ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University football team clamped down on West Liberty for a 20-16 win on Homecoming at Callaghan Stadium Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference game.
After the Hilltoppers (3-3, 3-2 MEC) scored 10 points in a six-minute span over the first and second quarters, Concord (2-3, 2-3 MEC) held West Liberty to just one touchdown over the final 46 minutes of the contest.
With the offense stuck in neutral for much of the first half, the Mountain Lions only needed two plays to get on the board for the first time in the second quarter. Junior wide receiver
Kris Copeland broke off a 33-yard run to push the ball to the WLU 34-yard line before junior quarterback
Jack Mangel lofted a pass into the red zone where fifth-year senior wide receiver
Tywan Pearce hauled in his eighth score of the year.
On the preceding drive, West Liberty had to start at the one-yard line, and a bad snap forced a safety to only give the Hilltoppers a 10-8 edge at halftime.
Concord's second drive of the second half produced points as Copeland capped a nine-play, 69-yad drive to push the Maroon and Gray ahead for the first time, 15-10, with 5:40 remaining in the third.
To open the fourth quarter, the game took a dramatic shift. West Liberty quarterback Jack Allison punched in a one-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal to give the Hilltoppers a 16-15 advantage on the second play of the period. However, on the point after try, senior defensive back
Elijah Moore came flying in for his second blocked kick of the day. Fifth-year senior defensive back
T.J. Stokes scooped up the loose ball and ran 85 yards for two points.
Though they gained just 45 yards on the next drive, Concord chewed up nearly eight minutes of the period that ended with a 22-yard field goal from sophomore kicker
Giovanni Christiano.
The Mountain Lions still needed two defensive stands to survive a late West Liberty score, including stopping the Hilltoppers on fourth down at the CU 30-yard line. And on the game's final play, freshman defensive back
Darryl Nesmith broke up his second pass of the game on Allison's attempt to the end zone from 42 yards away.
Copeland tallied his second career 100-yard game with 115 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Pearce led the receiving unit with six catches for 70 yards and a score. Mangel finished 21-of-35 for 195 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, senior linebacker
Tylen Fowler registered a team-best seven tackles, but 12 players had at least three tackles. Concord's linebackers and secondary combined to break up seven passes with junior linebacker
Ty Maust and Nesmith each recording two.
The 189 yards of offense allowed by Concord were the fewest since November 12, 2016 at UNC-Pembroke. The Mountain Lions racked up 319 yards of offense in the win Saturday.
CU travels to face Charleston 12:00 p.m. October 16.
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