Athens, WV- Concord University Mountain Lion football hosted West Virginia Weselyan on a perfect Saturday night in Athens, WV. In a game that could be considered one of the most exciting games to be played at Callaghan Stadium, the Mountain Lions fell short to the Bobcats, losing 29-21.
The Mountain Lions began the game by receiving the ball and driving 40 yards before the drive stalled and they were forced to punt to the Bobcats. The Bobcats drove back down the field 67 yards before their drive stalled as well. It looked as though the game was going to be a defensive struggle.
The defensive struggle continued until there were four minutes remaining in the first half. Concord had possession on their own 40 yard line and pushed the ball down the field with their switching quarterback set of Dustin Greenwood and Tommy Frazier. The drive was capped by a Dustin Greenwood 10 yard touchdown run with 2:37 remaining in the half. The Mountain Lions jumped on the scoreboard first, with a lead of 7-0.
On the return, the Bobcats' Brandon Rogers drove the ball all the way back to the Concord 29 yard line setting up for a short field. However, the Bobcats would get more than a field goal before half. WV Weselyan scored with only 21 seconds remaining on a 9 yard pass from Harry Lorusso to Alex Puente. This tied the score going into halftime at 7-7.
In the third quarter, WV Weselyan came up with a Concord fumble on the Mountain Lions own 32 yard line. The Bobcats took advantage of the short field position on a 31 yard field goal by Derek Moore. This put the Bobcats on top of the Mountain Lions 10-7.
The Mountain Lions would have to punt on the next series and the Bobcats kick returner Antoine Staten would return the ball to the Mountain Lion 39 yard line, once again setting up a short field. WV Wesleyan's Harry Lorusso capped the drive with a 25 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Rogers to put the Bobcats up 17-7 heading into the 4th quarter.
The Mountain Lions offense responded as they went 6 plays for 66 yards to start the 4th quarter. Thomas Frazier completed an 11 yard pass to Dustin Greenwood for the touchdown. After another successful point after kick by Zach Boyd, the Mountain Lions were inching back with the score now 17-14.
The Mountain Lions solid defense stepped up to force the Bobcats to punt after three plays. The Mountain Lions offense put together a 10 play 86 yard drive early in the fourth quarter. Emeka Eneje would cap the drive with a 3 yard touchdown run. The Mountain Lions had regained the lead 21-17.
Concord's Zach Boyd and special teams unit successfully executed an onsides kick, bouncing the pigskin off a Bobcat player. The Mountain Lions would recover the ball again on their own 41 yard line. But quarterback Thomas Frazier would have his pass tipped and intercepted by defensive lineman Steve Hargis. From there the Bobcats took the ball in for a touchdown on a Andrew Carrier run. The PAT was blocked after a false start penalty by Nathan Tanner. The Bobcats woul lead 23-21 with only 2:31 on the clock.
The Mountain Lions began with the ball on their own 31 yard line and would have to move the ball down the field with no timeouts. In a gut wrenching 4th down with three to go, the Mountain Lions kept the drive alive when Dustin Greenwood found Ron Buskey for 8 yards and the first down.
With only 27 seconds remaining in the game, the Mountain Lions were faced again with a tough 4th down and 1 yard to go on the Weselyan 45 yard line. Once again Greenwood persevered with a four yard run to give Concord another chance and a first down. Then a big play sprung open as Tommy Frazier found Chris Carter for 28 yards on the Bobcat 13 yard line. Concord would spike the ball to stop the clock and set them up for a 30 yard field goal for the win with only 11 seconds left in the game.
As the snap came back the defense rushed and the kick was blocked. Antoine Staten would pick up the ball and run untouched for 80 yards and a touchdown. The Mountain Lions lost the heartbreaker to the Bobcats with a final score of 29-21.
The Mountain Lions offense had a 392 yard advantage over the Bobcats 265 yards. The Mountain Lions out passed the Bobcats 226-105 and out rushed them 166-160.
Despite the loss the Mountain Lions turned out some amazing performances. Dustin Greenwood ended the game with 229 all purpose yards. Greenwood was Concord's leading rusher with 109 yards and one touchdown, as he also passed for 86 yards, and received three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. Tommy Frazier finished the game going 12-24 with 140 yards passing, a touchdown, and an interception. Nathan Tanner finshed the game with 7 receptions for 64 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tank Tunstalle returned after an ankle injury and was all over the field. Tunstalle finished the game with an amazing 17 tackles and one tackle for loss. Ola Adams turned in 6 tackles. Aaron Lowe also finished with 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack, and 4 quarterback hurries.
Concord (0-4, WVIAC 0-2) will be in Charleston, WV next Saturday, September 29th to take on the Golden Eagles. Kickoff is set for 2:00PM.
