Concord Begins October with Trip to Fairmont State

Concord Stats - Fairmont State Stats - Live Audio - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University football team plays its first Saturday road game when it takes on Fairmont State at Duvall-Rosier Field 2:00 p.m. Saturday in a Mountain East Conference game.

LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: The Fairmont State radio crew of Travis Jones and Duane Cochran will have live play-by-play coverage of the game on Sky 106.5 and streaming at this link
Stats: The Concord University Sports Information Department will be on the road to provide live in-game statistics
Video: Live streaming video will be available through Fairmont State

RECORDS
Concord dropped a 42-23 decision to Frostburg State to finish up a two-game homestand as it moved to 1-2 on the year.

Fairmont State earned its first win of the year as it outlasted UNC-Pembroke, 30-27, Saturday on the road.

ELITE COMPANY
Fifth-year senior wide receiver Tywan Pearce racked up career-highs in receptions (14) and receiving yards (189) against Frostburg State. The North Kissimmee, Florida native also hauled in two of the three CU touchdowns on the afternoon. Pearce is the only pass catcher in the MEC with three 100-yard games this season—the rest of the MEC receivers have combined for 11 100-yard games with two of those belonging to teammate and sophomore wide receiver Jarod Bowie. Pearce ranks third in Division II in receiving yards per game (132.3). Additionally, Pearce became the sixth player in program history to go over 2,000 career receiving yards on Saturday as he stands at 2,143 yards. This week, Pearce seeks to become the first player in program history with four straight 100-yard receiving games. The only other player in program history with 100 or more reception yards in three consecutive games was Thomas Mayo during a three-week stretch in October 2009 against Glenville State, Seton Hill and Shepherd.

GUNSLINGER MENTALITY
Junior quarterback Jack Mangel tallied his third 300-yard passing game in his fourth career start against the Bobcats. Mangel rolled up 351 passing yards as he now stands at 1,021 yards through three games in 2021. The Athens, Georgia native is third in Division II in passing yards per game with 340.3. Mangel is the first CU signal caller with 1,000 or more passing yards in a three-game stretch since Brian Novak during the final two regular-season games of the 2014 season and the first game of the 2014 postseason. Furthermore, Mangel is third in Division II in completions per game (29.3) and is 19^th in completion percentage (65.2). Pearce hasn't been Mangel's only target this season as Bowie is 15^th in Division II in receiving yards with 115 per game. In his first extended action of the season, freshman wide receiver Demarcus Griffin had four catches for 21 yards versus Frostburg State.

MONEY DOWN
Concord hit on 57.1 percent (8-for-14) of its third downs against FSU last week. It was the highest percentage of third-down conversions since the Maroon and Gray also hit on 8-of-14 attempts in the season opener against West Liberty in 2016. The Mountain Lions' performance against Frostburg State came against one of the MEC's best defenses on third down as FSU was allowing opponents to hit on just 25.5 percent of third downs prior to its visit to Athens. Concord's 42.5 percent success rate on third down ranks second in the conference while Fairmont State's defense ranks 10^th in MEC in allowing third-down conversions (41.8).

GET AFTER HIM
Concord has only tallied three sacks this season with two coming against West Virginia Wesleyan—both in the first quarter by junior linebacker Jordan Jones and junior defensive lineman Noah Overstreet. However, CU's defense squares off against a Fairmont State offensive lineman that has surrendered 16 sacks this season, third most in the MEC. Along that FSU offensive line is just one player with significant starting experience, junior left guard Tyreke McKeithan. The other four starters are either freshmen or sophomores. Meanwhile, the projected starters for along the CU defensive line—fifth-year senior JT Turner, senior Nathan Lease and senior Dajor Davenport—have combined for 50 starts. 
 
GROUNDING THE FALCONS
Fairmont State has won four straight games in the series against Concord, including a 56-27 victory on CU's Homecoming in 2019. The Fighting Falcons have scored at least 35 points in each of the last three games versus the Mountain Lions. Pearce put together his first career 10-reception game against Fairmont State in 2019 with 10 catches for 73 yards and a score. Defensively, fifth-year senior linebacker Dwain Porterfield amassed a career-best 15 tackles versus the Fighting Falcons. Senior linebacker Tylen Fowler notched 11 tackles, which was the last time Concord had two players with 10 or more tackles in the same game. Fowler also added a fumble recovery. Senior defensive back Zion Barnette had five tackles and two pass break-ups.

TAKE IT AWAY
The lone takeaway for the Mountain Lions versus Frostburg State was an interception from senior defensive back Marcellus Saint on the final play of the first half, but it marked the 17^th consecutive game that CU has registered at least one takeaway. The streak started right before the 2018 meeting versus Fairmont State when the Maroon and Gray had four takeaways against West Liberty. At Duvall-Rosier Field in 2018, Concord recorded two turnovers by the FSU offense as senior defensive back Davon Williams had a second-half interception and former standout Chaudlier Shepherd jumped on a Fairmont State fumble. The Fighting Falcons have been sure-handed this season with just three giveaways in four games.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2- Yards needed by Pearce to move into the top five in receiving yards at CU. Carlos Lee had 2,144 yards to Pearce's current mark of 2,143.

6- Years since head coach Dave Walker has lost back-to-back games as a head coach at the high school or collegiate level. A string of 66 consecutive games.

75- Saturday will be the 75^th all-time game between CU and Fairmont State with FSU holding a 40-33-1 edge.

FAIRMONT STATE AT A GLANCE
Like Pearce for Concord, Fairmont State's Javon Hayes has been one of the mainstays at wide receiver in the MEC as he needs 105 yards to go over 2,000 for his career. Hayes, fellow wide receiver Shawn Harris, tight end Josh Nevers and McKeithan are the only upperclassmen starters on the FSU offense. Redshirt freshman and Fairmont native Conner Neal has started all four games for the Fighting Falcons this season at quarterback, but he was replaced late in the UNC-Pembroke game by Michael Floria who led the game-winning touchdown drive in the final three minutes. Defensively, Brocton Blair is top five in the MEC in tackles with 30. Chrinovic Mukulu and Mark Woods have combined for four sacks.