Football | 11/13/2010 5:24:04 PM

GAME STATS   GAME PHOTOS

ATHENS, W.Va. – The West Liberty University football team may not hear its name called when the NCAA Division II playoff field is announced on Sunday but the Hilltoppers delivered a post-season caliber performance on Saturday.

Senior tailback Kevon Calhoun ran for 258 yards and 5 touchdowns, senior tight end Ryan Travis shattered the West Virginia Conference's single-season receiving record and senior quarterback Zach Amedro broke the all-time NCAA Division II record for completions as West Liberty pulled away to a 56-33 rout of regionally-ranked Concord at Callaghan Stadium.

Ironically, in a showdown between two of the top four NCAA Division II offenses in the nation, it was the much-maligned Hilltopper defense that took center stage in the second half.

The Mountain Lions (8-3, 5-3), No. 4 nationally in total offense and No. 8 in the NCAA Division II Super Region rankings, had rallied from an early 21-6 deficit to go up 27-21 on the first possession of the second half when the Hilltopper defense stepped up.

West Liberty (7-3, 6-2) snuffed out four straight Concord possessions – three 3-and-outs and a DeRon Taylor interception – to give Amedro and the rest of the nation's No. 1 offense all the opening it needed.

It took the Hilltoppers just one minute and three snaps to take the lead for good with Calhoun's 3-yard TD run capping a blurry-fast 68-yard march for a 28-27 West Liberty lead.

Following a Concord 3-and-out, the Hilltoppers rolled 78 yards on 11 plays with Calhoun waltzing in untouched on a draw play from 10 yards out to make it 35-27.

After Taylor's interception ended a promising Mountain Lion drive deep in West Liberty territory, Calhoun turned in the play of the game.

A 15-yard pass from Amedro to Willie Walker moved the ball out to the WLU 27. On the next snap, Calhoun took a deep handoff from Amedro and danced through a gaping hole into the Concord secondary. A pair of Mountain Lion tacklers tried to wrestle him to the ground near midfield but Calhoun barely broke stride as he shrugged them off and was pulling away from the rest of his pursuers by the end of his season-long 73-yard touchdown gallop.

West Liberty couldn't capitalize on the defense's next 3-and-out as a long drive was cut short by a fumble at the Concord 31 but got the ball back following another 3-and-out and didn't let this opportunity pass.

Three passes by Amedro and a pair of Calhoun runs set up a 1-yard quarterback sneak for the touchdown that put the game out of reach, 49-27, with 7:21 to go. Mountain Lion WR Thomas Mayo caught a consolation TD pass with 4:44 remaining but Amedro and Travis closed out the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown toss as the clock ticked under 2 minutes.

Amedro completed 34-of-51 passes for 356 yards and 2 TDs with no interceptions to extend his career passing yardage record to 14,733 while moving up to No. 2 on the Division II career total offense list at 14,598. The 34 completions give him 1,079 career completions, eclipsing the previous mark of 1,055 set by Ted Schlafke of Minnesota-Duluth.

Amedro also went over the 4,000-yard passing mark for the season, becoming only the second quarterback in NCAA Division II history to average more than 400 passing yards for an entire year.

Calhoun clinched his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season and became the leading scorer in West Liberty history as his five touchdowns gave him 294 career points, breaking the previous record of 275 set by Billy Hager. His 5 rushing TDs tied a school record set by Branden Ore against Glenville State two years ago.

Travis had 12 catches for 136 yards and a score. His 126 catches for the season broke the previous WVIAC regular-season mark of 117 set by Glenville State's Chris George in 1994. Travis's fourth-quarter TD catch was his 15th of the season, tying the NCAA Division II single-season record set by Devon Stewart of Arkansas-Monticello in 2003.

Concord quarterback Zack Grossi completed 30-of-53 passes for 359 yards and 2 TDs but threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Mountain Lion tailback Brian Kennedy ran for 139 yards on 33 carries and added 103 receiving yards on 10 catches.

Freshman safety Alec Wood led the Hilltopper defense with 11 tackles while senior linebacker Clay Beeler was charted with 10 stops. Senior safety Jayson Keyser had 9 tackles, a fumble recovery and a blocked field goal while senior linebacker Freddy Kimbro chipped in with an interception.

Saturday's win was West Liberty's 12th in its last 13 WVIAC road games and earned the Hilltoppers a second-place tie with West Virginia Wesleyan in the final league standings.

West Liberty 56, Concord 33
West Liberty    21   0  14  21 – 56
Concord    6 14    7     6 – 33
First Quarter
    WL-Calhoun 64 run (Blewett kick), 14:06
    Con-Tanner 10 pass from Grossi (kick failed), 12:14
    WL-Calhoun 10 run (Blewett kick), 10:53
    WL-Carter 2 pass from Amedro (Blewett kick), 2:48
Second Quarter
    Con-Rodriguez 1 run (Strupp kick), 13:03
    Con-Grossi 1 run (Strupp kick), 2:32
Third Quarter
    Con-Kennedy 1 run (Strupp kick), 10:01
    WL-Calhoun 3 run (Blewett kick), 9:01
    WL-Calhoun 10 run (Blewett kick), 3:08
Fourth Quarter
    WL-Calhoun 73 run (Blewett kick), 13:37
    WL-Amedro 1 run (Blewett kick), 7:21
    Con-Mayo 3 pass from Grossi (pass failed), 4:44
    WL-Travis 9 pass from Amedro (Blewett kick), 1:59
Game Statistics
    RUSHING: West Liberty 26-245; Calhoun 22-258; Team 1-(-2), Amedro 3-(-11). Concord 50-198; Kennedy 33-139, Gilbert 7-40, Grossi 9-18, Rodriguez 1-1.
    PASSING: West Liberty 34-51-356-2td-0x (all by Amedro). Concord 30-53-359-2td-2x (all by Grossi).
    RECEIVING: West Liberty 34-356; Travis 12-136, Carter 9-99, Walker 5-63, Calhoun 4-24, Carver 2-24, Schroeder 2-10. Concord 30-359; Kennedy 10-103, Mayo 8-98, Tanner 6-56, Colson 2-41, Gilbert 2-13, Baker 1-27, Daughtry 1-21.
    First downs: West Liberty 29, Concord 33
    Fumbles: West Liberty 1-1, Concord 2-1
    Penalties: West Liberty 8-78, Concord 14-147
    Time of Possession: West Liberty 30:48, Concord 29:12