WHEELING, W.Va. – On Wheeling University's first drive of the game, Guam Lee forced a fumble and Antoine Holloway II recovered it for a touchdown to give No. 10 Notre Dame College an early lead. Turnovers would be the theme throughout the contest as the Falcons grabbed their second win of 2021, defeating Wheeling 31-15.

"The defense played really well, taking the ball away, providing the opportunities for the offense to have a short field," said head coach Mickey Mental. "[Defensive Coordinator] Jake Chestnut and his staff did a fantastic job in the gameplan and our guys executed very well. They flew around and created those turnovers and played really good defense all night, I was pleased with how they played."

With 9:43 on the first quarter clock, Wheeling's quarterback Trent Jackson was scrambling to his right and did not see Lee ready to pounce. The ball popped out as soon as he was hit and rolled around on the turf between several players before Holloway put six points on the board with a scoop and score.

Not long after, with Wheeling back on offense, Jackson threw a pass near the right sideline, but Holloway found himself in the right spot again and picked the ball off.

"The thing I think about everytime I enter a game is, fly to the football," Holloway said. "I look at Budda Baker in the league and he is everywhere. I want to fly to the ball as fast as I can and when I get there I make plays. It's a blessing that I got the scoop and score."

Wheeling had their first takeaway with an interception by Rich White on a ball that was deflected. However, the Cardinals took over with 3:37 on the first quarter clock and about a minute later, gave the ball right back after Jackson was hit and fumbled again. NDC's Xavier Perkins gabbed the fumble.

The Falcon offense then began to string together scoring drives. Tanner Harding's 30-yard field goal, following the fumble recovery, made the score 10-0. And after a Wheeling punt, NDC went right back down the field with a nine play, 50-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown. Jalen Boyd found a hole and stayed on his feet as he ran five yards into the endzone.

On their final drive of the second quarter, Wheeling got all the way to NDC's 10-yard line with a little under one minute to go. However, the Cardinals lost nearly 30 seconds when they took their time getting back to the line and then Jackson was sacked by Lavell Gibson. In an attempt to find the endzone on the next play, the Wheeling pass was picked off again by Holloway.

"We kept sending pressure," Holloway said. "Coach Chestnut told us from the beginning that we need to punch them in the mouth and send the house. We sent a lot of blitzes and [Wheeling] couldn't handle it. That's what gave the defensive backs the opportunities that we could, to make the plays that we did."

The Falcons marched down the field on their first possession of the third quarter, with the help of their tight end group. On a third-and-six, Zaven Boland caught a pass for 10 yards. Then, Reece Perkins finished the job with a 19-yard reception to get to the WU five-yard line and a five-yard touchdown catch that put NDC on top 24-0.

Quarterback Chris Brimm went 20-for-26 in the game for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Devanaire Conliffe and Perkins each caught four passes.

Wheeling responded and tight end Tristan Ballard was the target in the back of the endzone, which put the Cardinals on the board with 4:02 remaining in the third.

Jackson was intercepted a third time, just over four minutes into the fourth quarter, when Nathan Moore made a play. That resulted in a short drive and a touchdown pass to CJ Kiss.

"I thought we were efficient in the passing game," Mental said. "Had really good protection by the O-line to give Chris [Brimm] a lot of room to come to his second and third reads. We just have to clean up some stuff in the run game. I thought, as the game went on, our offensive line did a good job and so did Tyris [Dickerson], Jalen [Boyd] and Rob [Singletary] providing a stable balance throughout the game."

Dylan Spaeth and Lee both had seven tackles. Spaeth added three tackles for a loss, while Lee had four tackles for a loss and forced the fumble that led to the first points of the game. Holloway finished with three tackles, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a tackle for a loss.

The Falcons will be back in the area when they visit West Liberty University on Sept. 18. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.