WISE — UVA Wise battled back from a 24-point first half deficit, before Concord held on for a thrilling 37-29 victory on Saturday at Beaty-Richmond Field at Carl Smith Stadium. The Mountain Lions surged ahead to take a 30-6 lead late in the first half, before UVA Wise mounted their comeback, which came up just short.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: Concord 37, UVA Wise 29
Records: UVA Wise 0-1; Concord 1-0
Location: Wise, VA | Beaty-Richmond Field at Carl Smith Stadium
FIRST QUARTER
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DJ Powell started the game with a 57-yard kickoff return to set the Cavaliers up at Concord's 31-yard line.
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Ian Scammell delivered a 20-yard rush to advance the Cavs to the Concord 11, but the drive ended with a blocked field goal attempt at 13:10.
- Concord capitalized on the momentum shift with a 47-yard completion from Tyler Mizzell to Keyon Concepcion, setting up a 3-yard touchdown run by Mizzell at 9:26.
- Concord's defense tightened, with Ar'Terrian Godfrey and Corey Radcliff intercepting passes, the latter returning it 27 yards for a touchdown at 5:06, extending Concord's lead to 14-0.
SECOND QUARTER
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Ian Scammell opened the quarter with a 4-yard touchdown rush, cutting the deficit to 14-6 at 14:54.
- Concord's Xavier Ellison blocked
Jake Marcantel's PAT attempt, which was returned by Jayden McCurdy for a defensive PAT, extending the visitor's lead to 16-6.
- Tyler Mizzell connected with Dom Collins on a 64-yard touchdown pass at 8:44, pushing Concord ahead 30-6.
- With 18 seconds remaining in the half, Cavalier defenders
Brub Hines III and
Kenneth Long combined on a tackle of Mizzell in the endzone, resulting in a safety bringing the score to 30-8 at the half.
THIRD QUARTER
- Concord's opening drive was halted by a key interception from Matthew Strong at 11:38, who returned it 24 yards to set up the Cavs' offense near midfield.
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Jake Corkren's 18-yard rush on third down from the Cavs' 48 to the CU 34-yard line highlighted the ensuing drive, which culminated in Corkren connecting with
Brady Dalton for a 15-yard touchdown pass at 9:30.
- Concord quickly responded with a 40-yard pass from Mizzell to Collins, setting up a 12-yard touchdown pass to Que Moore at 6:00, pushing the visitors' lead back to 21, at 37-16.
- Concord's defense held strong late in the quarter, forcing the Cavs to punt after a short drive, maintaining their lead as the quarter concluded.
FOURTH QUARTER
- At 14:40, the Cavaliers forced a Mountain Lion punt, setting up the Cavs on the Concord 39-yard line.
- With 13:37 remaining, Corkren found
Kahlil Jones Jr. for a 12-yard touchdown, cutting the Concord lead to 37-22,
Jake Corkren's pass fell incomplete on the two-point conversion attempt.
- At 10:53, the Cavs' forced another Concord punt, however the snap was fumbled and recovered by
Daniel Thomas at the CU 35-yard line.
-A 12-yard rush by
Ian Scammell got the Cavs into the redzone before a fourth down completion from Corkren to McClanahan came up inches short of a first down at the CU 18-yard line.
- On the ensuing Concord drive,
Jadyn Thompson intercepted Mizzell's pass at the Cavs' 2-yard line with 4:45 left, preventing a Concord score and maintaining momentum for the Cavaliers.
- Corkren capped off an 11-play, 97-yard drive, in just over two minutes, with a 9-yard touchdown at 2:25, followed by a successful PAT from Marcantel, making it a one-possession game at 37-29 in favor of the visitors.
-After the Cavalier defense forced a 3 and out, the offense took over on their own 15-yard line with 1:37 remaining in the game. Corkren's pass intended for Khalil Jones Jr. fell incomplete on 4th down, sealing the win for the Mountain Lions.
TOP PERFORMERS
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Jake Corkren was 20/47 for 160 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns. He added 35 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.
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Ian Scammell had 106 rushing yards on 16 attempts with a rushing touchdown.
-The Cavalier Defense held Concord to just 23 rushing yards in the contest.
- Matthew Strong had 7 tackles and an interception.
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Jimmie Simmons led the defense with ten total tackles
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Brady Dalton and Khalil Jones both had receiving touchdowns for the Cavs.
With the win, Concord now leads the all-time series 7-5.
UP NEXT
Looking ahead, the Cavaliers will open South Atlantic Conference play when they host Newberry on Beaty-Richmond Field at Carl Smith Stadium next Saturday at 6 p.m.
