Athens, WV- Concord University's Mountain Lion Football team opened their home season with the first ever night game competing against the Univ. of Virginia-Wise at the June O. Shott field. The UVA-Wise Cavaliers pulled off a very exciting game as they defeated the Mountain Lions 35-28.
The Mountain Lions opened with good field position, starting on their own 43 yard line. From there, Concord gained 57 yards on 8 plays. The drive was capped by a 2 yard touchdown run from Travis Harris. The Mountain Lions were on top, leading 7-0 with 11:24 in the first quarter.
After a series of back and forth punts, the Mountain Lions found themselves putting another drive together that began on their 30 yard line. Dustin Greenwood led the Mountain Lions down the field for a 14 play-70 yard drive. Travis Harris capped the drive once again as he into the end zone on a crucial fourth down and goal from the one. This put Concord ahead at 14-0 late in the first quarter.
It would not take long for UVA-Wise to respond. UVA-Wise quarterback Randy Hippeard connected to receiver Aric Evans for a 60 yard reception, trying to close the gap at 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
With 10:32 remaining in the second quarter, Josh Spurlock tipped a pass and returned it for a three yard touchdown. The score was then deadlocked at 14.
Once again after a series of punts, UVA-Wise got another crack at the ball with just over four minutes to play in the half. The Cavaliers moved the ball down the field as quarterback Randy Hippeard found running back Ra'Shad Morgan for a 16 yard reception and a touchdown. After a missed PAT, the Cavaliers took their first lead of the game and went into halftime with a score of 20-14.
A tough Mountain Lion defense forced an early punt in the third quarter, where quarterback turned punter Randy Hippeard mishandled a punt as his knee touched down on the Cavaliers 37 yard line, giving the Mountain Lion offense great field position. On a 3rd down and 3 to go, Mountain Lion quarterback Dustin Greenwood took off breaking tackles, including a highlight stiff arm as he rushed in the the endzone. Greenwood's 30 yard run gave the Mountain Lions a 21-20 lead with 10:30 remaining in the third quarter.
The Mountain Lions would get the ball back on their own 16 yard line, as they once again began to push down the field. The Mountain Lion offense would find the endzone again but it was called back on a penalty. Kicker Zac Boyd just missed a 21 yard field goal to start the fourth quarter. The scored remained at 21-20 with the Mountain Lions on top.
Cavalier quarterback Hippeard would find Lovett for a four yard touchdown pass, capping a 14 play-80- yard drive. After a two-point conversion, UVA-Wise took the lead with a score of 28-21 and 9:18 remaining on the clock.
Starting on their own 19 yard line, the Mountain Lion offense worked their way down the field. At fourth and goal from the 2 yard line, quarterback Dustin Greenwood would find Jared Brown in the back of the endzone for a touchdown. Concord had tied the game at 28.
UVA-Wise's high powered offense didn't waste any time, as they quickly scored again on a Ra'Shad Morgan 7 yard run. The Cavaliers were back on top at 35-28 with two minutes left in the game.
After an offensive pass interference call, the Mountain Lions found themselves in a 1st down and 25. Concord couldn't recover, as Chas Johnson intercepted. The Cavaliers would take a knee and as the clock ran out, the final score was UVA-Wise 35, Concord 28.
Concord's quarterback Dustin Greenwood led the offense again with 148 yards rushing and a touchdown while throwing for 174 yards and touchdown. Running back Travis Harris had 91 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Jared Brown added a touchdown reception. Nathan Tanner led the receivers with 45 yards while Dejuan Franklin added 41 yards.
Ola Adams lead the way on defense as he ended the night with 12 tackles, with Tank Tunstalle right behind him with 11. Joey Thomas add 9 tackles along with a forced and recovered fumble. Chris Callis ended with 5 tackles and an interception.
Despite the loss for Concord, the Mountain Lion offense compiled 436 yards of total offense, compared to the UVA-Wise offense with 356 total yards.
Concord (0-2) begins WVIAC play next week as they head to West Liberty to take on the Hilltoppers. Kickoff is set for Saturday, Sept. 15th at 1:00pm.
