Concord Starts Back Half of Schedule Versus Charleston

Concord Stats - Charleston Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - After scoring a season-high 45 points in a 17-point win at West Liberty, the Concord University football team opposes Charleston in a Mountain East Conference clash at Callaghan Stadium 1:00 p.m. Saturday.

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SERIES HISTORY: Charleston leads 20-13-1

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
October 16, 2021: Charleston 48 - Concord 3 (Charleston, W.Va.)
November 7, 2019: Charleston 41 - Concord 14 (Charleston, W.Va.)
September 6, 2018: Charleston 42 - Concord 21 (Athens, W.Va.)
September 7, 2017: Charleston 27 - Concord 0 (Charleston, W.Va.)
October 1, 2016: Charleston 36 - Concord 23 (Athens, W.Va.)

A DAY FOR THE AGES
Senior quarterback Jack Mangel led the Concord offense with a career-best 444 yards through the air to go with 36 completions and five touchdowns. Mangel tied his single-game high in touchdowns and completions. The Athens, Georgia native is seventh in Division II in passing yards (1,746) and tied for ninth in touchdowns (15). Mangel's 444 yards are the second-most in program history for a single game, and the fifth-most in a Division II game this season. Reigning MEC Offensive Player of the Week, junior wide receiver Jarod Bowie, hauled in a career-best 16 receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns at WLU. Bowie tied the single-game program record for receptions while becoming the first CU player with multiple receiving touchdowns this fall. The 16-reception record was previously set by Randall Hawkins in 2012 versus Shepherd. Bowie is tied for first in Division II in receptions (53) and is second in receiving yards (811).

MULTIPLE OPTIONS
Even though Bowie had a record-setting day against West Liberty, Mangel's career game was aided by redshirt freshman wide receiver Solomon Butler and junior wide receiver Cayden Chambers. Butler snagged eight passes which is the most for a Concord pass catcher this year, other than Bowie, for 87 yards and a first-quarter score. Over his last two games, Butler has 133 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Chambers continued his consistent production with a career-high 78 yards on five receptions and his fourth touchdown of the season. While Bowie's six touchdowns are tied for second in the MEC, Chambers' four scores are tied for fourth in the conference.

JUMP ON THE BALL, JOHN
Graduate defensive back John Merica secured two takeaways in last week's game as he became the first player, besides fifth-year senior defensive back Marcellus Saint, with an interception this season. The Bridgeport, West Virginia native added a fourth-quarter fumble recovery that went for a 42-yard touchdown. The fumble was forced by graduate linebacker Ty Maust—the first CU player with both a fumble forced and a fumble recovered this season. Merica became the first CU player with a defensive touchdown since Imani Moore ran a fumble back at Glenville State in 2019. Additionally, Merica is the first Mountain Lion with an interception and a fumble recovery in the same contest since Ryan Gatrell in November 2018 versus Urbana.

STAY ON THE FIELD
On Saturday, Concord converted on 8-of-14 third-down chances against West Liberty—a defense that was only allowing opponents to cash in on 22 percent of third downs. The Mountain Lions are first in the MEC, and 34^th nationally, in third down conversions at 43.9 percent. Additionally, the Maroon and Gray is 13^th in Division II in first downs this season with 143, an average of 23.8 per game. At WLU, Concord recorded 31 first downs which was the most since 2010 when it had 33 versus West Liberty.

AT YOUR OWN RISK
The Concord secondary has been stellar over the last two games. After holding Fairmont State to 102 yards through the air two weeks ago, the Maroon and Gray held West Liberty to 129 yards passing Saturday. Only two of the six CU opponents have topped 175 yards passing this season, and only West Virginia Wesleyan has surpassed 225 yards on the Maroon and Gray defense. Graduate defensive back Michael Sawyer Jr. had two pass break-ups in a game for the third time this season as he ranks in a tie for eighth in the MEC in PBUs. Graduate defensive back Jaimeer Goodman, sophomore defensive back Kevin Howard and Saint all have two PBUs this fall.

TOUGH TEST
Concord's pass defense is ranked first in the MEC, holding opponents to 190 yards per game. However, Charleston possesses the conference's third-best passing offense as it averages nearly 270 yards per game. Javonte Howard shared MEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week with Bowie after he threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-34 win over Glenville State. Howard and Davis Black have split time this year with Black throwing for 943 yards and nine touchdowns. The top receiver for UC is Marquan Herron who has 332 yards receiving and six touchdowns. Colby Cooper had 64 yards receiving and a touchdown versus Concord last season.

LIGHT UP THE SCOREBOARD
While Charleston is the MEC's top scoring offense, posting just under 35 points per game, and is just one of three teams in the MEC racking up over 400 yards per game, the Golden Eagles are allowing 34.8 points per game which is 10^th in the conference. The 269.3 passing yards per game allowed by UC is 11^th in the MEC, and the 420.5 total yards are 10^th. Meanwhile, Concord is coming off a 554-yard output at West Liberty—the second-highest total of the season. The 418.7 yards that Concord is recording on a per game basis is 35^th in Division II and sixth in Super Region One.

DON'T GIVE IT UP
Concord takes on a Charleston defense that is known to get pressure on the quarterback and force turnovers. Nick Evans is the only UC player with multiple sacks this season as he has four. The Golden Eagles are averaging two turnovers per game with seven interceptions and five fumble recoveries. In the previous two home games this season, the Mountain Lions have not had a giveaway. Mangel has gone 104 consecutive attempts without throwing an interception, dating back to the second quarter of the Frostburg State game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
42- Charleston is allowing teams to convert on 42 percent of third downs, 10^th in the MEC.

98- Yards needed by Mangel to become the eighth quarterback in program history to surpass 5,000 passing yards.

99-Yards that a second-half scoring drive covered, the first 90-yard or more drive for CU since 2018 versus West Liberty.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Charleston defeated Concord 48-3 last season as it held the Mountain Lions to 269 yards of total offense. UC is seeking its seventh straight win over Concord. Like the split time at quarterback, the tandem of Chavon Wright (323 rushing yards) and Josh Brown (245 rushing yards) have shared the carries in the backfield. Willie Floyd leads the defense with 51 tackles, top 10 in the MEC, and seven tackles for loss. Nirion Washington and Roderick Webb both have two interceptions.