FOOTBALL: GAME NOTES

CU BROADCASTER PREVIEWS CONCORD at GLENVILLE STATE

Concord Sports Information Director Kyle Cooper also doubles as CU's radio play-by-play announcer.  Now in his fourth season as the Voice of the Mountain Lions, Cooper shares his notes on Saturday's football game between Concord and Glenville State at Morris Stadium in Glenville, WV. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm.


Mountain Lion Logo small
Last Saturday's impressive 28-14 win over then-#3 Shepherd put the Mountain Lions' destiny squarely in their own hands.  As long as Concord keeps winning, they'll have the inside track on first place in the WVIAC.

But CU (3-2, 3-0) is not alone in the “destiny in hand” department.  West Virginia Wesleyan is another team enjoying that status, as is the Mountain Lions' opponent tomorrow, Glenville State (2-3, 2-0).
Not to mention that college football is very much a “what have you done for me lately?” sport, meaning that CU's win over Shepherd loses much of its luster if Concord trips up at Morris Stadium.

The Mountain Lions and Pioneers share some similarities.  Both programs have first-year head coaches – Garin Justice at CU, David Hutchinson at GSC – and both have played demanding non-conference schedules.

Concord began its season with matchups against Lenoir-Rhyne and Elon – a member of the Football Championship Subdivision.  The Mountain Lions lost both those games, but Justice attributes going against a high caliber of opposition for CU's current three-game winning streak.

GSC's Jakhari Murphy 256 x 235
Glenville State's non-conference schedule reads like a “Who's Who?” of Division II football.  The Pioneers have gone against Carson-Newman, North Alabama and UNC-Pembroke; all those games were losses, but it's fair to say playing such top-flight programs has gone a long way in making GSC better.

Regardless of the opposition, Glenville State has had little getting on the scoreboard.  The Pioneers are averaging 30.4 points per game, including 37.0 in their last three. 

Their offense is also putting up 420 yards per game (138 rushing, 262 passing) and goes into Saturday's game on a roll.  Glenville State has averaged 480 yards in its past three games, including 529 at UNC-Pembroke two weeks ago and 479 in last Saturday's 41-14 win over West Liberty.

The Pioneers' offensive surge has coincided with stability at quarterback.  Darold Hughes split time with backup Steffen Colon in the first two games, but has taken virtually every snap since. 

Running GSC's spread attack, Hughes has three main targets in the passing game. Jakharie Murphy, Antwan Stewart and Jordan Griffin each average more than 65 receiving yards per game; Griffin is the possession receiver (36 receptions, 9.5 yards per catch), while Murphy and Stewart are deep threats.  Murphy (above right) averages 20.6 yards per catch and Stewart 16.6.

Defensive Stop vs Shepherd (JL) 314 x 209
This will test a Concord pass defense that's allowing 163.4 yards per game and a .571 completion percentage.  Sophomore cornerback Riyadh Richardson earned WVIAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors for his two-interception, six-tackle performance against Shepherd.

After allowing 61 points in the losses to Lenoir-Rhyne and Elon, the CU defense has given up only 29 points in the three games since.  The Mountain Lions' D excelled against Shepherd, limiting the potent Rams offense to one touchdown and 204 total yards – 246 under their average.

Glenville State's defense has shown the ability to take away one aspect of an opponent's attack, but not both.  The Pioneers limited UNA to 66 yards rushing, but the Lions passed for 374 yards and five touchdowns.  Fairmont State rushed for only 91 yards, but passed for 292.  UNC Pembroke threw for just 204 yards against GSC, but ran for 216 yards and five touchdowns.

Glenville State's special teams have been reliable, with placekickers Eddie McKay and Colston Bayless combining for seven field goals.  The Pioneers have also blocked two PAT kicks this season, and blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in last week's win over West Liberty.

Turnovers could play an important role in Saturday's game.  Concord's defense forced five takeaways (three interceptions, two fumble recoveries) last week against Shepherd, and the Mountain Lions are a remarkable +12 in turnover differential this season.  Glenville State is -3 in that category.

Of course, what happens “in the trenches” could go a long way in determining Saturday's winner.  Concord quarterback Zack Grossi has thrown for 1286 yards and ten touchdowns, but has been sacked ten times, and Glenville State's pass rush has nine sacks this season.  Concord's defense has just three sacks, and will be hard-pressed to get to the quarterback in GSC's quick-draw passing game.
C-Rod Breakaway #2 (JL) 314 x 209

Concord's offensive line has shown fine form since the start of the conference season and is coming off a solid performance against Shepherd.  The Mountain Lions' line allowed only one sack and paved the way for 155 rushing yards, including Chris Rodriguez's game-breaking 53-yard touchdown run (right) in the 4th quarter.

In the big picture, all numbers aside, the most important thing for Concord is to maintain its momentum.  The win over Shepherd was no fluke – the Mountain Lions were superior to the Rams in all three aspects.  Still, that was then, and this is now, and if CU lets down, they may not like how Saturday turns out.  But if the Mountain Lions perform like they did against Shepherd, they could very well improve to 2-0 in WVIAC road games.

Both teams can find extra motivation in their two most recent encounters.  Last year, Concord stormed out to a 46-0 halftime lead on the way to a 49-14 victory in Athens, which ended a nine-game losing streak to the Pioneers.  In 2009, Glenville State overcame a 27-0 deficit with less than six minutes left in the 3rd quarter to stun CU 28-27 at Morris Stadium.

Saturday's game will be air on News/Talk 620 WWNR-AM in Beckley, which also has a limited-area 101.1 FM signal.  The broadcast begins with “The Mountain Lions Preview Show” at 12:30 pm.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm.

The audio webcast of Saturday's game can be found on www.theticket102.com.

Glenville State will provide Live Stats and live, streaming video of Saturday's game. 



(Concord photos by Jennifer Logan / Glenville State photo courtesy of GSC Sports Information)
Print Friendly Version