Concord Set for White Out Home Opener Versus Emory & Henry

2022 Concord Stats - 2022 Emory & Henry Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University football team begins the 2023 season at home 1:00 p.m. Saturday when it welcomes non-conference foe Emory & Henry to Callaghan Stadium.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statisitcs and live streaming video for Saturday's contest. 

Live Stats
Live Video

All fans are encouraged to wear white as the Mountain Lions will be in all white uniforms, including debuting their new white helmets. 

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2022 Overall Record: 9-2
2022 MEC Record: 8-2
2022 Home Record: 4-1
2022 Away Record: 5-1

A NEW REGIME
Former Concord offensive coordinator Brian Ferguson was named the 21^st head coach in program history in May after the departure of Dave Walker. Under Ferguson's tutelage, the Mountain Lions had one of the nation's most explosive offenses in 2022 as it finished in the top five in Division II in yards per game (487.6) while scoring 39.5 points per game last fall. With Ferguson's promotion to head coach, he brought in new defensive coordinator Casey Creehan who has coaching experience at each level of the NCAA along with the Canadian Football League. Furthermore, new assistant coaches include Austin Ashcraft (offensive line), Nathan Lease (defensive line), Josh Ramos (running backs), Saul Robles (assistant offensive line) and Brian Saunds (wide receivers) to fill out the staff.

QB1
Among the most notable returners for the Mountain Lions is senior quarterback Jack Mangel who was among the best signal callers in Division II in 2022. Mangel finished the season with a single-season program record 39 touchdowns and was just short of the single-season yards record with 3,667. The Athens, Georgia native threw five or more touchdowns three times last season, and had 24 touchdowns over the final five games. However, one of Mangel's quieter games last season came at Emory & Henry when he totaled just 208 yards and tossed two scores in a 27-20 win on the road.

NEW FACES, NEW PLACES
With the hiring of Coach Creehan as the new defensive coordinator, some new faces line the depth chart on the defensive side of the ball. Among those are weakside linebacker and redshirt freshman Ryker Brown who transferred from the University of Charleston in the spring. Brown had a standout career in high school at Bluefield, and is a native of Peterstown, West Virginia. Middle linebacker and freshman Brodee Rice was an all-state player at nearby Princeton. The CU secondary took the biggest hit with graduation from last season. Junior college defensive back Trevis Dampier, freshman Kendall Bournes and Division II transfers Andre Williams (Lincoln Pa.) and Mekhi Williams (Bowie State) are all new to the Concord backend.

OLD FACES, SAME PLACES
While Mangel will be without All-American wide receiver Jarod Bowie who transferred to Division I Jacksonville State in the offseason, the Concord quarterback will have some of his favorite targets back for 2023. Second Team All-MEC wide receiver Kris Copeland caught 52 passes for 606 yards and seven touchdowns. Of returning MEC pass catchers, Copeland ranks top five in all three major receiving categories. Copeland played in 31 career games as his time in the Maroon and Gray dates back to 2018. Senior wide receiver Cayden Chamber amassed 364 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. Senior running back Thurlow Wilkins is the MEC's top returning rusher from last fall after running for 1,179 yards and 12 touchdowns. Over the final five games of last season, Wilkins recorded 735 yards on the ground.

LEADER IN THE TRENCHES
Second Team All-MEC offensive lineman Bo Rowland will be depended upon to lead a relatively inexperienced group up front. Rowland has started all 22 games during his time in the Maroon and Gray, and did not miss a snap at left tackle last season. Rowland was part of an offensive line that allowed just 14 sacks in 2022, second fewest in the MEC. The only other Concord offensive lineman experience in the Maroon and Gray is junior Derrick Battle—the projected starter at right guard. This week's opponent, Emory & Henry, boasts a stout offensive line with four of the five starters checking in over 300 pounds. Two projected starters, left tackle Clayton Allen (Maryland) and right guard Noah Sage (Virginia Tech), have power five experience.

FAST START
The Mountain Lions were 7-0 last season when they scored first. Included in that was CU scoring in the first 75 seconds of the game at Emory & Henry when Mangel connected with Chambers on a 40-yard score on the game's third play from scrimmage. Though Concord jumped out on the Wasps in southwestern Virginia last season, CU had to comeback from a 17-7 second-quarter deficit. Copeland led the comeback with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Summerville, South Carolina native scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on a one-yard rush with 13:03 left in the game. In the final game of the season at UNC-Pembroke, Concord opened the scoring, but needed five overtimes to outlast the Braves, 58-56.

RECORD WATCH
After his all-region performance last season, Mangel is on the cusp of breaking several Concord passing records in his final season. With 10 touchdowns, Mangel would pass Brian Novak (2013-2016) for the program record. Mangel starts the year with 62 touchdowns. He needs 2,998 yards to break the passing yards record, also owned by Novak at 9,820. And Mangel is 143 completions away from owning that career record which sits at 691. After his career-year receiving last year, Copeland is 10^th at CU in career receptions (117), and needs 33 to break into the top five. And with another 1,000-yard rushing season, Wilkins would break into the top 10 in all-time rushing at Concord with 10^th place currently at 2,156 yards.

CONTINUED SUCCESS
Last year was the first time Concord and Emory & Henry met on the gridiron in 41 yards. But dating back to 1977, the Mountain Lions have won six straight between the schools separated by just 91 miles. CU was held to its fourth-lowest point total of the season in 2022 by the Wasps, and the 273 yards that the Maroon and Gray tallied were the second fewest. On the flip, CU limited E&H to 276 yards of offense last year which was the second lowest total allowed by the Concord defense last fall. Emory & Henry had one of the South Atlantic Conference's best pass defenses last season as it only surrendered 198 yards through the air and finished with 14 interceptions, second most in the league.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1- Combined turnovers in last season's game at Emory & Henry.

6- Years since Concord opened the season with a home game, a 23-18 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan in 2017.

60- Touchdowns scored by the Concord offense last season, the most since 2014

EMORY & HENRY AT A GLANCE
2022 Overall Record: 5-6
2022 SAC Record: 4-5
2022 Home Record: 2-3
2022 Away Record: 3-3

SCOUTING THE WASPS
Head coach Curt Newsome, a former offensive line coach at James Madison and Virginia Tech, begins his 10^th season in charge of the E&H program. Last year's starting quarterback Kyle Short is now the projected backup behind Charles Mutter who only had one touchdown last season compared to four interceptions. Tmahdae Penn is the leading returning receiver as he amassed 588 yards and five touchdowns last year on his way to All-SAC Second Team honors. Chendrick Cann (four), TJ Payne (three) and Addison Knicely (two) combined for nine interceptions last year. Former CU assistant coach Devin Woodson is now on staff at Emory & Henry, and Concord alum Tommy Buzzo is the Wasps' defensive coordinator.