Concord Squares Off Against Alderson-Broaddus in Final Road Game

Concord Stats - Alderson-Broaddus Stats - Live Audio - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University football team makes its final road trip of the season when it visits Alderson-Broaddus 2:00 p.m. Saturday in a Mountain East Conference game at Multi-Sport Performance Stadium in Philippi, West Virginia.

LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Live radio coverage can be heard on 101.3 FM locally in the Philippi area and streaming online at 1013thebear.com
Stats: The Alderson-Broaddus Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statistics
Video: Live streaming video will be available for the matchup.

RECORDS
The Mountain Lions are 2-6 this season after a 15-14 loss at Wheeling.

Alderson-Broaddus is 1-8 overall and 1-7 in the MEC.

CLAMPING DOWN
In the defeat at Wheeling, Concord's defense allowed just two field goals as nine of the 15 points by the Cardinals were scored on a special teams safety and an interception returned for a touchdown in the first half. The six points allowed were the fewest by a CU defense since shutting out UVa.-Wise in September 2017, 7-0. Included in the defensive effort was the Mountain Lions holding WU to 56 first-half yards of offense as well as 16 total first downs for the game, the second lowest of the season for Concord's defense. Junior linebacker Ty Maust collected a career-best 12 tackles in the contest while the defensive line had three sacks. Senior Dajor Davenport had his team-best fifth sack of the season. The former high school teammates from Lord Botetourt in suburban Roanoke, Virginia—junior Noah Overstreet and fifth-year senior JT Turner—each had a sack at Wheeling. Concord has 10 of its 13 sacks for the season in the last five games.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
The defensive success was also seen in Concord's secondary as the Mountain Lions registered a season-best eight pass break-ups. Junior linebacker Jordan Jones, senior defensive back Rashon Lusane and senior defensive back Elijah Moore all had two pass break-ups. Earlier this season, CU had seven pass break-ups versus West Liberty with Jones and Moore both aiding in the effort with a PBU each. With the swarming secondary, the Maroon and Gray defense held the Wheeling combination of Brennon Norris and Chad Palmer to 14-of-34 passing—the second time in 2021 Concord has held a team to below a 50-percent completion rate.

GOOD THINGS IN THREES
Offensively, senior defensive back Zion Barnette who has been converted to a wide receiver recorded 10 catches for 110 yards and his first two career touchdowns as he found the end zone twice in the second quarter. The Harrisburg, North Carolina native became the third CU receiver with 10 or more catches in a game this season. Sophomore wide receiver Jarod Bowie opened the year with 15 catches at Glenville State while fifth-year wide receiver Tywan Pearce has double-digit catches in three contest this year. Additionally, Barnette joined Bowie and Pearce as wide receivers to have two or more touchdown receptions in the first nine career games for junior quarterback Jack Mangel.

MOVING ON UP
Speaking of Mangel, he worked his way into the career record book at Concord by completing 23 passes for 220 yards and the two touchdowns to Barnette on Saturday. The Athens, Georgia native needed just nine games to break into the program's top 10 for passing yards. Mangel has amassed 2,745 yards at CU. To put it into perspective, Kyle Akin who is in eighth with 3,022 yards needed 19 games to top 3,000 career passing yards. Furthermore, Mangel tied Akin and Troy Wilt for ninth in passing touchdowns as his second score gave him 21 career touchdowns in the Maroon and Gray. Mangel's next touchdown will tie CU Hall of Famer Don Van Deusen for eighth in program history. The 226 completions by Mangel are ninth in program, needing 11 more to slide into eighth. And after playing his ninth game at CU, Mangel qualifies for the program record in passing yards per game. He is averaging 305 passing yards at Concord, 44 yards per game clear of Zack Grossi in second.

CONTINUING THE TREND
Concord's pass defense has gone four straight games of not allowing a team to pass for 200 yards on it. After limiting Wheeling to 181 yards through the air, the Mountain Lions are fourth in the MEC in passing defense, allowing 211.8 yards per game. If the season ended today, it would be the lowest passing total allowed by Concord since 2013 when it gave up just 159 yards through the air on average. And AB is only averaging 143 yards passing in 2021. While CU has just four interceptions this season, and just one in the last four games, Concord faces Alderson-Broaddus' Jaylen McNair who has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this season (seven TDs, nine INTs).

FIRST THINGS FIRST
Saturday will be the first all-time meeting between Alderson-Broaddus and Concord. Though the two schools were in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference together for several years, the Battlers did not start a football program until 2012. Before joining the MEC prior to the 2020-21 school year, the Battlers had only played future conference foes Charleston, Fairmont State and Glenville State, facing GSC on an annual basis. It has been since the 2019 season that Concord has faced an opponent for the first time, and two years ago the Maroon and Gray lost games to all three foes in their first meetings with Frostburg State, Hillsdale and Wheeling.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
6- The next sack for Davenport will be his sixth and also the most for a CU defensive player since 2014.

24- Completions needed by Mangel to break the single-season program record held by Grossi at 228.

68- Pearce's reception count for the season has moved into the top five for a single-season in program history.

ALDERSON-BROADDUS AT A GLANCE
Though AB will see Concord for the first time in series history, McNair has faced CU two times prior having beaten the Mountain Lions as the quarterback at Glenville State in 2017 and 2018. The graduate student has thrown for five touchdowns and 492 yards in two starts versus CU. The lone win for the Battlers this season came on the road against West Virginia Wesleyan as it rolled to a 49-20 victory. It was the first victory for head coach Travis Everhart who like Concord head coach Dave Walker is in his second season, in Philippi. The Battlers give up the second-most yards per game (427.5) in the MEC. Tracey White leads the defense with 52 tackles and two fumble recoveries this season.