Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame Falcons wrapped up their most successful season in program history on Saturday afternoon, with a 33-27 victory over West Liberty at Mueller Field. 

The Falcons (7-4, 7-3 MEC) secured their seventh win of the season, the most in program history, while the loss for the Hilltoppers (6-5, 6-4) was their second in as many years against the Falcons. 

Early on, the Falcons seized momentum, capitalizing on a pair of turnovers and great field position to take an early 21-0 advantage, but West Liberty came storming back, and would get as close as three (27-24) in the fourth quarter, before the Falcons closed out the victory. 

West Liberty turned it over on their opening drive, as Marlon Oden picked off QB Dakota Conwell's pass, giving the Falcons great field position, but NDC was not able to capitalize, as the end result of the drive was a missed 38-yard field goal. 

The Hilltoppers turned it over again on their next drive, as Oden recovered a fumble on the West Liberty 39-yard line, which set up the first score of the game, a nine-yard touchdown pass from Ray Russ to Mitchell Shegos. 

Notre Dame's defense was up to the task again on the ensuing drive, as they forced a three-and-out, which was followed by a 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive, which ended on Russ's second touchdown pass of the game, a nine-yard strike to C.J. Germany to put NDC ahead 14-0 with 4:28  left in the first quarter. 

The Notre Dame offense struck again on their next drive, as they went 75 yards on 13 plays, and Russ tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Smith at the end of it to give the Falcons their largest lead of the afternoon, 21-0 with 11:50 left in the opening half. 

West Liberty, however, would go on a 17-0 run to end the first half. Josh Wilson hit a 25-yard field goal to start the aforementioned run, and on their next drive, Isaiah Moody ran into the end zone from three-yards out to bring the Hilltoppers within 11 (21-10) with 5:27 remaining in the first half. Moody caught a six yard touchdown pass from Conwell with 30 seconds left in the first half, and the Hilltoppers were able to bring the deficit down to four (21-17) at the end of the second quarter. 

Notre Dame was able to keep West Liberty off the board in the third quarter, while the Falcons cushioned their lead with a pair of field goals from Kyle Kaplan, who hit from 21, and 40 yards out to give NDC a 27-17 lead at the end of three. 

One of the reasons the Hilltoppers didn't score in the third quarter, is because they squandered a chance to score inside their own one-yard line. On second and goal at the NDC one, Conwell fumbled the ball on a quarterback sneak, and the Falcons recovered it in the end zone. 

Conwell redeemed himself less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, as he ran for a score on a 14-yard touchdown rush to bring West Liberty within three (27-24) with 13:06 left in the game. 

Notre Dame responded quickly, on a seven play, 80-yard scoring drive, with Russ finding Germany on a 14-yard touchdown pass to give the Falcons a 33-24 lead. 

On their next drive, West Liberty drove inside the Notre Dame 10-yard line, but their drive stalled, and they had to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Wilson, and trailed 33-27 with 6:09 remaining. 

West Liberty forced the Falcons to punt on their next possession, and Anton Vrebac's punt pinned the Hiltoppers at their own seven yard line, with 4:31 remaining. They Hilltoppers couldn't do much on their drive, as they turned it over on downs. 

On their final drive, Notre Dame was ready to attempt a 39-yard field goal on a fourth and one at the West Liberty 22-yard line with about a minute and a half left, when the Hilltoppers were flagged for an illegal substitution penalty, costing them five yards, which gave NDC a first down, and ended the game. 

The Falcons honored 14 seniors before the game. Russ, Ray J. Brown, Chris Pitts, Joe Studer, Doniel Gambrell, Nate Manos, Jarrod Gehring, JJ Lattimore, Carlos Louis, Colton Wallace, Gerald Moore, Jordan Anderson, Tucker Spruill, and Brandon Bucknell were all honored before the game. 

In the final game of his remarkable NDC career, Russ threw four touchdown passes, and completed 28-of-49 passes for 303 yards. Russ holds several Notre Dame passing records as a three year starter. This season, he threw for 3,757 yards, and 36 touchdown passes to lead the conference. 

Shegos brought a terrific sophomore campaign to a close as well, as he set a program record with 105 catches on the year for 1,153 yards. He hauled in seven passes for 35 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Germany was Notre Dame's leading receiver on the day with five grabs for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

The Falcons had 169 yards rushing on the day, and Alec Torgerson led the rushing attack, with 161 yards on 31 carries, marking the first time the Falcons have had a 100-yard rusher since Kenneth Butler ran for 122 yards against Virginia-Wise back on Oct. 5. 

Oden's interception in the first quarter was his sixth of the season, setting a new program record in the process, and he had eight tackles on the day. Jalon Avent had a huge day for the Falcons, as he led the team with nine tackles, including 2.5 for a loss and a sack. 

The Falcons finished the 2014 season in a tie for third place in the Mountain East, four spots higher than they were predicted to finish in the preseason coaches poll.