The West Liberty University football team faces a tough test on Saturday when Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers head south to take on unbeaten Concord in a key Mountain East Conference contest.

West Liberty (2-1, 2-1) is coming off a 38-16 rout of West Virginia State last Saturday while Concord (3-0, 2-0) held off a late Bowie State rally to preserve a 37-34 victory.

The Mountain Lions rode a nationally-ranked defense to prominence during head coach Garin Justice's first three seasons at the helm but the former WVU All-American has loosened the reins on an offense that returned all 11 starters this fall. As a result, this year's Concord squad is showcasing one of the nation's most prolific offenses. Led by sophomore QB Brian Novak, junior WR Ryan Stewart and junior TB Calvinaugh Jones, the Mountain Lions come into Saturday's contest averaging nearly 50 points and more than 560 yards of total offense per game.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Concord's one of the top teams in the country," Waialae said. "They were very run-oriented and conservative last year. They'd only throw the ball in obvious passing situations. This year, they're pretty much 50-50 and can throw it or run it at any time."

In last week's win against West Virginia State, the Hilltoppers rushed for more than 220 yards on 51 carries while throwing a total of just 17 passes. Quarterback Dakota Conwell ran the ball 18 times for 103 yards while completing 9-of-15 passes for 135 yards and 3 touchdowns as WLU dominated time of possession. Ben Rogers had a 51-yard TD on a punt return as the WLU special teams combined with the defense to control field position throughout the game.

"We've been trying to establish the run and we forced it a little bit with last week's game plan," Waialae said. "Dakota had some opportunities to check off to a pass but he understood what we were trying to do so he stayed with the plan.

"Dakota seems to be getting more and more comfortable with each quarter as he gets re-acclimated to the quarterback position. He stepped up into the pocket and made some really good throws last week and he also showed what he's capable of doing when he pulls the ball down and takes off. The more confidence he develops, the better we'll be as a team."

A short-handed West Liberty defense didn't come up with any turnovers but still held the Yellowjackets to 265 yards of total offense, their lowest output of the season. The Hilltopper stoppers did a much better job of getting off the field on third and fourth down, allowing State to convert only 5-of-19 opportunities, despite playing without injured regulars WS Marco Ricchetti, FS Pierre Blake and DE Sam Robinson.

The Black and Gold figures to need all hands on deck against Concord's prolific offense on Saturday. The Mountain Lions rank No. 5 nationally in total offense at 562 yards per game and are seventh in the nation in both passing offense (365.3 ypg.) and scoring offense (48.7 ppg.).

Stewart, a 5-9, 180-pound senior speedster who missed most of the last two seasons due to injury after catching 10 TD passes as a freshman, leads the nation with 7 TD catches and leads the MEC with 309 receiving yards. Novak, a 5-11, 200-pound sophomore, is fifth nationally with 10 TD tosses, No. 8 in passing yards (1,020) and No. 10 in total offense (1,026). Jones, a 5-9, 200-pound junior workhorse who ran for 132 yards on 32 carries in Concord's 20-3 win against WLU last fall, has gone over the 100-yard mark in every game this season while averaging more than 6 yards per carry.

"They don't have any offensive weaknesses," Waialae said. "Stewart's one of the fastest kids in the MEC, Novak's completing almost 70 percent of his passes and Jones is running behind a veteran offensive line that's playing really well.

"The key for us this week is finishing. We need to finish our blocks, finish our runs and finish our tackles. Defensively, we want to create some short fields for our offense with some turnovers and stay away from the big play. Offensively, we need to be opportunistic and take advantage of whatever presents itself. That's what team football is all about. Your defense and special teams need to create scoring opportunities and your offense takes advantage of them."

GAME NOTES

X The Hilltoppers hold a 36-33-3 edge in the all-time series. Justice is 3-0 against WLU while Waialae has 4-5 mark against the Mountain Lions

X West Liberty senior LB Alec Wood leads the MEC with 33 tackles and is coming off back-to-back games with double-figure stops

X Concord has a 91-6 scoring edge in the first half but has been outscored, 62-55, in the second half

X The Hilltoppers have outscored their opponents, 36-16, in the fourth quarter and overtime this season

X Conwell's 103 yards on 18 carries against W.Va. State last week was the first 100-yard rushing game by a West Liberty QB since Jason Bolin ran for 108 yards on 23 carries in a 33-27 win against Mansfield (Pa.) on Sept. 5, 1998