Concord's Defense Holds Strong in 7-0 Win

ATHENS, W.Va.  – Senior defensive back Jeremiah Johnson had the game's only score as the Concord University football team blanked UVa.-Wise 7-0 Thursday night in Mountain East Conference action at Callaghan Stadium.

CU improves to 1-2 on the season and also 1-2 in the MEC. The Cavaliers fall to 2-1, overall and in the league.

Johnson's second interception of the game came with under seven minutes left in the game on a night when the Concord defense stood exceptionally tall.

After senior punter Garrett Lee's seventh punt of the night—that pinned the Cavaliers at their own 15-yard line—UVa.-Wise faced a first and long after a series of penalties. Signal caller Brycen Lee dropped back and floated a pass on the far sideline that Johnson elevated for and snagged out of the air. Once intercepting the pass, Johnson snaked across field, winding up in the endzone for a Concord score.

Although leading in a game for the first time since the first quarter of the West Virginia Wesleyan game, the Mountain Lions needed one more stop to seal up a victory. The Cavaliers didn't go quietly into the night. Faced with third and 35, B. Lee completed a desperation heave to Jacob Cousins to set up a fourth-and-five with less than two minutes left to go. Lee's sidearm sling under pressure to his tight end Jake Barnett was wide as Concord held on for the slim win.
 
The Concord secondary was sharp tonight as Johnson picked off a potential scoring chance for UVa.-Wise in the endzone and added the interception score as well. Senior defensive back Chaudler Shepherd—playing in his first game of the season—hauled in an interception just across midfield. For the second consecutive week, senior defensive back Dominic Wilson was stellar on the backend with a recovered blocked kick and five tackles.

Along the defensive front, the Mountain Lions got after Lee and put him under duress all night. Junior defensive linemen Colton Neal and Justin Noble each had three sacks as CU lived in the Cavaliers' backfield, amassing 10 sacks.

Concord broke the single-game MEC record for sacks that was previously eight. Along with Neal and Noble, junior defensive lineman Malik Trollinger had two sacks while sophomore defensive lineman Keionte Gainey and senior linebacker Aszaun Whiley each had one sack.

Additionally, the Mountain Lions also tied the single-game Division II record in 2017 which was previously held by just Delta State.

CU held the Cavaliers scoreless, but UVa.-Wise also had some untimely miscues. In the first half, the Cavaliers had a short touchdown run erased because of a holding penalty. Johnson stole a pass in the endzone to end another scoring opportunity. However, the best chance for UVa.-Wise to score came early in the fourth when Carlton Griffith ran off tackle right and was met by Gainey who stripped him of the ball inside the 10-yard line. The loose ball was recovered by junior linebacker Andrew Jakubowsky.

Junior linebacker Zach Malone finished with 11 tackles. Shepherd added eight to go along with his interception. Four of the five tackles for Neal were for a loss. Gainey chipped in eight tackles, two sacks, a blocked field goal and a forced fumble.

Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Plyler hauled in a team-best three catches for 29 yards.

The Mountain Lions travel to Notre Dame 12:00 p.m. Saturday, September 23.