Joey Thomas on the tackle, Thomas had 15 tackles and 3 TFL's; Photo by: Brooks Cullen
Athens, WV- Concord football hosted #18 ranked Shepherd University for their first home afternoon game. Concord fought well into the 4th quarter against the Rams as they were down 20-17 after the 3rd. The Rams put up 21 points in the 4th quarter, making the final score 41-17.
The Rams struck first after a Concord punt. Shepherd drove the ball 52 yards, capping the drive with a Vincent 6 yard touchdown run. The Rams lead 7-0 with 5:30 to go in the first.
Both teams would be feeling each other out as drives went back and forth. Concord took the ball at the end of the first quarter. Their drive would stall but Zach Boyd nailed a 36 yard field goal to pull the score to 7-3. However, Shepherd would answer back on a drive ending in a touchdown on a Tyler Lazear 7 yard pass to Mark Springirth. The Rams lead 14-3.
When Shepherd was stopped on their next series they were forced to punt. Zach Beech lined up for the punt as Colby Whitfield broke loose for the block. From there, Tim Bundy would snag the ball running the blocked kick in from 40 yards out for the score. The Mountain Lions were now only down 14-10.
After a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Shepherd started with great field position setting them up for another score. The drive ended on a 25 yard touchdown pass to Ryan Lavin for the score. The Rams led 20-10 after the missed PAT.
Concord would receive another opportunity to score, but a fumble on the 20 yard line would end the half at 20-17.
Shepherd would begin the third quarter with the ball. They would drive to the redzone but after tipped pass Jeff Washington would scoop up the interception and return the ball 58 yards. However, Concord would give the ball back on an interception by the Rams Taros Harris.
The Mountain Lions special teams once again would come up with a big play as a high snap put the ball well over the punters head of the Rams. Concord's Aaron Flythe would recover at the Shepherd at 18 yard line. It would only take Concord two plays to score as Tommy Frazier found Dustin Greenwood for a 14 yard touchdown. At the end of the third quarter the score was 20-17.
Concord played well all day against the Rams, but the running game for Shepherd proved to be too much as they scored three times on the ground in the 4th quarter. Devron Wallace and Vincent Briggs both had 1 yard runs as Jimmy Sutch had a 21 yard run. The final score was 41-17.
The Mountain Lion offense was lead by Thomas Frazier and Dustin Greenwood. Frazier ended the game 0-38 with 183 yards passing a touchdown and and interception. Greenwood had 7 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
The Concord defense was lead by the team of Tank Tunstalle, Ola Adams and Joe Thomas. Tunstalle, who is 7th in the nation in tackling, ended the game with 20 tackles and one for a loss. Adams added 16 tackles and 2 for a loss, and Thomas had 15 tackles and 3 for a loss.
Concord (0-7, WVIAC 0-5) will be in Glenville, WV next Saturday, October 20th to take on the Pioneers. Kickoff is set for 1pm.
