Concord Carries Momentum Into Rivalry Clash Versus Bluefield State

Concord Stats - Bluefield State Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Gameday Information - Tickets - MountainEast.TV for Smart Devices - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University football team gets set to host Mercer County rival Bluefield State 2:00 p.m. Saturday at Callaghan Stadium in the home opener for the 2026 season.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will have live statistics of the contest. Live video is available on mountaineast.tv, which is available for all smart devices and smart TVs. Additionally, the game will be carried locally on WVVA-TV, the local NBC affiliate in Bluefield, West Virginia. Jason Reed (pxp) and Steve Cox (analyst) will have the call of the game. 

Live Stats
Live Video

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
All ticket, tailgating and entry into Callaghan Stadium information can be found here. 

Tickets
Tailgating Spots

SERIES HISTORY: Bluefield State leads 11-8

Last Five Meetings vs. Bluefield State
September 6, 2025: Bluefield State 38 - Concord 31 (Bluefield, W.Va.)
September 7, 2024: Bluefield State 22 - Concord 13 (Athens, W.Va.)
1979: Concord 48 - Bluefield State 0
1978: Concord 42 - Bluefield State 0
1977: Concord 40 - Bluefield State 0

Concord at a Glance
Overall Record: 1-0
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 1-0

Bluefield State at a Glance
Overall Record: 0-1
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 0-1

TALE OF THE TAPE: Concord vs. Bluefield State

Concord	Statistical Category	Bluefield State
1	Wins	0
41.0	Points/Game	7.0
35.0	Opp Points/Game	42.0
242.0	Rushing/Game	112.0
225.6	Passing/Game	84.0.
100.0	Opp Rushing/Game	222.0
243.0	Opp Passing/Game	51.0
467.0	Yards/Game	196.0
343.0	Opp Yards/Game	273.0
92.0	Penalty Yards/Game	35.0
38.5	Third Down Pct.	25.0
2	Takeaways	0
3	Sacks	0

Concord Leaders
Passing Yards: Devin Kargman (225)
Passing Touchdowns: Devin Kargman (1)
Rushing Yards: Greg Burrell (87), Dom Collins (68), Jayden Williams (55)
Rushing Touchdowns: Three Tied (1)
Receiving Yards: Dom Collins (75), Que Moore (48), Curtis Clark (37)
Receiving Touchdowns: Dom Collins (1)
Tackles: Christian Henderson (7), Elijah Owens (7), Raymone Whitner (6), Berlin Campfort (5), Brodee Rice (5)
Tackles for Loss: Nick Mercer (2.0), Shambre Jackson (1.5), Two Tied (1)
Interceptions: Stanley Horn Jr. (1)

Bluefield State Leaders
Passing Yards: Rishon Holmes (52)
Passing Touchdowns: N/A
Rushing Yards: Derek Binder (58), Rishon Holms (31)
Rushing Touchdowns: Brandon Wiley (1)
Receiving Yards: Brandon Wiley (59), Jonathan Bagley (14), Julian Crawley (11)
Receiving Touchdowns: N/A
Tackles: Rowan Baptiste (6), Kamaree Wells (6), Taviun Chandler (5), Aiden Morgan (5), Ladanian Pluss (5), Mike Riley (5)
Tackles for Loss: Rowan Baptiste (1.5), Isaiah Byrd (1.0), Donovan Leaks (1.0)

FIND A WAY
The Mountain Lions scored one of their biggest wins in recent program history as they defeated Davidson, 41-35, to open the season Thursday night. It was the first time that Concord took down a Division I school in program history as it was 0-10 previously before the one-possession win on the road. The win was especially impressive as CU stopped Davidson inside the Concord 25-yard line with less than a minute to pick up the victory. Last season, the Maroon and Gray was just 1-3 in games decided by one possession, the win coming in the first game of the season at UVa.-Wise. Concord led throughout the duration of the second half at Davidson, a feat they only accomplished twice last season.

BOOTS ON THE GROUNDS
CU had its way on the ground at Davidson as it ran for 242 yards—the most in the Mountain East Conference in the first week of the year and tied for 16^th in Division II among the 113 teams that opened up play on Week 0 of the season. CU averaged 8.3 yards per carry as four players had at least 40 yards on the ground. Junior running back Greg Burrell led the way with 87 yards on 11 carries to go with a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Dom Collins's only rush of the game went for a 68-yard touchdown. Like Burrell, sophomore running back Jayden Williams impressed in his first action as a Mountain Lion by rushing six times for 55 yards and a score. And senior running back Maurice Jones netted 42 yards on six carries. All four rushers had at least a run of 25 yards in the game.

