DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Concord University football team held off a late surge from Davidson to down the Wildcats 41-35 Thursday night at Field 76 at Davidson College Stadium.

Thursday night was Concord's first victory over a Division I program as it was 0-10 previously.

The Mountain Lions (1-0) and Davidson (0-1) got into an offensive shootout in the first half as the score remained deadlocked after 30 minutes of play, 28-28.

However, Concord quickly ripped away momentum in the second half. On Davidson's third play of the third quarter, junior defensive back Stanley Horn Jr. jumped a pass and took an interception back 33 yards for a touchdown to give CU a lead it would not relinquish.

At the 4:28 mark of the third, freshman kicker Christian Torres capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a 26-yard field goal to extend the Mountain Lions lead to two possessions for the first time in the game. On the next Concord drive, the Maroon and Gray drove another long field—this time 85 yards—and got the ball down to the one-yard line, but a negative play on third-and-goal forced another short Torres field goal, this time from 23 yards, to give Concord a 41-28 lead with 10:29 remaining.

Just over three minutes later Davidson reduced the deficit to 41-35.

The Mountain Lions pushed the ball to the 40-yard line on the next series, but was forced to punt with just over five minutes remaining. DC converted two different fourth downs to keep its drive alive, but a third fourth down try—four yards to go from the Concord 22-yard line—was unsuccessful with 45 seconds remaining as Concord held on.

Davidson scored first on a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone with 8:18 remaining in the opening quarter.

But, junior running back Greg Burrell raced 37 yards to even the game at the 4:55 mark of the first.

The second quarter saw 42 combined points. The first two Concord scores came on two play drives, each ending with a score by sophomore wide receiver Dom Collins. He hauled in a 53-yard pass to cap a 60-yard drive before taking a reverse for a 68-yard rushing score at the 6:32 mark of the second quarter.

The final CU touchdown of the first half came after a fumble recovery by redshirt freshman defensive Elijah Owens. Sophomore running back Jayden Williams capped an 11-yard drive with a two-yard rushing score.

Collins finished the game with 143 yards of offense (75 receiving, 68 rushing) and a pair of scores. Burrell clipped off 87 yards on 11 carries and the first-quarter touchdown. Graduate quarterback Devin Kargman ended the night with 225 yards through the air while not turning the ball over or taking a sack.

Owens and sophomore defensive back Christian Henderson both had seven tackles to lead the defense. Graduate defensive lineman Shambre Jackson had 1.5 sacks in the contest. Senior defensive lineman Nick Mercer added a solo sack.

CU outgained Davidson 477-343 in the game, averaging nearly 7.5 yards per play.

The Mountain Lions open the home season next Saturday, September 5 versus Mercer County rival Bluefield State.