Concord 20, Lenoir-Rhyne 17 (stats)
(HICKORY, NC)---Brian Kennedy's two-yard touchdown plunge with 9:42 left to play lifted Concord (2-0) to a 20-17 victory at Lenoir-Rhyne (1-1). Kennedy rambled for 171 yards and two scores, while Zack Grossi completed 26 of 42 passes for 299 yards.
Lenoir-Rhyne drove into Concord territory during the final moments, but stalled at the Mountain Lion 34-yard line. Colin Corpe's potential tying 51-yard field goal attempt was on target, but fell about five yards short with 1:06 to play.
Thomas Mayo added eight receptions for a game-best 131 yards for Concord. Nathan Tanner chipped in seven catches for 54 yards to help the Mountain Lions own a 452-344 edge in total offense.
L-R's option-based attack rolled up 319 rushing yards on 57 carries. Vanderbilt transfer Gaston Miller paced the Bears with 107 yards on only four rushes, including a 65-yard score that gave the home team a 10-7 lead at the break. Quarterback Major Herron rushed for 70 yards on 21 carries, but only threw for 25 yards on 9-for-16 passing.
Concord was guilty of four turnovers, three of which were first half interceptions. Lenoir-Rhyne's lone giveaway of the evening proved to be costly when a Herron fumble was forced by Joe Greenway and recovered by Davon Marion at the Bear 11-yard line to set up Kennedy's winning touchdown rush.
Charleston 42, Mars Hill 20 (stats)
(CHARLESTON)---Blaine Wilson tossed a pair of touchdown passes and Jordan Roberts added two more rushing scores as Charleston (1-1) raced past Mars Hill (1-1) 42-20.
Nick Lockhart rushed for 83 yards on nine carries as the Golden Eagles rolled up a 243-64 edge on the ground. Roberts added 46 yards on 11 rushes in his UC debut. The Golden Eagle defense limited Mars Hill All-American Jonas Randolph to 39 yards on 20 carries.
Wilson completed 7 of 12 passes for 123 yards, including a 37-yard scoring strike to Julian Johnson and a 44-yard touchdown throw to Andre Higgins. Mars Hill's Jon Richt hit on 21 of 42 passes for 304 yards and two scores, but had an interception returned 57 yards for a touchdown by UC's Hassan Coleman.
Mars Hill led 6-0 after a Richt to Patrick Park touchdown pass midway through the first quarter, but the Golden Eagles posted the next 35 points to build an insurmountable margin.
Edinboro 20, West Liberty 19 (stats)
(WEST LIBERTY)---Edinboro (1-0) held West Liberty (0-1) scoreless in the second half as the Fighting Scots rallied for a 20-19 upset win at #7 West Liberty. Cody Harris' seven-yard touchdown pass to D'mar Jeter midway through the fourth quarter provided the winning score for Edinboro.
The Fighting Scots snuffed out the final Topper scoring chance when James Jackson picked off a Zach Amedro pass at the five-yard line with 1:19 left to play.
Amedro completed 35 of 52 passes for 330 yards, but Edinboro avoided the big plays that plagued the Fighting Scots during last November's 84-63 playoff setback against West Liberty. WL's Ryan Travis caught a game-high 12 passes for 76 yards, while Jermaine Carter and Kevon Calhoun added seven receptions each for the Toppers.
Edinboro freshman quarterback Cody Harris completed 13 of 19 passes for 144 yards and added 37 rush yards. Drew Herrell gained a game-high 71 yards on 19 carries for the Fighting Scots. West Liberty held a 20-to-9 edge in first downs and a 385-251 advantage in total offense.
James Thomas and Branden Williams contributed key blocked extra-points for Edinboro, while Williams also added an interception. Clay Beeler made 10 stops for West Liberty.
West Virginia Wesleyan 17, Urbana 14 (stats)
(BUCKHANNON)---West Virginia Wesleyan (2-0) turned away four Urbana (0-1) drives that reached Bobcat territory during the second half to preserve a 17-14 home triumph.
All of the scoring took place in the opening half. A 20-yard Adam Neugebauer to T.J. Benners touchdown pass, along with a 55-yard Trey Massey rush, helped WVWC build a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter. Urbana cut the lead to 17-14 just before the intermission when Evan Gehlert found Evan Morrisey from six yards out for a touchdown.
