Mountain Lions flatten Hilltoppers

The Concord University foot- ball team scored in just about every way possible Saturday af- ternoon at Callaghan Stadium as they rolled up 61 points, the most since 2010, against West Liberty in Mountain East Con- ference play.

With the 61-24 win, Concord improves to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in MEC action. The Hilltop- pers, previously winners of two in a row, fall to 2-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Concord showed its muscle in all three phases of the game with sophomore quarterback Brian Novak tossing for 223 yards on 15-of-21 passing and two touchdowns; the running back quartet of junior Angus Harper, junior Calvinaugh Jones, redshirt freshman Jamal Petty and redshirt freshman

Ethan Richardson combining able to keep his feet in bounds their collegiate careers as Petty Novak improved his touch-

for 321 yards and four touch- downs; a blocked punt from junior wide receiver
Tiko Henderson and punt return touchdown from junior quarterback Jermeil Douse. With WLU leading 7-0 in the first quarter, Douse fielded a punt at the Concord 35-yard line and raced down the side- line for Concord’s first score of the game. The St. Peters- burg, Florida native hauled in his first touchdown reception of the year for CU’s next score with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter, giving the Mountain Lions a 14-7 advantage.

After the teams traded field goals in the second quarter that included junior kicker Andy Ellington connecting on a season-long 42 yarder, Novak lobbed a ball towards the back of the endzone where junior wide receiver Ryan Stewart was

for his eighth touchdown of the season.

On the ensuing West Liberty drive, sacks from junior line- backer Austin Dotson and junior defensive lineman Ervin Moore pinned the Hilltop- pers inside of the 10-yard line. WLU’s Griff Yocum was forced to punt from his own end zone. Henderson came barreling through the punt protection team to block the punt and junior linebacker Cade Rogers fell on the loose ball in the end-zone, handing CU a com- manding 31-10 lead with 4:36 remaining in the first half. Harper tacked on his sixth touchdown rush of the season over a minute later, making the score 38-10 after one half of play.

In the second half, Petty and Richardson were able to score touchdowns for the first time in scored from one and 34 yards. Meanwhile, Richardson broke off a 76-yard scamper for Con- cord’s final touchdown on the afternoon. Richardson’s run is the longest by any Mountain Lions this season.

The 61 points Concord scored is the most since 2010 when they posted 72 in a sea- son-opening win versus Southern Virginia. Dating back to the 1994 season, Concord has never scored more than 35 points in four straight games.

Additionally, the Mountain Lions racked up 322 rushing yards, marking the first time they have had at least 300 yards rushing since last season when they tallied 403 against West Virginia Wesleyan in a 49-21 victory.

CU avoided the turning the ball over for the second time in four games this season whiledown-to-interception ratio to 4-to-1. On the season, Novak has thrown 12 touchdowns to three interceptions.

With two sacks and four total tackles for loss, Moore moved into a tie with Mike Bell for third in career sacks at Concord. The Lancaster, South Carolina native also notched his 100th career tackle at CU and is the Mountain Lions active leader in stops with 105. Concord made a season-high 16 tackles for loss. In addition to his touchdown off of Henderson’s blocked punt, Rogers also forced a fumble which was recovered by senior wide receiver Darrick Williams on a kickoff. The turnover set up Harper’s first touchdown.

The Mountain Lions will travel to Fairmont State next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. game with the Falcons.