Concord Stats -
Notre Dame Stats -
Live Audio -
Live Stats -
Live Video -
Complete Game Notes
ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University football team looks to bounce back after an 11-point loss to UVa.-Wise in the Mountain East Conference Game of the Week last Thursday with a Homecoming contest 1:00 p.m. Saturday against Notre Dame College.
LIVE COVERAGE
TV: WVVA-TV will broadcast Saturday's game wtih A.J. Good and Austin Davis on the call.
Radio: Jason "Moose" Reed and
Steve Cox will have live play-by-play coverage of Saturday's game on 97.3 FM and online at
www.mywillie.com
Stats: The Concord University Sports Information will provide live in-game statistics for the game between Concord and NDC.
MOUNTAIN LION NOTES
The Mountain Lions enter the game with a record of 2-4 while NDC is 5-1 overall this season and 4-1 in the MEC.
Additionally, Notre Dame is receiving votes in the American Coaches' Football Association Top 25 poll. This week, the Falcons garnered two votes.
Against UVa.-Wise, junior defensive back
Chaudlier Shepherd returned an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown with 1:15 left in the third quarter to put CU up 19-16.
However, the Cavaliers scored 14 unanswered points over the final 16 minutes of the game to grab a 30-19 win.
It was Concord's first punt return for a touchdown since Dec. 6, 2014 when senior wide receiver
Jermeil Douse scored on a punt return against Bloomsburg in the Super Region One Championship game.
The return by Shepherd was also Concord's longest scoring play since then-junior running back
Calvinaugh Jones found the end zone on an 87-yard run against West Chester, Nov. 29, 2014.
The Mountain Lions had three players finish with double-digit tacklers versus UVa.-Wise for the first time in a contest since the West Chester game in 2014.
Senior linebacker
Zach Malone led the charge with 15 tackles and has now notched 32 tackles in his last two contests.
With his 32 stops over the last two contests, Malone has compiled the most tackles in a two-game stretch of any defensive player in the region in 2016.
Senior defensive lineman
Darryl Johnson had his third double-digit tackle game this season by recording 11 tackles and his seventh career sack.
The quarterback takedown against UVa.-Wise tied the Port Deposit, Maryland native for 10th on the all-time sacks list at CU.
Malone (55) and Johnson (53) rank third and seventh in the MEC in total tackles.
Concord along with Urbana are the only teams in the league with multiple players ranked in the top 10 in total tackles.
Sophomore defensive lineman
Justin Noble also finished in double figures in tackles with 10 while also tallying a tackle for loss.
The 10 stops were a career-best for the Nutter Fort, West Virginia native.
Another young Concord defensive player had a career night at UVa.-Wise in redshirt freshman linebacker
Ty Walker.
Walker collected seven tackles and a tackle for loss while getting several snaps at the Fox linebacker spot for CU.
Junior defensive back
Jeremiah Johnson intercepted his third pass in the last two games with a third-quarter pick versus the Cavaliers.
The interception gave Johnson his eighth career interception and placed him in a tie for 10th in career picks at Concord with cornerbacks coach
Tracy Gravely as well as Chris Belcher and Rodney Hughey.
Johnson led the Mountain Lions' secondary to its highest number of pass-break ups this season with four at UVa.-Wise. Â
Johnson notched his first two PBUs of the season while senior defensive back
Akil Bordelon and Walker each batted a pass down.
Junior wide receiver
Paul Jones hauled in CU's only offensive touchdown of the night against UVa.-Wise, a 28-yard reception from senior quarterback
Brian Novak.
Jones notched a career-best 85 receiving yards on three receptions.
In addition to Shepherd, the rest of the CU special teams unit was strong as junior punter
Garrett Lee assumed the Division II lead in punting average.
The Pearisburg, Virginia native got away five punts for an average of 44.8 yards and is averaging 45.8 yards per boot, 0.3 yards better than Charleston's Brett Benes.
Junior kicker
Zack Keaton had his first multi-field goal game at UVa.-Wise. Â
Heading into Saturday's game, Novak needs six pass attempts to become CU's all-time leader in that statistic.
The College Park, Maryland native is already the all-time leader in touchdowns (66), passing yards (8,850) and completions (622) at Concord.
As for Homecoming, the Mountain Lions haven't lost on the occasion since 2008.
Novak has thrown seven career Homecoming touchdowns to just three interceptions.
Douse has caught a touchdown in both previous Homecoming games.
Shepherd has an interception in each of two Homecoming contests including a pick six last year against UVa.-Wise.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
NDC is coached by first-year head coach Mike Jacobs, who played at Ohio State from 1997-2001 and was a part of two Sugar Bowl teams under head coach Jim Tressel.
Notre Dame comes to Athens with one of the most potent offenses in the MEC.
The Falcons are averaging 37.8 points per game, second best in the league.
Notre Dame possesses a balanced offense that averages 205.2 rushing yards and 268.5 passing yards per contest.
Running back DJ Greene is third in the MEC in rushing, 87.8 yards per game while quarterback Malik Grove rushes for 64.7 per game.
Grove accounts for 333.2 yards of offense per game by himself.
Receiver Mitchell Shegos is third in the conference with eight touchdown receptions.
The Falcons are 11th in the MEC in total defense (432.3), but third in turnover margin (+4).
A CONCORD WIN WOULD...
A Concord win would prevent Notre Dame from evening up the all-time series at 2-2.
A Concord win would give Concord eight straight wins on Homecoming.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1- Notre Dame is the only team in the MEC with both a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown in 2016.
4- Â Jones is seeking his fourth straight game with a touchdown. No CU receiver has four straight games with a touchdown since
Ryan Stewart in 2014.
36- Average margin of victory for Concord in its last two Homecoming games.
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