Neugebauer hit on 15 of 23 passes for 123 yards, while Massey added 122 rush yards on 27 carries. Gehlert completed 22 of 46 passes for 196 yards to lead Urbana, but he was sacked seven times by the Bobcat defense. The Blue Knights owned a slight 286-262 edge in total offense.
Jesse Robertson and Brian Vukela provided two sacks each for WVWC. Jake Leninsky added a key fourth quarter interception deep inside the Bobcat red zone. Mike Price also contributed three tackles for loss as Wesleyan improved to 2-0 for the first time since 1994.
New Haven 34, Seton Hill 17 (stats)
(GREENSBURG)---Desmond Anderson recorded three interceptions and Louisville transfer Ryan Osiecki tossed four touchdown passes as visiting New Haven (1-0) claimed a 34-17 win at Seton Hill (1-1).
Seton Hill limited New Haven to only 17 rush yards, but Osiecki completed 22 of 39 passes for 311 yards. Sharieff Hall was Osiecki's favorite target as he pulled in nine catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
D.J. Lenehan hit on 25 of 45 throws for Seton Hill, but was sacked four times and was intercepted three times by Anderson. Tyler McIntosh had five receptions for 68 yards, while RJ Butler rushed for 52 yards on 13 carries.
New Haven, which outgained Seton Hill 328-322, led 14-3 after one quarter and 21-10 at the break.
Central State 34, West Virginia State 14 (stats)
(DAYTON, OH)---Josh Anderson's workhorse effort carried Central State (1-0) by West Virginia State (0-1) 34-14. Anderson garnered 240 yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries as the Marauders ended a two-game losing skid to the Jackets.
Robert Jackson completed 15 of 18 passes for 193 yards and two scores to lead WVSU, but the Jackets could only manage 26 yards rushing. A 65-yard strike from Jackson to Ricky Phillips gave WVSU their only lead of the night at 7-0.
Jackson's 39-yard scoring pass to Jermain King brought the Jackets with 20-14 after three quarters, but two short Anderson touchdown plunges put the game away for Central State.
Thursday's games:
Fairmont State 27, Clarion 16 (stats)
(CLARION, PA)---Clarion owned a 30-8 edge in first downs and a 494-217 advantage in total offense, but an opportunistic Fairmont State squad forced four turnovers to claim a 27-16 upset victory.
The Falcons scored the game's final 21 points after Clarion built a 16-7 lead early in the third quarter. Ryland Newman started the FSU rally with a 54-yard interception return for a score with 5:31 left in the third.
FSU grabbed the lead on Cody Reed's 33-yard rush with 13:22 remaining in the game. Patrick Pinchinat added the night's final score with his second touchdown of the night, a one-yard plunge at the 5:22 mark.
Newman and Daniel Strosinder each notched 11 tackles for FSU, while Raynell Hall added 10 stops and an interception. Pinchinat led FSU on the ground with 43 yards on seven rushes. Freshman quarterback Logan Moore completed 8 of 19 passes for 69 yards.
Clarion All-American Alfonso Hoggard rushed for 143 yards, but it took 36 carries for him to garner that total. Eric Coxon hit on 28 of 45 passes for 285 yards, but was picked off three times by the Falcon defense. CU's Matt Ward caught a game-high 12 passes for 118 yards.
FSU's Zack Page established a new NCAA Division II record for career kick return yards adding 83 yards on four returns to now give him 2,711 for his career. The previous mark was 2,630.
Glenville State 44, West Virginia Tech 10 (stats)
(GLENVILLE)---Darold Hughes threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns as Glenville State cruised past former WVIAC member West Virginia Tech 44-10.
Hughes hit on all three of scoring passes in the opening half as the Pioneers opened up a 23-0 lead by intermission. Antwan Stewart, Jordan Griffin, and Wes Hanson each recorded a touchdown reception for GSC. Stewart had six catches for 74 yards, while Griffin notched a game-high 83 yards on four grabs.
Josh Culbertson led Tech with 103 rush yards on 21 carries. Former West Liberty star Kashif Walls was limited to 21 yards on three receptions. The Golden Bears were held to 168 yards of total offense and were guilty of four turnovers.
Brian Harden helped Glenville State gain 182 yards on the ground with a team-best 61 yards on 14 carries. DeAndre Johnson rambled for 53 yards on seven rushes and added a touchdown.
GSC's Donald Marshall posted a huge defensive stat line with 16 tackles, including four sacks. He also forced three fumbles, recovering one.