WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The day usually goes well when you have touchdown passes of 84 yards and 70 yards in the first quarter, and it was a good day for Chris Brimm, Devanaire Conliffe and the entire Falcons' offense, that set a program record in total yards with 687. The defense also totaled five takeaways in the 51-10 NDC win over West Liberty University, on Saturday.

"I thought the guys had a really good week of practice and it starts there," said head coach Mickey Mental. "It takes a team effort to put those kinds of yards together, both rushing the ball, passing the ball. But it starts with our offensive line. You're not able to throw for that many yards and rush for what we rushed for without those five bigs and the tight ends contributing to that."

On Notre Dame's first drive, the Falcons used five plays to put six points on the board. Back at his own 16-yard line, Brimm settled back to pass and found Conliffe, who had his defender beat, and ran down the right side of the field 84 yards for the touchdown. That was the fifth longest pass completion in program history.

"We had a locked in week of practice and got into a rhythm quick, so we just went with the flow… We took what they gave us," said Brimm. "Dev [Conliffe] is a good player, he works hard every day in practice and I know when we get into the game, I can trust him."

After intercepting two passes last week, Antoine Holloway II made his presence known early. West Liberty was driving and looking to tie or take the lead on a 10-play drive. However, a pass by WLU's Jamie Diven to the back corner of the endzone was intercepted by Holloway.

The defense had five takeaways (three interceptions and two fumble recoveries) against West Liberty and now has 14 in the first three games (seven fumble recoveries, seven interceptions).

 "[Defensive Coordinator] Jake Chestnut and his staff are doing a tremendous job… Credit goes to the defense, they are playing well together and really flying to the football, so I'm really impressed with how they've played." Mental said.

West Liberty got the ball back with just under six minutes left in the first, after a fumble, and the Hilltoppers made the score 6-3 with a 31-yard field goal by Owen Rozanc.

Notre Dame quickly responded and the two plays of their next drive were an 11-yard completion from Brimm to Reece Perkins and a touchdown pass to Conliffe. Conliffe caught the ball near the middle of the field and ran into traffic, so he turned to the right and outran and overpowered defenders for a 70-yard touchdown with 3:12 on the first quarter clock. NDC led 13-3 at the end of the first quarter.

"Chris [Brimm] was locked in from the get-go," Mental mentioned. "His receivers did a really good job making the opportunities available for him. He delivered and there is growth week-to-week that he's making."

Defense led to offense again early in the second quarter, when another long West Liberty drive was cut down. With the Hilltoppers at the Falcons' 25-yard line, Guam Lee grabbed the ball out of the arms of WLU's running back Tyler Moler and took it to West Liberty's 35.

After Brimm found CJ Kiss for 15 yards through the air, the Falcons were grounded. Tyris Dickerson ran four times for 14 yards and then Brimm faked a handoff and ran to the left for a six-yard touchdown with 11:09 to go in the second quarter.

NDC was not done showing off their offense in the first half. After West Liberty turned the ball over on downs in about a minute of game time, the Falcons went down the field with 10 plays in four minutes and capped the drive with a one-yard run into the endzone by Jalen Boyd. Jeremy Hamilton and Davis Patterson had receptions of 26 yards and 12 yards, respectively, on the drive.

With two minutes remaining in the second quarter, a Hilltopper pass attempt was picked off. Holloway and the intended receiver bumped into each other but the Falcons' safety held on for his fourth interception in the last two weeks.

That led to a five-play drive that got the tight ends involved. Brimm completed a 30-yard strike to Perkins and then ended the drive completing a touchdown throw to CJ Kiss. NDC led 34-3 heading into the half.

Brimm was 14-for-19 with 303 passing yards and three passing touchdowns at the half. Conliffe had totaled 154 yards on his two touchdown catches in the first 30 minutes.

"It's always a good feeling when the offense is rolling," Brimm said. "Everyone works hard day-in and day-out in practice, so it's good to come out and show that our hard work doesn't go unnoticed. Congrats to the O-Line, receivers and running backs, they all had a good game."

West Liberty came out with energy to start the second half. The Hilltoppers forced a fumble of Idris Lawrence, playing in his first collegiate game. That led to a three-play, 55-yard TD drive for West Liberty, making the score, 34-10.

But, NDC stuck their feet in the ground and went back to work, swinging the momentum. Taking the ball with 11:49 on the third quarter clock, the Falcons drove down the field and the Brimm-Conliffe connection became 3-for-3 as they scored again, this time on a 29-yard pass and catch.

The next scoring drive occurred in the fourth quarter, when the Falcons took over with 13:04 on the clock. Another big pass play put NDC ahead by 38, 48-10, when Brimm found Jeremy Hamilton for a 78-yard touchdown catch. Hamilton finished the game with 86 yards in the second half and 123 total receiving yards, a career-high.

"Two receivers over 100 yards, that's a big day," said Offensive Coordinator Alan Estep. "Those guys provided some big plays, some energy that really sparked the rest of the unit."

The Falcons got the ball back with 8:15 to go after a West Liberty turnover on downs and Lawrence went off. The freshman ran for 65 of his 80 yards on the drive, which led to a 19-yard field goal by Tanner Harding. NDC stays perfect in the red-zone, as they went 4-for-4 on Saturday.

Brimm finished with a career-high in passing yards with 449, which is also the fourth most in program history. He also set career-highs in total offense (479) and total touchdowns (6). He tied a career-high with five passing touchdowns. Conliffe's 194 receiving yards is the most in a game in his time at NDC and the fourth highest in program history.

Notre Dame's 687 yards of total offense is also third highest for a game in Mountain East Conference history.

Tavon Hooks led the team with eight tackles, Noah Harris-Lyles added six tackles and a sack. Lavell Gibson also had a sack and Keon'te Huguely had the Falcons' third interception.

The Falcons come home to play West Virginia State University, on Sept. 25. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.