Love prevails at Backyard Brawl as Mountaineers beat Panthers

FAIRMONT, W.Va (WDTV) - Gamedays on the campus of West Virginia University are usually full of excitement, but the September 16th matchup on Mountaineer Field felt a bit different. WVU’s rival, the Pittsburgh Panthers, were in Morgantown for the highly anticipated Backyard Brawl. In preparation for the big game, some fans arrived as early as 5 a.m. to start tailgating. From then on, WVU fans’ confidence gradually increased.

“I want to say, when we go into halftime we have to be up by seven, right,” A WVU fan said. “At the end of the game, I want to win by 21, bare minimum. I want it to be a beatdown. I don’t want any Pitt fans jabbing at me, I want it to be an annihilation.”

While there was no love lost between Pitt and WVU on the field, two fans expressed their love for one another before the game. Ian Katon proposed to his girlfriend Heather Hughes at their favorite spot before making their way to the tailgate.

“Right before the tailgate, we went to cooper’s rock where we went to as undergrads,” Hughes said. “We used to go there all the time. Then we came here right after.”

Heather and Ian met at WVU in their sophomore year while they were both resident advisors. Their return to Cooper’s Rock and then to Morgantown, served as a scrapbook for their relationship.

“I would say it just brings back a lot of memories about school and how we kind of grew up together and grew up into what we are now,” said Katon.

Heather and Ian’s big day was made even more memorable, thanks to a Mountaineer win. The soon to be husband and wife’s plans for the alter will most likely be scheduled around another annual trip to Morgantown.

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