Concord Clashes with UNC Pembroke on Senior Day

Concord Stats - UNC Pembroke Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University football team wraps up the 2024 season when it faces UNC Pembroke in a Mountain East Conference contest at Callaghan Stadium 1:00 p.m. Saturday on Senior Day.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live statistics and live video of Saturday's game. Jason Reed and Steve will have the play-by-play action on MEC TV. 

Live Stats
Live Video

SERIES HISTORY: Tied 5-5

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS UNC PEMBROKE
November 11, 2024: UNC Pembroke 68 - Concord 21 (Pembroke, N.C.)
November 12, 2022: Concord 58 - UNC Pembroke 56 (5OT) (Pembroke, N.C.)
November 13, 2021: Concord 28 - UNC Pembroke 25 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 20, 2018: UNC Pembroke 48 - Concord 34 (Pembroke, N.C.)
October 21, 2017: Concord 31 - UNC Pembroke 22 (Athens, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 1-9
MEC Record: 1-7
Home Record: 0-5
Away Record: !-4

THE SENIOR GAME
Prior to Saturday's game, head coach Brian Ferguson and the football program will recognize 11 seniors: tight end Jordyn Bentley, running back JQ Brown, defensive lineman AJ Covington, quarterback Blayne Ferguson, kicker/punter Josh Hutley, defensive back Khwan Mickens, defensive lineman Delando Morris, defensive back Terry Noel, defensive lineman Vonte Pannell, linebacker Jamari Smith and defensive lineman Lataevion Thompson. Among the highlights for this year's senior class are Hutley and Smith both earning All-MEC honors last season. Additionally, Hutley was an all-region punter in 2023. Bentley is projected to start his 35^th game Saturday afternoon. Pannell, a sixth-year senior, is slated to appear in his 33^rd career game. Ferguson has been on the field for 40 games, first as Concord's holder on kicks and then this season as the starting quarterback in five games.

CONTINUING TREND
The Concord defense forced three turnovers for the second straight game as the Mountain Lions recovered three fumbles against Wheeling. Sophomore defensive back Kendall Bournes recovered a fumble in the end zone to halt a Wheeling scoring drive while junior defensive back Rodric Vaughn jumped on a muffed punt. And Mickens notched his third recovered fumble of the season versus Wheeling. Mickens is tied for first in Division II in fumble recoveries along with 13 other players. The Miami, Florida native is the first Concord player with three or more fumble recoveries in the same season since Imani Moore in 2019. The last time a CU defense forced three or more turnovers in back-to-back games were the third and fourth games of the 2019 season versus Glenville State and West Virginia State.  

TWO IN THE ROOM
Ferguson and sophomore quarterback Kameron Howard combined to threw for 272 yards and four touchdowns against Wheeling. It was CU's first four-touchdown passing game of the fall with each signal caller tossing a pair of touchdowns to four different receivers. For Ferguson, he came off the bench to throw for 147 yards on 12-for-16 passing. Howard completed six passes for 125 yards against Wheeling. Howard collected his second multi-touchdown game of the fall while Ferguson had his first career two-touchdown game. It was Ferguson's first game action at quarterback since October 19 versus Glenville State. CU's last two four-touchdown passing games have come against Wheeling after Jack Mangel threw for four scores at Wheeling in 2023.

A SPECIAL GROUP
The Concord special teams were responsible for nine points versus Wheeling in Week 10 of the season. The first CU touchdown of the game came after sophomore linebacker Brodee Rice blocked a punt and CU recovered at the 20-yard line. Howard then proceeded to find freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Valdry on the next play for a score. Later in the second quarter, Wheeling muffed a punt and redshirt freshman wide receiver Zion Odoms tracked down the returner in the end zone for a safety. It was Concord's second safety of the season—the first time the Mountain Lions have had multiple safeties in the same season since 2015 when the Maroon and Gray collected four safeties.

DUAL THREAT
During the last half of the season, Brown has proven his worth as not only a rusher out of the backfield, but a receiving threat after catching his second touchdown of the season Saturday. Brown has hauled in 14 receptions for 176 yards and two scores as a pass catcher out of the backfield. The Augusta, Georgia native is fifth on the team in receiving yards to go with his 627 rushing yards. The last CU running back that had at least 200 yards receiving in a season was Brian Kennedy in 2010 when he rolled up 330 receiving yards. Only Fairmont State's Dereik Crosby and West Liberty's Hunter Patterson rank ahead of Brown in the MEC in terms of receiving yards by running backs.

SLOW 'EM DOWN
UNC Pembroke arrives in Athens on a three-game winning streak, scoring at least 58 points in wins over West Virginia State, West Virginia Wesleyan and Frostburg State. The Braves now rank second in the MEC in points per game (41.5). The offensive attack has been a balanced one for UNCP this fall as it possesses the second-best passing offense (282.6) and ranks third in rushing offense (169.7) in the MEC. On the flip side before the last two weeks, Concord's defense had held three of the last five teams under 400 yards of total offense. The Mountain Lions possess the second and third leading tacklers in the conference in sophomore linebacker Ryker Brown (76) and Bournes (74).

TOUGH CUSTOMERS
Not only has the UNCP offense been lighting up the scoreboard recently, the Braves defense has also been on a tear. UNC Pembroke has given up 20 or fewer points in four of the last five games as it held West Virginia State, Wesleyan and Frostburg State to less than 300 yards of offense in each game. The defense is keyed by defensive lineman Jamae Blank who is the reigning MEC Defensive Player of the Year. Although having a down year by his standards, Blank has still recorded nine tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Jaiden Nesbit and Evan VanMeter both have more than 50 tackles at the second level of the UNCP defense.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2- Two of the last three Concord-UNCP games have been decided on the last play of the game, a five-overtime win in 2022 by Concord and a strip sack on the goal line in a 28-25 win at home for CU in 2021.

3- No Concord receiver caught more than passes last week of the 18 completions between Ferguson and Howard.

108- The most-experienced CU seniors: Ferguson (40), Bentley (35) and Pannell (33) have combined to play in 108 games.

UNC PEMBROKE AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 5-5
MEC Record: 5-3
Home Record: 4-1
Away Record: 1-4

SCOUTING THE BRAVES
Quarterback Colin Johnson leads the MEC in passing yards (2,540) and touchdowns (31). He also ranks third in Division II in passing touchdowns. The top target in the passing game is Josiah Hayes who needs 95 yards Saturday to reach 1,000 for the season. Hayes' 16 receiving touchdowns are second in Division II. The passing attack for UNCP is complemented by Sincere Baines' 602 rushing yards and six touchdowns.