and to come out of that and be in the position that we are in right now tells you a little bit about the character of our team.

“It’s really what I always thought our team was made of. You know, it’s hard to stand up for them and say that after you get beat, but I always knew we had a high character team, and I think State does as well. It ought to be a true test for both teams on Saturday.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com