Concord Stats -
West Virginia State Stats -
Live Stats -
Live Audio -
Live Video -
Complete Game Notes
ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University football team begins a two-game road trip when it visits West Virginia State 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Lakin Field in Institute, West Virginia.
LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Concord alumnus Greg White does radio play-by-play for West Virginia State and will have coverage of Saturday's game on 98.7 FM in the Charleston, West Virginia area and also streaming online
here.
Stats: The West Virginia State Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statistics for Saturday's contest.
Video: Additionally, an online video stream will be available for Saturday's game as well via the WVSU Sports Information Department.
RECORDS
The Mountain Lions are coming off a 41-35 defeat against Glenville State at home. CU is now 1-5 in 2018.
West Virginia State rolled up a 61-42 win over non-conference foe Kentucky State last week to improve to 3-3 overall. The Yellow Jackets are 2-3 in the MEC this season.
GAME OF FIRSTS
In Concord's contest against Glenville State, several Mountain Lions accomplished different feats for the first time in their careers.
Sophomore wide receiver
Isaiah Bowman rushed for 101 yards as a running back with a bulk of the yardage coming in the second half.
It was the first time the Raleigh, North Carolina native eclipsed the century mark rushing in his career.
Sophomore linebacker
Alec Henderson nabbed his first career takeaway with a fourth-quarter interception that he ran back for a touchdown.
CU forced three fumbles in the game while recovering two. Bowman, junior defensive back
Jakil Sarhim and freshman defensive back
Davon Williams all forced their first career fumbles with Bowman and Williams' coming on kickoff returns by the Pioneers.
Freshman defensive back
Quentin Barnes and junior defensive lineman
Ryan Gatrell recovered their first career fumbles in the game.
PUNCH THAT BALL OUT
With Concord recovering two fumbles versus GSC, it vaulted the Mountain Lions into a tie for eighth in all of Division II for fumble recoveries with eight.
Only Urbana (10) and Edinboro (nine) have more fumble recoveries in Super Region One than CU.
No Concord player has more than one fumble recovery this season, and only Gatrell's 39-yard return on a strip sack from Sarhim against Glenville State has yardage on a fumble recovery.
DOING A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING
Sarhim had a career day on Saturday as he recorded his first career sack while also stripping the ball away from GSC quarterback Jaylen McNair.
The Berkeley, California native also recorded four pass break-ups which was a career high.
It was the first time since October 28, 2017 versus West Liberty that a CU defensive back had multiple pass break-ups (PBUs) in single game.
Jeremiah Johnson had two PBUs versus the Hilltoppers. From his linebacker spot, Henderson was active against Glenville State.
The Christiansburg, Virginia native tallied five tackles, had his first tackle for loss of the season and recorded Concord's first defensive score since sophomore defensive back
Jonathan Roebuck ran back an interception for a touchdown against UNC-Pembroke last season.
Henderson's interception return went for 32 yards in the fourth quarter, and got Concord to within 41-35 of the Pioneers.
RUSHING TO THE SCENE
Bowman's rushing performance was somewhat out of nowhere as he carried the ball for an average of 7.8 yards while also running the ball for two scores against the Pioneers.
Bowman became the first CU rusher to score multiple touchdowns in the same game since
Jamal Petty ran for two touchdowns against Urbana in last year's season finale.
And Bowman's average of 7.8 yards per rush is the best for a Concord running back with at least 10 carries since Petty's average of 10.2 versus UU in the same game.
With Bowman going over 100 yards rushing and freshman running back
Kris Copeland running for 141 yards against West Virginia Wesleyan, it was the first time since the 2015 season that the Mountain Lions have had two different rushers go over 100 yards in different games in the same season.
Calvinaugh Jones rushed for 100 or more yards in six games while Petty went over the century mark versus West Virginia Wesleyan.
Furthermore, with the help of Bowman's 101 yards and Copeland's 75 yards versus Glenville State, the Mountain Lions ran for a season-high 244 yards.
It was the also the most for CU since they rolled up 327 rushing yards against UVa.-Wise in 2015.
A WHOLE LOTTA OFFENSE
Concord and West Virginia State have split the last four meetings with CU winning in 2014 and 2015 and the Yellow Jackets taking the last two games.
The last time the last two teams got together at WVSU, the game featured 1,202 yards of offense--both teams had 601 yards--and 97 points as West Virginia State won 52-45.
In those last four contests, the winner has scored at least 47 points in each instance. West Virginia State tallied 47 points last year while Concord put up 55 and 52 in wins in 2014 and 2015.
Additionally, the winner of this game since 2014 has racked up at least 490 yards of total offense.
WVSU recorded 513 last season. Concord went for 490 yards in 2015, and another 585 in 2014. This season, the Mountain Lions are allowing 535 yards per game, but West Virginia State is surrendering 434 yards per game in 2018.
However, both defenses have done a stellar job in forcing turnovers despite giving up yards.
Concord is tied for seventh in the MEC with 11 turnovers forced. WVSU is tied for fourth with 12 forced turnovers.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
6- Tackles needed by senior linebacker
Zach Malone to become the sixth player in program history with 300 career tackles.
20- Fourth-quarter points scored by Concord versus GSC--the most for CU in any quarter in 2018.
36- Penalties called on Concord this season which ranks second in the MEC behind Shepherd's 34 for fewest.
WEST VIRGINIA STATE AT A GLANCE
The Yellow Jackets are led by former Concord offensive assistant John Pennington who guided WVSU to a winning season in 2017 for the first time since 2008.
Wide receiver Tyrell Henderson is third in the MEC in receptions with 34, and is averaging 91 receiving per game while also finding the end zone five times this season.
The Yellow Jackets have the second ranked rushing offense in the league, averaging 196.2 yards per game.
The ground game is spearheaded by Calil Wilkins who is one of four running backs in the MEC averaging at least 100 yards on the ground per game.
Wilkins is gaining 107.2 yards per contest rushing.
Joe Stoneman is fourth in the conference in tackles with 61 while teammate Moises Valcarcel is fifth with 55 stops in 2018.
