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West Liberty has Cal's attention after record-setting game
West Liberty and Edinboro, meeting last week in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, combined for 117 points, 1,394 total yards, 70 first downs and 21 touchdowns.
"I was joking with our coaches on the sidelines that we might need 100 points to win this game," said West Liberty head coach Roger Waialae.
Waialae was close.
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This was West Liberty's first playoff victory in Division II and game tapes were requested by ESPN for possible use on their sports broadcasts.
"The game just sort of evolved into that," Waialae said. "I think our defense was on the field for 106, 107 plays because we were scoring so fast."
At one point, West Liberty scored on seven straight possessions and held a 56-21 halftime lead.
The two teams combined for 1,394 total yards, breaking the mark of 1,369 set in Chadron State's 76-73, triple-overtime win over Abilene Christian in 2007.
The 1,170 combined passing yards broke the mark of 1,065, set in 1994 in a game between Western New Mexico and West Texas A&M.
It was the first time in Division II history that a game had two quarterbacks - West Liberty's Zach Amedro and Edinboro's Trevor Harris - who had at least 10,000 career passing yards.
Amedro was efficient, completing 27 of 32 passes for 540 yards and six touchdowns. Harris completed 50 of 76 passes for 630 yards and five touchdowns, and brought the Fighting Scots back from a 70-28 deficit in the third quarter.
Edinboro outscored West Liberty, 35-14, over the final 20 minutes and still lost by 21 points.
"It doesn't matter how you win, 3-0 or 99-0," Waialae said. "We have to do the things to win games. Our offense's job is to score more points than the defense gives up and the defense's job is to not allow more points than the offense can score."
Cal head coach John Luckhardt thought the high-scoring game provided his players some benefits.
"It certainly got our attention," he said. "When you go against an opponent that scored 84 points, it makes you take notice. I wouldn't want to be the psychiatrist for either of those defensive coordinators."
West Liberty leads Division II in total offense with 549.7 yards per game, scoring (48.3 ppg) and touchdowns (80).
Kevon Calhoun leads a potent rushing attack with 1,448 yards and 20 touchdowns, and Amedro has thrown for 4,580 yards and 47 touchdowns. Kashif Walls has a team-high 1,313 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns on only 60 catches. Ryan Travis has 90 receptions for 1,165 yards and 14 touchdowns and Eddie Hills, the only senior in this group, has 83 catches for 1,028 yards and five touchdowns.
"The only thing that could stop them would be the H1N1 virus," Luckhardt joked.
The Hilltoppers have scored more than 30 points in all but one game and more than 40 in eight. West Liberty defeated Concord, 64-42, in the regular-season finale and drubbed Lake Erie, 62-28, in Week 3. But the biggest win came against the conference's perennial power Shepherd, 31-30, in Week 8. The Hilltoppers scored the final two touchdowns of the game in a fourth quarter rally.
"Because we lost our first game (42-30 to Edinboro), I didn't think a two-loss team would get in from our conference," Waialae said. So we've been in a playoff situation for the last 10 weeks."
The winner of this game plays the winner of the quarterfinal game between Northwest Missouri State and Central Washington.
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