Concord Hosts West Virginia State in Homecoming Tilt

Concord Stats - West Virginia State Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Tickets - Gameday Information - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University football team returns to Callaghan Stadium for Homecoming against West Virginia State 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference contest.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live statistics and live video of the game. Jason Reed and Steve Cox will have the call on MEC-TV. 

Live Stats
Live Video

TICKETING INFORMATION
Tickets can be purchased digitally prior to Saturday's game by visiting this link or scanning the QR code below. Cash sales for tickets is also available on gameday, at the bottom gate nearest the Carter Center. 



GAMEDAY INFORMATION
A link for general information and regulations of Callaghan Stadium is available here. 

SERIES HISTORY: Concord lead 30-22

Last Five Meetings Versus West Virginia State
October 12, 2024: West Virginia State 44 - Concord 14 (Institute, W.Va.)
September 16, 2023: West Virginia State 47 - Concord 27 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 22, 2022: West Virginia State 56 - Concord 38 (Institute, W.Va.)
October 23, 2021: West Virginia State 34 - Concord 32 (Athens, W.Va.)
September 28, 2019: West Virginia State 33 - Concord 23 (Athens, W.Va.)

Concord at a Glance
Overall Record: 2-3
MEC Record: 1-2
Home Record: 1-0
Away Record: 1-2
Last Five: 2-3
MEC Rank:Tied for Sixth
Streak: L1

West Virginia State at a Glance
Overall Record: 3-2
MEC Record: 2-1
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 1-2
Last Five: 3-2
MEC Rank: Fourth
Streak: L1
 

Concord	Statistical Category	WVSU
1	Wins	3
28.6	Points/Game	36.8
31.8	Opp Points/Game	31.4
92.8	Rushing/Game	216.6
306.0	Passing/Game	253.6
160.4	Opp Rushing/Game	200.6
159.6	Opp Passing/Game	235.8
398.8	Yards/Game	470.2
320.0	Opp Yards/Game	436.4
108.6	Penalty Yards/Game	77.4
37.3	Third Down Pct.	50.0
10	Takeaways	5
3	Sacks	8

 
Concord Leaders
Passing Yards: Tyler Mizzell (1,530)
Passing Touchdowns: Tyler Mizzell (13)
Rushing Yards: Maruice Jones (139), Rashad Lukey-Dowdy (133)
Receing Yards: Dom Collins (579), Keyon Concepcion (308), Que Moore (257)
Receiving Touchdowns: Dom Collins (7), Que Moore (4)
Tackles: Xavier Ellison (43), Nehemiah Scott (39), Jaylen Dollar (26), Jonathan Wiliams (23), Corey Radcliff (20), Ar'Terrian Godfrey (19), Taurin Kemp (19)
Tackles for Loss: Nehemiah Scott (5.0), Xavier Ellison (4.5), Jaylen Dollar (3.0), Ethan Rennels (3.0)
Interceptions: Corey Radcliff (4), Ar'Terrian Godfrey (2)

West Virginia State Leaders
Passing Yards: Kaleb Jackson (1,268)
Passing Touchdowns: Kaleb Jackson (9)
Rushing Yards: Jojo Restall (338), Kaleb Jackson (205)
Rushing Touchdowns: Nasean Hill (4), Jojo Restall (3), Kaleb Jackson (3)
Receiving Yards: Amare Ary (619), Malik Baker (285)
Receiving Touchdowns: Amare Ary (5), Malik Baker (4)
Tackles: Marshawn Mankins (30), Keontavius McGrew (21), Adrian Bowers (20), Jacob Camacho (18), Daryl Fletcher (18), Kyeran Garcia (18), Shawn Russ (18)
Tackles for Loss: Marshawn Mankins (4.5), Keontavius McGrew (4.0), Kyeran Garcia (3.5), Daesean Jackson (2.0)

X MARKS THE SPOT
Sophomore linebacker Xavier Ellison had a career day against nationally-ranked Frostburg State in CU's last game. The Queens, New York native amassed a single-game career-high 13 tackles versus the Bobcats—it was also the most tackles for any Concord player in 2025, and the most since Kendall Bournes tallied 16 stops versus Notre Dame in November 2023. With his performance, Ellison moved up to a tie for fifth in the MEC in tackles with 43 this season. Additionally, Ellison has racked up 60 tackles over his last eight games, dating back to last season, an average of 7.5 per game. Ellison's breakout season to this point comes just one season after he was playing along the defensive line for Concord before transitioning to weakside linebacker.

SAFETY SENSATION
Senior defensive back Corey Radcliff is proving himself as one of the leaders of the Concord defense after transferring in from Tusculum University for his final year of college football. Radcliff intercepted his fourth pass of the season at Frostburg State Saturday. The Miami, Florida native is tied for second in Division II in interceptions. Radcliff is the first Mountain Lion with a four-interception season since Akil Bordelon came up with six interceptions in 2016. Furthermore, Radcliff has an interception in each conference game this season from his strong safety spot. The last CU player with an interception in three straight games was Riyahd Richardson at the end of the 2012 season when he grabbed a pick in four consecutive contests. And Radcliff is the first Concord player with four interceptions in the first five games of the season since Derrick Johnson in 2014.

