Concord Falls at UVa.-Wise

WISE, Va. – Despite forcing five turnovers, the Concord University football team lost to UVa.-Wise 35-20 Saturday afternoon at Carl Smith Stadium in Mountain East Conference action. 
 
After a scoreless first quarter, the Mountain Lions (1-2, 1-2 MEC) got on the board first after a quick three-play, 53-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kyle Akin to junior wide receiver Brandon Plyler. After a rush by sophomore wide receiver Tywan Pearce, CU led 8-0 with 7:44 left in the first half. 
 
UVa.-Wise (1-2, 1-2 MEC) countered with a 10-play drive that took it to the two-yard line of CU, but the Cavaliers were unable to cash in as junior defensive back Ke'Shawn Hall pounced on a fumble near the goal line to halt the drive. 
 
The fumble was the third of the game after senior linebacker Andrew Jakubowsky fell on a fumble earlier in the second quarter. And sophomore defensive back Bryant Grubb got his first career takeaway by punching out a pass reception across midfield in the first quarter. 
 
The Cavaliers got the ball back late in the second period, and scored with 33 seconds left before the half as the CU lead was trimmed to 8-7.
 
The game's next score belonged to the Cavaliers as they concluded a 12-play, 82-yard drive to take a 14-8 lead with 5:18 remaining in the third. 
 
CU needed just four plays and 1:36 to march 75 yards that ended with a 54-yard catch and run by Pearce as Akin threw his second touchdown of the day to tie the game 14-14. 
 
The quick scoring continued as the next play after the kickoff saw UVa.-Wise's Jamorya Cousin break off a 70-yard touchdown rush. UVa-Wise grabbed a 28-14 advantage with 9:52 left in the game, but Akin and Concord offense had an answer. 
 
The CU signal caller took the Mountain Lions down the field, and cut the deficit to 28-20 on a fourth-and-goal touchdown run by freshman running back Josh Maxwell. 
 
However, the Cavaliers could not be stopped as they put up one final score with 1:52 remaining in the game. 
 
Akin was 21-for-32 in the contest for 192 yards while adding 56 yards on the ground to be CU's leading rusher. Pearce recorded seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. 
 
Senior linebacker Zach Malone had 14 tackles while junior defensive back Jakil Sarhim added a career-best nine stops. 
 
Cousin rushed for 231 of UVa.-Wise's 335 yards on the ground.
 
The Mountain Lions return home to face Notre Dame 12:00 p.m. September 22.