Concord Battles Charelston Under the Lights Thursday

Concord Stats - Charleston Stats - Live Audio - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes - AFCA Top 25 Poll - d2football.com Poll

ATHENS, W.Va. - After a convincing 59-17 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan at Callaghan Stadium Saturday, the Concord University football team has a short week in preparation for Thursday's matchup against Mountain East Conference rival Charleston.

LIVE COVERAGE
The University of Charleston Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics of Thursday night's game while live audio and video will also be available. To access the live coverage options, click the links below or click here.

Stats: Live game day stats
Audio: Jason "Moose" Reed and Steve Cox will have live play-by-play action of the game on 97.3 FM locally and online at www.mywillie.com
Online: ESPN3.com will have live video feed of Thursday's game with Bill Doleman and former NFL offensive lineman Trai Essex on the call.

MOUNTAIN LION NOTES
• CU is ranked 21st by the American Football Coaches Association Poll and 22 in the d2football.com poll ahead of this week's game.

• Against WWVC, Concord racked up 588 yards of offense including 342 yards on the ground.

• It was the first time this season the Mountain Lions eclipsed 500 or more yards of total offense.

• Sophomore running back Jamal Petty recorded a career-high 171 yards rushing on 17 carries and also added a touchdown versus the Bobcats.

• Meanwhile, sophomore wide receiver TJ Smith collected his first two touchdown receptions of the season as he hauled in four catches for 62 yards and the two scores.

• Smith is now one of seven players in CU history to have 15 or more touchdown receptions in his career as he sits at 15.

• Junior quarterback Brian Novak also collected a couple of career achievements in Saturday's game as the College Park, Maryland native went over 400 completions and 6,000 passing yards in his Concord career.

• Novak was 11-for-16 for 226 yards and three touchdowns versus West Virginia Wesleyan, and needs two more touchdowns to surpass 50 career passing touchdowns in his career.

• Senior running back Calvinaugh Jones scored three times versus WVWC, two rushing and one passing, as it was his first three-touchdown game since last season at Fairmont State.

• Additionally, Jones has three multi-touchdown games in four games this season.

• Last season, the Glen Burnie, Maryland native had just three multi-touchdown games in 14 games.

• In Saturday's game, Concord forced three turnovers for the second time this season as junior defensive back Akil Bordelon and senior linebacker Brandon Martinez each had interceptions while senior linebacker Austin Dotson forced a fumble that junior linebacker Davon McGill recovered for CU.

• McGill, who was making his debut for Concord defensively, after switching from wide receiver at the beginning of the season, recorded seven tackles, two tackles for loss, recovered a fumble and had a pass break up from his outside linebacker spot.

• The Concord rushing defense continued its outstanding play by giving up 103 yards on the ground.

• This season, CU ranks 17th in Division II, giving up just 87.0 yards per game.

• The Mountain Lions also rank 17th in scoring defense (15.8 points per game) and 21st in total defense (293.3 yards per game) among Division II teams.

• CU has limited its opponents to 10 trips to the red zone through four games and has given up just six scores.

• The 60 percent success rate in the red zone for Concord's opponents is 15th-best in Division II among defenses.

• On the flip side, the Mountain Lions' offense has scored on 14 of 15 trips to the red zone this season and their 93 percent success rate inside the 20-yard line ranks ninth in Division II.

• The 2014 version of Concord-Charleston was one of the best games of the season in the MEC as CU outlasted the Golden Eagles 24-20.

• Sophomore defensive back Jeremiah Johnson intercepted a pass at CU's 36-yard line as Charleston was driving with less than a minute left to go to seal the win for the Mountain Lions.

• The Mountain Lions took a 24-20 lead on a touchdown pass from Novak to McGill with 1:46 left in the game before Johnson's interception.

• Jones ran for 171 yards in last year's game versus Charleston while Novak threw three touchdown passes, two to Smith and the aforementioned toss to McGill.

• Concord owns a narrow 14-13 advantage in the all-time series versus the Golden Eagles, and won a tight defensive battle in overtime two seasons ago in the Capital City, 9-3.

• In 2013, Jones also went over 100 yards rushing against Charleston as he racked up 104 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

• In his career, Jones has gone over 100 yards in each meeting against UC, making it the only team in the MEC that Jones has rushed for 100 yards or more in three contests.  

• Senior defensive lineman Ervin Moore had a career-high 10 tackles for CU in the 2013 game versus the Golden Eagles.

• Additionally, over the last two meetings, Concord has held UC to 236 passing yards including 121 last season.

SCOUTING CHARLESTON
• Concord's nationally-ranked rush defense will go up against one of the best run offenses in the nation as Charleston sits 20th in Division, averaging 243.5 yards per game on the ground.

• Both the CU run defense and the UC rush offense rank tops in the conference as well.

• Running back Tevion Cappe has rushed for 368 yards and five touchdowns this season while fellow running back Marvin Elam has added 203 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

• Charleston's dual-threat quarterback Jeremy Johnson has thrown for 675 yards and three touchdowns while adding 188 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

• The last three meetings between Concord and Charleston have been decided by a total of 13 points with the go-ahead score in each game coming in the last eight minutes.

A CONCORD WIN WOULD...
• A Concord win would make CU just one of three teams in the MEC with one or fewer losses this season.

• A Concord win would tie the all-time series between Concord and UC at 14-14.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
128- Average number of rushing yards by Jones in three career games against UC.

9- Average number of points CU has allowed to Charleston in the last two meetings at Laidley Field.

40- Sophomore wide receiver Jermeil Douse has had a reception of at least 40 yards in each game this season.

UP NEXT
Concord returns to Callaghan Stadium 2:00 p.m. October 10 to battle UVa.-Wise on homecoming.