Hilltopper Rally Comes Up Short

Football | 9/3/2016 3:58:00 PM

Box Score
ATHENS, W.Va. – Concord survived a late West Liberty comeback here Saturday afternoon to hang on for a 32-25 win in a mutual Mountain East Conference opener at Callaghan Stadium.
A blocked punt set the Mountain Lion offense up inside the WLU 10 midway through the third quarter and QB Brian Novak capitalized with an 8-yard scoring toss to Paul Jones.
Novak's third TD pass of the day pushed the Concord lead to 32-13 with just over 5 minutes left in the third quarter but the Hilltoppers were far from finished.
Senior QB Dakota Conwell answered with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive, powering into the end zone from 4 yards out with 2:24 still showing on the third quarter clock.
The extra-point attempt clanged off the right upright – one of three missed PATs on the day for West Liberty – but the Black and Gold had trimmed the margin to 32-19 with more than a quarter remaining.
The Hilltoppers went 3-and-out on their next possession and an interception cut short the next one but the defense came up big, stuffing the Mountain Lions on 4th-and-2 from the WLU 25 with 5:13 left to play.
A 34-yard catch and run by sophomore HB Ian Kelly ignited a brisk 12-play, 75-yard scoring march with Conwell firing a strike to senior WR Anton McCallum on a 4-yard slant route for the touchdown.
The PAT sailed wide right but the Black and Gold had made it a one-score game with 2:27 still to play.
West Liberty had upset Concord in last year's season opener with a last-minute field goal but this year's game turned out to have a different script as the Mountain Lions recovered the onside kick and were able to run out the clock.
The Hilltoppers converted 10-of-16 third downs and finished with more total yards (417-411) and more first downs (23-19) than the hosts but the blocked punt and two interceptions – one coming inside the Mountain Lion 5 – were enough to swing the decision Concord's way.
Conwell finished with 315 yards of total offense, completing 19-of-34 passes for 254 yards and 3 TDs while running the ball 23 times for 61 yards and another score. McCallum led all receivers with 8 catches for 103 yards and 2 TDs while Purdue transfer Dan Monteroso had 2 catches for 54 yards – including a 43-yard touchdown.
Novak completed 21-of-28 passes for 231 yards and 3 TDs while Nick Loftin ran for 104 yards and a touchdown. Jermeil Douse led the Mountain Lion receivers with 7 catches for 73 yards.
West Liberty travels to McKendree (Ill.) for their lone non-conference game of the season next week. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (EDT) in Lebanon, Ill.
Concord 32
West Liberty 25
West Liberty 13 0 6 6 – 25
Concord 11 14 7 0 – 32
First Quarter
WL: McCallum 37 pass from Conwell (Morris kick), 12:24
Con: FG Keaton 30, 8:12
Con: Loftin 3 run (Douse run), 3:11
WL: Monteroso 43 pass from Conwell (kick failed), 1:19
Second Quarter
Con: Loftin 15 pass from Novak (Keaton kick), 13:06
Con: Plyler 17 pass from Novak (Keaton kick), 5:28
Third Quarter
Con: Jones 8 pass from Novak (Keaton kick), 5:11
WL: Conwell 4 run (kick failed), 2:24
Fourth Quarter
WL: McCallum 3 pass from Conwell (kick failed), 2:37
Game Statistics
RUSHING: West Liberty 42-163; Conwell 23-61; Ortiz 6-38; Peterson 8-35; Gamble 4-20; Penick 1-9. Concord 43-180; Loftin 18-104; Richardson 14-49; Douse 1-17; Novak 7-13; Team 3-(-3).
PASSING: West Liberty 19-34-254-3td-2x (Conwell 19-33-254-3td-2, Monteroso 0-1-0-0-0). Concord 21-28-231-3td-0x (all by Novak)
RECEIVING: West Liberty 19-254; McCallum 8-103; Kelly 4-47; Monteroso 2-53; Peterson 2-25; Mayo 1-10; Kapron 1-9; Ortiz 1-7. Concord 21-231; Douse 7-73; Jones 4-52; Plyler 3-24; Bryant 2-23; Loftin 2-22; Richardson 1-29; McGill 1-12; DeLucchi 1-(-4).
First downs: West Liberty 23, Concord 19
Fumbles: West Liberty 0-0, Concord 0-0
Penalties: West Liberty 5-48, Concord 14-133
Time of Possession: West Liberty 28:50, Concord 31:10

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