GAINING GROUND
For just the second time in five games this year, CU eclipsed 100 yards on the ground as the Maroon and Gray rushed for 124 yards at Frostburg State. No Mountain Lion had more than 59 yards on the ground. Junior Israel Rhodes ran for 59 yards on just eight carries, an average of 7.4 yards per tote. Fellow junior running back Maurice Jones picked up 43 yards on 10 carries. Of the seven explosive plays Concord had at FSU, six came on the ground. The Mountain Lions also had their top two longest runs of the season, a 29-yard rush by Rhodes and a 23-yard gain by Jones. After a bit of a slow start to the season, Rhodes is averaging 5.7 yards per carry on his last 16 attempts.

OPPORTUNITY AWAITS
CU's passing game remains inside the top 10 in Division II as sophomore quarterback  Tyler Mizzell and company are averaging 306.0 per game through the air. Not only does Concord welcome a West Virginia State pass defense that is staggering, tied for 114^th in yards allowed out of 157 teams in Division II, but the Yellow Jackets' run defense is allowing 200.6 yards per game, 133^rd in the nation. West Virginia State has allowed 200 or more rushing yards in three of five games this year. Additionally, WVSU has given up 220 or more passing yards in four of five contests this fall. The Mountain Lions are seeking their first 100-yard rusher of the season, and the first in the last eight games.

WR1s
Saturday will showcase two of the top wide receivers in not only the MEC, but in all of Division II. Concord's redshirt freshman wide receiver Dom Collins is tied for sixth in Division II with 579 receiving yards to go with seven touchdowns which is tied for fifth in country. West Virginia State's Amare Ary is third in Division II with 619 receiving yards. Ary had just 96 receiving yards in the first two games of the year, but has recorded games of 161, 189 and 173 yards in games against West Virginia Wesleyan, Fairmont State and West Liberty. Ary is averaging nearly 24 yards per catch. Collins had his 100-yard receiving game streak snapped at four against Frostburg State as he battled injuries throughout. Collins caught his only pass of the game at FSU on the first play of the game, a 25-yard snag.

GUNSLINGERS GALORE
With the spotlight on the receivers, the quarterback play for both Concord and West Virginia State has been stellar in the first half of the 2025 season. Mizzell is eighth in Division II with 1,530 passing yards while his 13 touchdowns are tied for 11^th. The Denver, North Carolina native is seeking to rebound from an 86-yard passing afternoon at Frostburg State. Mizzell is still sixth in Division II in total offense per game (319.2) despite the tough game in western Maryland. The first-year CU signal caller finished his last home game, versus West Liberty, by completing 11 of his final 12 passes. Meanwhile, WVU's Kaleb Jackson enters Saturday having accounted for 12 touchdowns (nine passing, three rushing). Jackson has thrown for 1,268 yards—374 of those yards came in last week's shootout loss at West Liberty, 47-41. Jackson also threw two of his three interceptions for the year at WLU last week.

GET OFF THE FIELD
CU's defense will be put to the test against West Virginia State's potent offense that is averaging 36.8 points per game, tied for 18^th in Division II. A balanced offensive attack under the direction of former Concord assistant coach John Pennington (2011-2015) is top 35 in Division II in both passing (33^rd/253.6) and rushing (18^th/216.6). But, a big factor in West Virginia State's success is the ability to stay on the field on third down. WVSU has converted 28-of-56 third downs and the 50 percent clip on third down is tied for 15^th in the country. In CU's two wins, the opponents are a combined 8-for-22 on third downs (36.6 percent). Meanwhile in the three losses, Concord has allowed 50 percent or higher on third down in each game. WVSU had its own struggled on third down at West Liberty, allowing the Hilltoppers to convert 8-of-14 third downs.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2- Concord is seeking its second Homecoming win in the last five tries—the latest was a20-16 win over West Liberty in 2021.

46- Third-down conversion rate for CU on the season before being held to 1-for-16 on third down at Frostburg State.

750- Combined offensive yardage two years ago at Callaghan Stadium between Concord (357) and West Virginia State (393).

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
Jojo Restall is the leading rusher for West Virginia State with 338 yards and three touchdowns. All nine of Jackson's passing touchdowns have gone to either Ary (five) or Malik Baker (four). Marshawn Mankins paces the defense with 30 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Kyeran Garcia has 18 tackles, three for loss and an interception. The Yellow Jackets are averaging 48.6 points per game over their last three games that includes a 60-point outburst in a 60-39 win over Fairmont State two weeks ago. Last week, WVSU lost on a 40-yard pass on the final play of the game at West Liberty.