WISE, Va. - Behind three total touchdowns from senior running back
Ben Nester, the Concord University football team defeated UVa.-Wise 30-13 Carl Smith Stadium Saturday afternoon in Mountain East Conference play.
With the win, CU remains undefeated at 9-0 and 8-0 in conference action while UVa.-Wise is 1-8 overall and 1-7 in the MEC.
Concord got on the scoreboard first by recording its second blocked punt of the season and first since week four of the season versus West Liberty. Nester was scooped up the loose ball and ran it for a 12-yard touchdown to give CU a 7-0 lead with 10:37 left in the first quarter.
UVa.-Wise scored its first points of the game when an errant snap by the Concord special teams went out of the endzone on a punt. After the miscue, CU led 7-2 with 14:50 remaining in the first half.
Concord struck back when sophomore quarterback
Brian Novak found junior wide receiver
Tiko Henderson for his second receiving touchdown of the season and his first since week two against West Virginia State. With Henderson's score, Concord led 13-2 with 9:51 left in the first half.
Both teams fought for field possession for the remainder of the half as CU took an 11-point lead into the intermission.
UVa.-Wise opened up the second half by connecting on a 28-yard field goal with 8:42 remaining in the third period.
On CU's next possession Nester found the endzone for his first offensive touchdown of the afternoon with a three-yard rush, extending the Mountain Lions' lead to 20-5. Nester's touchdown was setup by a 55-yard reception by freshman wide receiver T.J. Smith two plays earlier.
The upset-minded Cavaliers cut the lead back to seven with a 45-yard passing touchdown and successful two-point conversion to make it 20-13, Concord with 8:50 left in the game. But, the Maroon and Gray scored the final 10 points of the game to erase any doubt of being defeated.
Junior kicker
Andy Ellington was successful on a 22-yard field goal. On UVa.-Wise's ensuing possession, senior defensive lineman
Will Greathouse forced his first fumble of the season to give CU the ball inside the Cavaliers' 15-yard line. It took Concord just two plays to convert the turnover into points as Nester scored from five-yards out.
During the game, redshirt freshman defensive back
Jeremiah Johnson intercepted his fourth pass of the season to join senior defensive back
Mike Carey and junior defensive back
Derrick Johnson with four picks this season, marking the second straight year Concord has had at least three players with four or more interception
Along with Greathouse, junior defensive lineman
Ervin Moore had a sack/forced fumble. The sack was Moore's 13
th of his career, tying Rick Leung-Wei for second all-time at Concord while Moore's forced fumbled tied with him Mike Bell and Thomas Hearns for fourth all-time with three.
Junior linebacker
Nick Ortiz led CU with 10 tackles, marking the first time he has notched double-digit tackles in his CU career.
Offensively, redshirt freshman running back
Jamal Petty ran for a career-high 125 yards. Henderson finished with four catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. Saturday marked the first time, Henderson went over the century mark in receiving yards since last season versus Shepherd. Meanwhile, Novak finished with 165 yards and a touchdown pass.
The Mountain Lions will return to Callaghan Stadium for their final home game of the season against Notre Dame College Nov. 8 at 12:00 p.m. Â
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