Concord Resumes MEC Play vs. West Liberty

Concord Stats - West Liberty Stats - Live Video - Live Stats - Live Audio - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - A week after outlasting Bowie State, 37-34 at Callaghan Stadium, the Concord University football team will jump back into Mountain East Conference play this week with a matchup against West Liberty.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live in-game stats and video. Additionally, Jason "Moose" and Steve Cox will be doing live radio play-by-play on Wille 97.3 FM. To access the live coverage options, follow the links at the top of the page or click here.

MOUNTAIN LION NOTES
• The Mountain Lions offense continues to put impressive numbers as CU ranks fifth in the nation in total offense per game, putting up 557 yards per game.

•The passing attack for Concord has exceeded 345 yards in all three games this season including a career-high 419 passing yards from quarterback Brian Novak against  Bowie State.

• For the season, Novak has thrown for 1,034 yards, well ahead of last year's pace when the College Park, Maryland native threw for 1,556 yards. Additionally, Novak, has thrown 10 touchdowns this season.

• The excellent start to the year for Novak has put him second in the nation in passer efficiency at 197.

• Also finding his name among the nation's best is junior wide receiver Ryan Stewart, who caught three more touchdowns against Bowie State to run his total to seven this season, tying him for first nationally in touchdown receptions.

• Going into play this week, Stewart leads MEC receivers in yards (323), touchdowns (seven) and is second in per catch average (26.9).

• Freshman wide receiver TJ Smith also jumped into the top five in the MEC in receiving yards, touchdowns and per catch average after hauling in seven catches for 149 yards and one touchdown against BSU .Smith finds himself third in touchdowns (three), fourth in yards (261) and fourth in per catch average (18.6).

• The rushing attack has also been on point for Concord early in the season as CU rushers have eclipsed the 150-yard mark in every game this year, the first time CU has rushed for 150 or more yards in three consecutive games since last season when they did it against Urbana, West Virginia Wesleyan and Charleston.

• The rushing attacked has been spearheaded by junior running back Calvinaugh Jones, who became the 10th Concord player to go over 2,000 rushing yards in his career with a 141-yard performance against Bowie State.

• Going into week four of the season, Jones is third in the league in rushing yards with 355 yards.

• The three-point win over Bowie State marked the first time Concord has won a game by three points or less since they defeated Lenoir-Rhyne in the 2012 home opener, 24-21.

• It also marked the first time the Mountain Lions have started a season 3-0 under head coach Garin Justice.

• As an offense, Concord has posted 146 points through three games. Last season, CU didn't reach the 150-point mark until midway through its seventh game of the season.

• Furthermore, Concord has outscored its opponents 91-6 in the first half of games this season, only allowing a late first half touchdown to Glenville State in the season opener.

• The Mountain Lion defense has done an outstanding job of turning over its foe as CU ranks second in the MEC in turnover margin at +2.

• Concord has intercepted six passes, tied for most in the conference. Senior cornerback Mike Carey, junior safety Derrick Johnson and redshirt freshman Jeremiah Johnson have all picked off two passes each.

• CU posts the third-best pass defense efficiency in the MEC, allowing their opponents to complete just 52.1 percent of passes in addition to the six interceptions.

• Senior defensive lineman Anthony Pyle and junior linebacker Nick Ortiz are tied for second in sacks among MEC players.

• Two Concord defensive lineman are approaching 100 tackles for their careers as junior Ervin Moore and senior Keith Ferguson have made 97 and 90 stops respectively in their Mountain Lion careers.

• Additionally, Carey needs one more interception to tie current defensive backs Tracy Gravely, Chris Belcher and Rodney Hughey for ninth all-time at Concord with seven picks.

• Stewart along with junior kicker Andy Ellington and junior running back Angus Harper are all ranked in the top 10 in the conference in scoring. The three players finding themselves in the top 10 is the most by any team in the MEC.

• Stewart is tied for first with 42 points while Harper is fifth (30) and Ellington is seventh (26).

• The Mountain Lions will be seeking their fourth straight win over West Liberty as Justice has never lost to the Hilltoppers.

• Last season in a 20-3 win on the road, Concord was lead by Jones who ran for 132 yards and a touchdown. The Concord defense limited West LIberty to 198 yards of offense in the victory.

• In the strong defensive effort, Ferguson recovered a fumble and Pyle recorded a sack.

• Concord has outscored West Liberty 41-6 in the last two matchups as two season ago in Athens, Ellington connected on field goals from 40 and 44 yards and Ben Nester had a touchdown in the Mountain Lions 21-3 win.

• Concord's currrent three-game winning streak against the Hilltoppers is the longest winning streak in the series since Concord won three in a row from 2004-06.

• WLU has won two of its first three games this season as they have defeated MEC foes Glenville State and West Virginia State after falling to Shepherd on opening week.

• WLU possesses two of the league's top five tacklers in linebacker Alec Wood, who leads the conference in total tackles with 33 and linebacker Marc Schumacher, who ranks fourth with 27 total tackles.

A CONCORD WIN WOULD...
•  A Concord win would push CU's win streak over West Liberty to four in a row, the most consecutive games Concord has ever won against the Hilltoppers.

•  A Concord win would give a 3-0 home start for the first time since 2010.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
56.4-  Percent of yards from Novak that has been caught by Smith or Stewart. The duo has combined for 584 yards.

85- Point margin that Concord has outscored it opponents by in the first half of play this season

3- Number of consecutive games the Concord offense has exceeded 500 yards.

UP NEXT
Concord will travel to Fairmont State for an MEC road contest vs. the Falcons at 1:00 p.m. next Saturday