MOON TOWNSHIP — Robert Morris (1-2) returned to Joe Walton Stadium to face off against West Liberty (0-3). The Colonials fended off the Hilltoppers to win their first game of the 2025 campaign by a score of 28-14.
The Hilltoppers made their first trip to Robert Morris in their history. This was also West Liberty’s first D-1 opponent since the 2014 season, when they faced RMU rival Duquesne.
Robert Morris finally got back into the win column following two rough games as they rebounded from tough losses against West Virginia University and Youngstown State.
The Colonials would waste no time to start their first home drive of the season as they marched 92 yards down the field to get the opening score. Zach Tanner and company would cap off a 10-play drive with a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Thomas Lee.
It only took the Colonials seven plays to capitalize on great field position after a punt from the Hilltoppers. Donta Whack ran it in from the two-yard line to extend the lead to 14-0 to kick off the second quarter.
Robert Morris would force a turnover on downs, but two plays into their drive, Taj Dyches would fumble, allowing the Hilltoppers to take possession at the West Liberty 41-yard line. The Hilltoppers would drive down the field to the red zone, but Kohl Meisman would have his pass tipped by Robert Dickinson and picked off by Israel Petite.
In the waning minutes of the first half, West Liberty looked poised to score, but the Colonials’ defense stood tall and got the sack on 4th & 3 to halt the Hilltoppers.
Robert Morris would break the game open and take a commanding 21-0 lead after a four-yard pass touchdown reception for Jaqai Carter. Previously, Nathan Carabatsakis forced a fumble, and it was recovered by Xavier Styles, which gave the Colonials great field position to set up the touchdown drive.
The Hilltoppers would find the endzone late in the third quarter to cut into the Robert Morris lead down to 14, thanks to a Colonial fumble.
Ethan Shine would lead the charge on the touchdown drive as he rushed for 42 yards, which put him over 100 rushing yards for the game. Robert Morris’ offensive line added an extra push for the running backs. Shine finished the game with 133 rush yards and one rushing touchdown
“Our offensive line went crazy, all through camp, they’ve been working their a** off and they really put it up and showed everyone what they could do” Said Shine.
Robert Morris had great days from their running back department as they amassed yards on the ground. Shine and Donta Whack lead the charge on the ground for Robert Morris, rushing for 256 yards as a unit.
“We always want to establish the ball, but not so much for the quarterback. We want to run the ball, we always want to establish that. Think about it, if you’re a good running team that gets your pass going in the right direction,” Said Head Coach Bernard Clark Jr. “You can use the play action. So we’re always going to try to run.’’
The pass game was virtually nonexistent as the running game took the spotlight. Starting Quarterback Zach Tanner went 8-9 with 83 yards and two touchdowns.
Robert Morris has a lot of cleaning up to do on both sides of the ball before conference play as tackling and turnovers have been an issue for the team. Coach Clark continued to preach this sentiment since the season opener against West Virginia.
“We’ve got to clean up the tackles and tackle better. We have to find receivers in our zone to make sure we are breaking on the ball properly.” Said Clark, “We can’t have all these turnovers, we gotta be smart about that, but you know we won the game, it’s a victory. We have 24 hours to be happy and 24 hours to be sad.”
Robert Morris will be back in action next Saturday, September 20, welcoming the Dayton Flyers to Joe Walton Stadium. It’ll be the first times the teams have met since a 2022 outing saw the Colonials fall 22-20.