TO THE HOUSE
Junior defensive back Stanley Horn Jr. played a huge role in the Mountain Lions getting out of North Carolina with a win Thursday night. The Marietta, Georgia native intercepted his first career pass at Concord and ran it back 33 yards for a third-quarter touchdowns that pushed CU ahead 35-28 at the time. Last season in his first year in the Maroon and Gray, Horn Jr. finished second on the team with seven pass break-ups, but came up empty in interceptions. The Concord defense has made a habit of coming up with a defensive score in the short 12-game tenure of head coach Cody Edwards. With Horn's touchdown, it marked the third defensive touchdown since the start of last season. From 2022-24, Concord only had three defensive touchdowns, a span of 33 games.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
A rebuilt Concord defense that only brought back two of its top 10 tacklers from last season stood out at Davidson by holding the Wildcats to 100 rushing yards and right at three yards per carry. The top three tacklers for the Mountain Lions were all making their first starts in the Maroon and Gray. Sophomore defensive back Christian Henderson, starting at nickel corner, and redshirt freshman defensive back, Elijah Owens, starting at cornerback, each made seven tackles with Owens throwing in a half sack and a fumble recovery. Freshman linebacker Raymone Whitner received the start at will linebacker and contributed six tackles—the most tackles for a Concord true freshman since senior linebacker Brodee Rice had nine tackles versus Notre Dame in 2023.

IT'S OUR TIME
Saturday's matchup with Bluefield State marks the third time the teams have matched up since the rivalry was renewed in 2024, meaning Concord has not defeated its in-county rival since 1979. Bluefield State also hold the all-time series advantage, 11-8. Last season, the Mountain Lions fell behind 38-14 at the midway point of the third quarter before mounting a late fourth-quarter rally that ultimately came up short in a 38-31 loss. Collins went over 100 yards receiving with seven catches for 107 yards and two scores. Junior wide receiver Que Moore hauled in three receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown. Jones was Concord's starting running back in the game as he rushed 15 times for 70 yards.  Junior linebacker Jonathan William was Concord's second-leading tackler at Bluefield State with nine stops. Concord outgained the Big Blues 495-310, but had three turnovers. BSU won 22-13 in Athens two years ago.

HOMEGROWN TALENT
In the matchup between the two Mercer County colleges, several Mercer County natives could play a factor in the outcome of the game. Collins had one of his four 100-yard receiving games for the 2025 season against BSU last fall. Rice who was teammates with Collins from 2020-22 at nearby Princeton High School is slated to make his third career appearance versus Bluefield State. And the former quarterback at Princeton, now junior tight end at Concord, Grant Cochran will see the field for the Mountain Lions. Bluefield State has local standout Brandon Wiley who played at Bluefield High School. Wiley had 750 receiving yards last season, but CU held the big-play threat to two receptions for 25 yards in 2025. Fellow Bluefield native Jaden Fransisco is expected to see time along the defensive line for BSU.

THIRD PHASE IN IMPORTANT
Along with the three turnovers at Bluefield State, another factor in Concord's loss was allowing a second-half punt return for a touchdown. In Thursday's win at Davidson, CU overcame a punt block for a score by the Wildcats—data shows that when a team allows a blocked punt for a score the win percentage is approximately 35 percent. However, freshman kicker Christian Torres—the reigning MEC Special Teams Player of the Week—made two field goals and had three touchbacks to pick up the special teams. Sophomore running back Curtis Clark also averaged more than 21 yards on his five kickoff returns. Last week, Bluefield State allowed 26.6 yards per punt return to Tusculum in a 42-7 loss, but also blocked a punt.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4- Multi-touchdown games for Collins in his six career starts at Concord after a rushing and receiving touchdown at Davidson.

9- Negative plays for the Concord defense at Bluefield State which were the second most in a game in 2025.

242- Rushing yards by Concord at Davidson which were the most in a road game since 2014 at West Virginia Wesleyan.

SCOUTING THE BIG BLUES
Bluefield State lost its opener at the road at Tusculum, 42-7, against the Pioneers' triple-option offense. While BSU gave up over 200 yards on the ground, it held Tusculum to 51 yards passing—the fewest allowed in Division II during Week 0. Both Rishon Holmes and Wesley Thompson took snaps at quarterback for Bluefield State last Thursday. Defensively, the Big Blues did not force a turnover last week and lost the turnover battle, 4-0.