GLENVILLE, W.Va. – On Saturday afternoon, Notre Dame College's defense had three interceptions in the first seven minutes of the game. However, Glenville State University took advantage of the Falcons' first half mistakes and grabbed a big lead going into halftime before holding on to win by a score of 24-21.

In the first quarter, both teams struggled to keep a possession. On the third pass play of the day, GSU's Anthony Garrett had his pass tipped up into the air and into the arms of NDC's senior Antoine Holloway II. Holloway would return the ball to Glenville State's 15-yard line, but he tried to send the ball back to a teammate as he was tackled. The ball fell to the turf and the Pioneers recovered.

On Glenville State's second drive, the Pioneers were moving down the field. Garrett unloaded a shot down the field, looking for a 39-yard touchdown pass. However, the pass floated in the air and NDC's Brayden Hall caught it near the back of the endzone.

The Falcons' offense could not move the first down markers and they punted the ball away, but the defense was on a mission to stop GSU. On the second play of the Pioneers' third drive, another tipped pass across the middle was grabbed by Hall for his second interception of the game and the Falcons third, as a team, with 8:08 left on the first quarter clock.

Despite the takeaways, Glenville State put the first points on the scoreboard. NDC's quarterback Isaiah Murphy lost the ball when he was sacked and the Pioneers recovered. Garrett led the home team down the field with his arm and his legs for a 64-yard touchdown drive to put GSU ahead, 7-0.

Notre Dame's offense came to life late in the first quarter, and it started with a 15-yard run by junior Idris Lawrence. NDC moved the ball 64 yards down the field and senior Cameron Shirkey was called upon, and was successful, with a 29-yard field goal.

Glenville State wasted little time moving down the field on its next drive. NDC was called for pass interference for the second time in the first half, and the Pioneers used that to get Saeed Galloway into the endzone, which put GSU up, 14-3.

Then, the Pioneers' defense made a big play that took all of the momentum over to the home sideline. On NDC's third play of the next drive, Murphy was sacked again and lost the ball. GSU's Tank Grant returned it for a touchdown.

Another sustained drive by the Falcons went 60 yards downfield, with Lawrence running the ball three times and junior Krys Riley-Richardson taking the ball five times. The offense got to GSU's 6-yard line, but was stopped on third down. Shirkey made a 23-yard field goal.

The Pioneers went up by 18 (24-6) before the half, after getting more help from their defense. A Notre Dame pass over the middle was picked off, leading to a late GSU field goal.

On a 3rd down and 19 yards-to-go situation, Murphy ran toward the sideline and was hit while out of bounds. A flag was thrown and Murphy left the game with an injury during NDC's second drive of the third quarter. Senior Deshawn Evans took over as the quarterback for the rest of the half.

Notre Dame had several clutch plays during its first touchdown drive. On two separate third downs, Lawrence caught a 9-yard pass and ran for 14 yards to keep the chains moving. Also on third down, Evans completed a 10-yard pass to junior Jay Sharp and then found junior James Faulkner in the endzone to cap a 17-play, 79-yard drive.

NDC totaled 247 yards of total offense and 14 first downs in the second half.

Notre Dame forced GSU to punt and the offense went back to work. Early in the fourth quarter, the Falcons were backed up to a 2nd down with 20 yards to go. Evans stepped up and sent a pass down the middle of the field to Andre Allen Jr. for 30 yards to get into Glenville State territory. The Evans-Faulkner connection worked again with a 26-yard touchdown pass. That same combination worked for NDC on the two-point conversion and the Falcons trailed by three points, 24-21, with 13 minutes remaining in the game.

The Falcons' defense became a problem for GSU's offense in the fourth quarter and the Pioneers punted on three consecutive possessions.

NDC took the ball back with a chance to win or tie the game, with just over a minute to play. The Falcons went 58 yards down the field as Evans started the drive by completing a 17-yard pass to sophomore Michael Solomon and a 29-yard pass to Allen. With four seconds on the clock, NDC attempted to tie the game. However, Shirkey's kick went wide to the right.

Evans finished the game going 12-for-23 and gaining 172 yards. For the first time this season, Lawrence ran for over 100 yards (108). Faulkner had a career-high 58 receiving yards with two touchdowns and Allen added a season-high 67 receiving yards. 

Junior Isaiah Stephens led the Falcons with 10 tackles, along with three tackles for loss.

Notre Dame will be back on the home turf next week to host Fairmont State University, on Sept. 23. The Falcon Bowl is set to begin at 12 p.m.