Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Noah Fifita threw three touchdown passes as Arizona capitalized on key opportunities, and the Wildcats defeated West Virginia 52-31 on Saturday afternoon at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Fifita completed 16 of 23 passes for 341 yards and connected with Isaiah Mizell for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Lee Molette III recovered a fumble for a score. Antwan Roberts, Quincy Craig and Kedrick Reescano all had scoring runs for Arizona (5-1, 2-1).
The Mountaineers’ defensive struggles continued against the Wildcats, who were without three injured wide receivers.
“It’s really frustrating,” WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “We didn’t get it fixed today, defensively especially. And then offensively, when we had a couple of turnovers, it really cost us and we couldn’t get the momentum we needed.”
The Mountaineers (3-3, 0-3) have dropped three straight. WVU’s offense totaled 522 yards, including 303 on the ground. Cam Cook had 141 yards on 34 carries but had two costly fumbles.
The first came after Fifita and Mizell connected for a 14-yard touchdown pass. With the ball on the Mountaineers’ 32, Cook couldn’t secure Michael Hawkins Jr.’s option pitch. Mollette grabbed the ball and dashed into the end zone.
Cook’s second miscue happened with 51 seconds remaining in the second quarter and as WVU was set to tie the game with the ball at the Wildcat 2-yard line.
On the opening possession of the third quarter, Fifita found a wide-open Mizell for a 48-yard pass, setting up Reescano’s 8-yard run. The PAT gave Arizona a 31-17 lead.
The Mountaineers answered with a 16-play, 92-yard drive that took 6:40 off the clock. Hawkins Jr. converted two fourth downs, including one from the Mountaineers’ own 39-yard line, while connecting with John Neider for a 33-yard completion. Cook finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 31-24.
However, it took the Wildcats just over a minute to respond. Fifita connected with Mizell on a short pass over the middle, and the sophomore raced 72 yards for a touchdown to extend Arizona’s lead to 38-24.
WVU refused to go away and Hawkins connected with Prince Strachan for 36 yards before scrambling for gains of 14 and 11 yards to set up Cook’s second touchdown of the afternoon. Jack Cassidy’s extra point made it 38-31 with 12:33 remaining.
But the Wildcats continued to beat the Mountaineers through the air.
Arizona pushed its lead to 45-31 with 11:35 remaining.
After a WVU punt, the Wildcats put the game away with another quick scoring drive.
Hawkins completed 11 of 28 passes for 219 yards and rushed for 98 yards on 25 carries. Strachan led the Mountaineers with five catches for 121 yards.
WVU has allowed at least 40 points in three straight games and will look to snap their losing streak when they host Cincinnati next Saturday.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
