Football | 3/27/2020 8:00:00 AM

    NOTE: With the athletic world on hold for the next few weeks, the WLU Sports Information Department is taking advantage of the opportunity to wake up some echoes from what has been a spectacularly successful decade of Hilltopper sports. We hope you enjoy these looks back and are able to stay safe as we travel together through these challenging times. #TopperNation #UnitedAsOne #GoWLU
 
    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 tight end Ryan Travis shattered numerous NCAA single-season and career receiving records, senior tailback Kevon Calhoun ran for 258 yards and 5 touchdowns and senior quarterback Zach Amedro broke the all-time NCAA Division II completion record as West Liberty routed regionally-ranked Concord, 56-33, 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.
    Travis had 12 catches for 136 yards and a score in his final collegiate game, finishing the season with 126 catches for 1,402 yards – both single-season NCAA D2 records for receptions by a tight end. Saturday's numbers also pushed Travis's career totals to 285 catches and 3,328 – also NCAA D2 career marks. The two TD receptions give him 34 receiving touchdowns for his career, another NCAA D2 tight ends record.
    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 the school single-game mark set by Branden Ore against Glenville State two years ago.
    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 boosted his career total to 1,079, eclipsing the previous mark of 1,055 set by Ted Schlafke of Minnesota-Duluth. Amedro also blew past the 4,000-yard passing mark for the season, becoming only the second quarterback in NCAA D2 history to average more than 400 passing yards for an entire year.
    Concord QB Zack Grossi completed 30-of-53 passes for 359 yards and 2 TDs but threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Mountain Lion TB Brian Kennedy ran for 139 yards on 33 carries and added 103 receiving yards on 10 grabs.
    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 12^th 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                                    21   0  14  21 – 56
Concord                                            6 14    7     6 – 33      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      Con-Rodriguez 1 run (Strupp kick), 13:03
     Con-Grossi 1 run (Strupp kick), 2:32      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      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