Athens, W.Va. – The West Liberty University football team secured their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Concord 23-21 at Callaghan Stadium. The Hilltoppers ate up 14 minutes of possession on their first two drives of the game to jump out to an early 14-0 lead and held the advantage until 1:57 left in the game when the Mountain Lions took the lead on a 33 yard touchdown run. WLU kept their composure and drove down the field to set up a ten yard touchdown pass from Rudy Garcia to Rashawn Harvey on the final play of the game that clinched the win.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 23, Concord 21
Team Records: West Liberty 1-4 (1-3 MEC), Concord 0-5 (0-4 MEC)
Attendance: 1,157
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• West Liberty's offense scored on their opening possession of the game for the first time this season as they opened the game with a 12 play, 67 yard drive that took 6:31 off the game clock. The Hilltoppers found the end zone on a 22 yard touchdown pass from Rudy Garcia to Chris Charles and Tyler Waddell added the PAT to make it a 7-0 ball game.
• The Concord offense only ran six plays in the first quarter of Saturday's game as the WLU defense forced a punt on their opening drive of the game.
• The Black & Gold marched down the field for the second consecutive time to open the game, driving 16 plays for 83 yards, taking 7:29 off the game clock this time. Garcia tossed his second touchdown pass of the game, finding Tay Currelly-Johnson II for his first touchdown reception of the season from nine yards out. Waddell added the extra point to push the lead to 14-0.
• The Mountain Lions were able to sustain their second offensive drive of the game to cut into the West Liberty lead. CU quarterback Jack Mangel was able to scramble into the end zone for an eight yard touchdown run to make it a 14-7 game following the extra point.
• A 51 yard pass from Garcia to Charles set up a Hilltopper field goal entering the halftime break, as Justin Kaplan knocked in a 28 yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-7.
• Concord's offense struck on the very first play out of halftime, scoring on a 69 yard touchdown pass from Mangel to Alvin Howard, cutting the WLU lead to 17-14 with 14:44 remaining in the third quarter.
• Following a West Liberty interception on their opening drive of the second half, the Hilltopper defense came up big with their backs against the wall. Facing a Concord first & goal from the two yard line, Brennen Bailey stepped in front of Mangel's pass to make the interception in the end zone.
• The Mountain Lions took their first lead of the game with only 1:57 remaining in the game as Kevon Young-Warren rushed up the middle for a 33 yard touchdown run. The extra point made it a 21-17 CU lead.
• Garcia completed five of his final six passes of the game, with the lone incompletion being a spike to stop the clock. He led the offense 13 plays and 74 yards down the field, completing passes to six different receivers on the final possession. On the final play of the game, he found his top wide receiver all year long, finding Rashawn Harvey in the end zone for the game-winning ten yard touchdown pass.
• Prior to the final drive of the game, the West Liberty offense had only crossed midfield into Concord territory once during the second half with a drive stalling at the CU 29 yard line towards the end of the third quarter.
• West Liberty held the advantage in total offense (418-248), passing yards (316-155), rushing yards (102-93), and first downs (22-14). The Hilltoppers also converted 13-of-24 third down conversions compared to 3-of-11 for the Mountain Lions and won the time of possession battle by holding on to the ball for 39:41 while Concord held possession for 20:19 in the game.
• Garcia passed for three touchdowns and over 300 yards for the third time this season, while Harvey has caught a touchdown pass in all five games this season and went over 100 receiving yards for the third time.
• Khadeem Richards led the rushing attack with a team-high 50 yards, helping the offense eclipse the 100 yard mark for the first time this season.
• Cam Rice led the defense with a season-high in tackles (7), tackles-for-loss (4.5), and sacks (3.0). His 3.0 sacks in the game were the most by a player in the MEC this season, while his 4.5 tackles-for-loss are the second most in a game this season.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Rudy Garcia: 30-for-47, 316 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing attempts, 18 rushing yards
Rashawn Harvey: 6 receptions, 109 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
Chris Charles: 10 receptions, 89 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
Cam Rice: 7 total tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, 3.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Brennen Bailey: 4 total tackles, 1 interception
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will host Glenville State next Saturday afternoon for the Hall of Fame Game at West Family Stadium. The Hilltoppers and Pioneers are set for a 1 p.m. kickoff.