Football 10/13/2017 9:36:00 AM

Football at Concord Saturday

     The Yellow Jacket football team heads south Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. contest at Concord.

      WVSU won last season's meeting 52-45 in a shootout at Dickerson Stadium.

       Quarterback Matt Kinnick threw for 289 yards and five touchdowns in that game. Receiver Quinton Gray had a big day with 11 receptions for 211 yards while also throwing a 33-yard touchdown strike and running the ball once for 23 yards.

        Concord quarterback Brian Novak threw for 403 yards and five scores but has since graduated and is now an assistant coach for the Yellow Jackets.

        WVSU (3-3) goes into the game on a two-game winning streak after defeating Glenville State in Institute and Kentucky State on the road. Meanwhile Concord (1-5) has lost its last three games and has had difficulty scoring points this season with the Mountain Lions lone win a 7-0 decision over UVa-Wise in Athens.

         Offensive production has been a problem for the Mountain Lions who come into Saturday averaging just 14.3 points a game, next to last in the conference.

          WVSU Head Coach John Pennington is being careful not to make too much of those numbers though.

          "The last couple of games they've started to get on track," he said. "Their highest point total of the season was last week."

            After scoring just 38 points in their first four games Concord has scored 20 against Shepherd and 28 against Glenville State on the road the last two weeks.

            Freshman quarterback Adam Fulton took over under center for Concord three games ago and had greatly improved the team's passing game. Fulton has accounted for all six of the Mountain Lions touchdown passes and is averaging 190.7 yards a game through the air, almost 60 more than Concord averaged the three games before Fulton's first start.

              The Mountain Lion's ground game has averaged an anemic 65.7 yards a game, last in the league by a large margin. Leading ball carrier Jamal Petty is averaging just 29.7 yards a game but did have 72 on 13 carries at Glenville State last week. The 154 yards Concord gained marked the first time the team ad hit the 100 yard mark in its last eight games.

              The Yellow Jackets offense has been among the best in the Mountain East since opening day. WVSU is averaging 192.5 yards a game on the ground and 278.7 through the air.

             Freshman Calil Wilkins is averaging 120.5 yards a game while Dionta Brown and Juawan Etheredge ran for 79 an 55 respectively last week.

            After Gray Kinnick's top targets are Tyrell Henderson, 29 catches, and Zach Pate, 21.

              WVSU ranks second in the MEC in scoring, 36.7, and total offense per game, 471.2 yards, behind #2 Shepherd.

             The Yellow Jackets have been deadly when it comes to finishing drives this season coming away with points on all 23 trips into the red zone. That success has been aided by the addition of junior kicker Aaron ball who has made all six of his field goal attempts on the season.

              Defensively the Mountain Lions have been giving up an average of 31.8 points a game.

              "Their defense plays hard, they fly all of the field," Pennington said. "Their special teams are good, the offense is coming along, they are a dangerous team."

                Concord punter Garrett Lee leads the MEC with an average of 45.2 yards a kick. Freshman wide receiver Tywan Pearce averaged 28.5 yards on four kickoff returns last week and is averaging 25.4 yards a return on the year.

                Junior linebacker Zach Malone leads the Mountain Lions with 54 tackles, senior defensive back Dominic Wilson is next with 48, and junior Colton Neal has four sacks.

                The Yellow Jacket defense has improved steadily over the first six games and is currently second in the MEC against the pass allowing only an average of just 153.7 yards.

                Junior defensive back Moises Valcarcel leads the way with 46 tackles followed closely by sophomore lineman Darius Goode with 44.

               WVSU comes into the game relatively healthy and feeling confident.

                "Winning makes everything feel a little better, the bumps and bruises don't hurt so much," Pennington said. "We feel like we're playing really well right now."

                  It will be Concord's Homecoming game so there should be a large and boisterous crowd on hand. The Mountain Lions rank second in the MEC in attendance.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Tyrell Henderson: WR; 5' 11"; Senior

#17 Zach Pate: WR; 5' 7"; Junior

#2 Calil Wilkins: RB; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#22 Moises Valcarcel: DB; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#1 Tyrell Henderson
: 5' 11"; Senior
: WR

#17 Zach Pate
: 5' 7"; Junior
: WR

#2 Calil Wilkins
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: RB

#22 Moises Valcarcel
: 6' 0"; Senior
: DB