ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University football team jumped out to a 31-7 lead on West Virginia Wesleyan before winning 31-21 over the Bobcats Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference game at Callaghan Stadium.
CU (3-5, 2-4 MEC) overcame a slow start offensively with two turnovers in the first quarter to lead 24-7 at halftime before scoring a third-quarter touchdown to extend the lead to 31-7 at the 5:35 mark of the third quarter.
The Mountain Lions' defense was smothering throughout the game with a season-best seven sacks to go with a season-high 14 tackles for loss. The 14 TFLs added up to a net of 82 negative yards for the Bobcats (0-9, 0-6 MEC). Senior defensive lineman
Ethan Rennels and senior defensive back
Nehemiah Scott both had two sacks in the game with Scott piling up 4.5 TFLs.
With the defense starring for CU, the Maroon and Gray got on the board just before the halfway point of the first quarter as sophomore quarterback
Tyler Mizzell broke off a 37-yard touchdown run. However on the ensuing Wesleyan drive, the Bobcats used a 52-yard run to set up a short touchdown pass to tie the game at the 6:39 mark of the first quarter.
The tie was short-lived as freshman running back
Curtis Clark caught the ensuing kickoff and raced 92 yards for a touchdown.
The 14-7 edge held up until the first minute of the second quarter when Mizzell finished off a nine-play, 91-yard drive with his second rushing touchdown of the first half, this time a 12-yard scamper.
Graduate kicker
Kenyon Bowyer capped the first-half scoring with a 24-yard field goal with 3:41 remaining in the first half.
Concord used a short field—41 yards—on its second possession of the third quarter as graduate running back
Rashad Luckey-Dowdy powered into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the three-yard line to grow the advantage to 31-7.
West Virginia Wesleyan scored twice in the fourth quarter, but CU's defense stood tall down the stretch of the game as it recorded two of the seven sacks on the final drive to prevent the Bobcats from getting any closer than 31-21.
Luckey-Dowdy finished with 100 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Mizzell rolled up 76 yards on 12 rushes. Mizzell had a quiet day through the air with 125 yards on 13 completions.
Senior defensive back
Corey Radcliff was Concord's leading tackler with 10 stops. Sophomore defensive back
Ar'Terrian Godfrey matched Scott's eight tackles.
Wesleyan outgained Concord 355-317 in the contest.
The seven sacks by CU were the most since September 2017 versus UVa.-Wise.
The Mountain Lions travel to Wheeling for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff Saturday, November 1.
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