INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The Concord University football team was unable to slow down West Virginia State in the second half as it lost 56-38 Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference game at Dickerson Stadium.
Concord (6-2, 5-2 MEC) held a 31-19 edge at halftime as senior quarterback
Jack Mangel threw three touchdowns in the first half, and junior running back
Thurlow Wilkins added a second-quarter touchdown rush.
West Virginia State (5-3, 4-3 MEC) took a 32-31 lead after back-to-back touchdowns to open the third quarter, but Concord had a quick answer as Mangel found junior wide receiver
Jarod Bowie on a short crossing route at midfield. Bowie was able to get free and race 55 yards for a touchdown to push the Mountain Lions back in front 38-32 with 8:28 remaining in the third quarter.
However, the next three touchdowns in the game belonged to the Yellow Jackets as they took a 53-38 lead with 14:10 left in the game. The Mountain Lions were unable to get points on the next two drives despite driving inside the WVSU five-yard line with less than seven minutes remaining.
Leading 14-9 after a quarter, Concord turned three West Virginia State second-quarter turnovers into touchdowns. Junior defensive lineman
Manny Azolin jumped out and snatched an interception that led to the first Bowie touchdown strike—a 15-yard completion from Mangel at the 10:09 mark of the second quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Yellow Jackets fumbled the ball, and sophomore defensive back
Kevin Howard came up with the recovery. Wilkins punctuated the short 43-yard drive with his only touchdown of the day.
Mangel came within 21 yards of breaking the single-game passing record at Concord as he finished with 450 yards to go with four touchdowns. Redshirt freshman wide receiver
Solomon Butler had career highs in both catches (10) and yards (154). Bowie topped 100 yards with seven catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back
Kris Copeland caught a team-best 11 passes for 99 yards and a score.
Graduate linebacker
Ty Maust made a team-best 16 tackles which is the most in a game for CU this season.
Concord rolled up 552 yards off offense in the game.
The Mountain Lions play back-to-back home games starting with Wheeling 12:00 p.m. October 29 at Callaghan Stadium.
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