CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State football team left from campus at 6:30 this morning, bound for Chicago and its date with Central State at Soldier Field on Saturday.

The 8-hour bus ride is a considerably longer trip than former South Charleston star Fabian Payne made from high school to the Yellow Jackets.

It's also significantly longer than the 5 hours he was on a charter bus to Martinsburg for a playoff game in high school.

He still doesn't like it.

"Oh, man, it's terrible," Payne said. "I remember going to Princeton and Martinsburg when I was in high school. At least it was a charter bus."

The 6-foot, 190-pound freshman will play in his second game as a Division II collegian on Saturday after rushing for 79 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns in State's 67-13 rout of Lincoln, Mo.

Payne shares tailback responsibilities with Brian Mitchell. Each had 13 carries last weekend, with Mitchell - State's leading rusher last year - running for 143 yards in the season opener.

They give the Yellow Jackets a potent one-two punch out of the backfield.

"Brian is the quicker change-of-direction type guy and Fabian is more of a grind-it-out power runner," State Coach Earl Monroe said. "Fabian will probably get half the carries at least until we get into four-quarter shape."

Payne ran for 1,194 yards as a senior at South Charleston, helping the Black Eagles reach the Class AAA quarterfinals. He led the team in carries (209) and averaged 5.7 yards. He also caught 10 passes and two touchdowns.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State football team left from campus at 6:30 this morning, bound for Chicago and its date with Central State at Soldier Field on Saturday.

The 8-hour bus ride is a considerably longer trip than former South Charleston star Fabian Payne made from high school to the Yellow Jackets.

It's also significantly longer than the 5 hours he was on a charter bus to Martinsburg for a playoff game in high school.

He still doesn't like it.

"Oh, man, it's terrible," Payne said. "I remember going to Princeton and Martinsburg when I was in high school. At least it was a charter bus."

The 6-foot, 190-pound freshman will play in his second game as a Division II collegian on Saturday after rushing for 79 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns in State's 67-13 rout of Lincoln, Mo.

Payne shares tailback responsibilities with Brian Mitchell. Each had 13 carries last weekend, with Mitchell - State's leading rusher last year - running for 143 yards in the season opener.

They give the Yellow Jackets a potent one-two punch out of the backfield.

"Brian is the quicker change-of-direction type guy and Fabian is more of a grind-it-out power runner," State Coach Earl Monroe said. "Fabian will probably get half the carries at least until we get into four-quarter shape."

Payne ran for 1,194 yards as a senior at South Charleston, helping the Black Eagles reach the Class AAA quarterfinals. He led the team in carries (209) and averaged 5.7 yards. He also caught 10 passes and two touchdowns.

His football career carried him to resurgent Glenville State, but at the outset of camp, Payne began suffering from symptoms of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) - a staph infection that shows up in the form of a fever and chicken pox-like bumps.

Payne's season was down the tubes.

"Every time I went to practice or lift weights, I'd break out," said Payne, who is a freshman athletically. "They didn't know what to do up there so I had to come back to Charleston to be treated. It was depressing and boring. I really wanted to be back on the football field.

"This is where I should've been in the first place."

His football career was being jeopardized by a malady that antibiotics cannot remedy.

Payne's mother didn't think he would be able to continue playing football, but the second-team All-Mountain State Athletic Conference running back was insistent to the contrary.

"I told my mom I didn't want to quit," Payne said. "I wasn't going to let that stop me from playing."

And he didn't, which brings him to Chicago where he'll provide the power in the State running attack at the home of the Chicago Bears on Saturday.

"I can't get caught up in where it's being played," Payne said. "It's exciting, but I have to treat it as just a game and save all of the excitement for after."

Notes: University of Toledo transfer and sophomore Craig Wissler had a 43-yard field goal in his first action at West Virginia State. His brother, freshman punter David Wissler, had three punts, averaging 31.7 yards per kick...Former St. Albans star Andrew Eggleton had one solo tackle and nine assists from his linebacker position. He also had three tackles for lost yardage.