FOOTBALL PREVIEW: CONCORD at UNC-PEMBROKE

10/28/2010 4:16:17 PM

2:00 PM, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30; GRACE P. JOHNSON STADIUM, PEMBROKE, NC

Rock, meet hard place. Yin, meet yang. Matter, meet anti-matter.

Two very different entities will clash when Concord (6-2) visits UNC-Pembroke (5-3) Saturday afternoon.

The Mountain Lions feature one of Division II's top offenses. The Braves counter with one of the nation's top defenses.

The latest NCAA statistics show Concord is 5th in Total Offense (491.75 ypg), 15th in Scoring Offense (37.00 ppg), 15th in Passing Offense (293.38 ypg) and 20th in Rushing Offense (198.38 ypg).

UNCP is 3rd in Sacks (3.75/gm), 5th in Total Defense (235.38 ypg), 6th in Scoring Defense (13.75 ppg) and 8th in Passing Defense (143.63 ypg).

CU head coach Mike Kellar – who also calls the plays on offense – knows moving the ball will be daunting.

“They're kind of like (WVIAC leader) Shepherd. Their philosophy is 'let's play great on defense, let's be great in the kicking game and let's be smart with the ball on offense,'” Kellar said. “On defense, they disguise their intentions more than Shepherd, but they have the most athletic defense we've faced this year. They've got cornerbacks who can play man-to-man, safeties who can fly, great linebackers and a real tough line. They're going to try to win the game 17-10, as opposed to trying to win it 35-24, which is more our style.
“On offense they've got two great tailbacks, they're really good at the skill positions and they have a big, physical offensive line.”

Meanwhile, the Mountain Lions will strive for more consistency on offense. In a 28-17 win at Seton Hill last Saturday, Concord scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, then went quiet until scoring two more TDs in the 4th quarter.

“We missed a couple throws, we missed a couple blocks, there's a missed cut by a running back, and all of a sudden it looks like we're struggling,” Kellar said. “They started out playing a base defense, and we scored on those first two drives. Then they switched and did a lot of blitzing and it took us a little while to adjust.”

Another thing that required adjustment was the bevy of penalties whistled at Offutt Field. Concord was penalized 19 times for 162 yards, with more than one of those flags putting the brakes on the up-tempo brand of offense Kellar prefers to run.

“It definitely slowed us down,” Kellar said. “But worrying about the officiating is like worrying about the weather – there's nothing you can do to change it, so you've just got to deal with it. We've got to play a cleaner game. That's something I've really stressed to the guys this week in practice.”

Saturday is Concord's final non-conference and road game of the season. It's also UNCP's homecoming.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm at Grace P. Johnson Stadium in Pembroke, NC.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 102.3 The Ticket (WMTD, Hinton/Princeton/Beckley) starting with the “Mountain Lion Preview Show” at 1:30 pm. A link to The Ticket's audio webcast is below.
This week's halftime feature interview is with Garin Justice, Concord's Offensive Line Coach and Strength & Conditioning Coordinator.
_{(Note: WMTD has recently experienced technical problems with its streaming audio of CU Football. Station engineers hope to have the issues rectified for Saturday's game.)}
UNCP FOOTBALL PAGE

CONCORD'S NCAA STATISTICS PAGE

UNCP'S NCAA STATISTICS PAGE

WVIAC WEEK #10 PREVIEW

UNCP LIVE STATS PAGE

UNCP STREAMING VIDEO PAGE

ESPN RADIO 102.3 THE TICKET AUDIO WEBCAST

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