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PIKEVILLE 29, UVA-WISE 19

Bears Rally to Defeat Cavs, 29-19
October 23, 2004

WISE, VA - Leonard Moore's one-yard touchdown plunge with 6:10 to play Saturday helped Pikeville College avoid an upset and claim victory over UVa-Wise in a Mid-South Conference showdown at Carl Smith Stadium in Wise.

Moore, who ran for 93 yards in the contest, later tacked on a six-yard scoring run with just more than a minute to play to give the No. 21 Bears a 29-19 victory over the now 2-6 Cavaliers.

UVa-Wise jumped ahead early with a five-yard scoring run from junior running back Larry Smith. After a missed extra point attempt, the Cavs owned a 6-0 lead.

Smith led the Cavaliers with 135 yards and two scores. Saturday's game was his second consecutive 100-plus yard game. Smith had 131 last week against No. 3 Georgetown.

Fullback Blake Owens later put the Cavs ahead 12-0 with a two-yard run with 12:58 to play in the first quarter. Owens bulldozed his way to 14 yards on six carries in the game.

Early in the third, UVa-Wise had a chance to increase its lead after Pikeville's Donald Tardy fumbled away a booming Josh Honaker punt. The Cavs' William Brooks picked up the loose pigskin and ran to the Bears' 10 yard line, giving his team excellent field position.

In three plays UVa-Wise advanced to within inches of the Pikeville goal line, but the stingy Bears' defense, ranked second in the nation against the run, held Smith out of the end zone on fourth and goal from inside the one.

Moore, who earlier had brought his Bears to within 12-7 on a one-yard carry early in the second, put his team ahead 14-12 with a two-yard run at the 5:32 mark in the third.

The Cavs quickly rallied, however, when Smith galloped into the end zone with a 20-yard touchdown run. That play came directly after quarterback Josh Mabe hit Owens out of the backfield for a 61-yard gain.

Smith's score put the Cavs ahead 19-14.

UVa-Wise hits the road next week for a MSC matchup at No. 25 Campbellsville (Ky.) University. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. -- more --

CAVS NOTES: Larry Smith's 135-yard, two-touchdown performance Saturday has earned the junior a nomination for this week's Mid-South Conference Offensive Player of the Week voting. The conference announces its weekly winners on Tuesday. ÉThis week's Cavaliers opponent, Campbellsville (Ky.) University, cracked into the NAIA Top 25 a week ago at No. 25. This week, the Tigers could jump a couple of notches after an impressive 45-32 MSC win over Belhaven (Miss.) College. ÉSaturday's game will be the third consecutive for the Cavaliers against ranked opponents. Before playing No. 21 Pikeville last Saturday, UVa-Wise fell 56-14 to No. 3 Georgetown (Ky.) College. In two weeks, the Highland Cavaliers will welcome to Carl Smith Stadium Cumberland (Ky.) College, currently the nation's No. 12 team. The Patriots should fall, however, from that spot this week after a 28-12 upset loss Saturday to Lambuth (Tenn.) University.