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Hilltoppers Drop Heartbreaker at Concord

Hilltoppers Drop Heartbreaker at Concord

ATHENS, W.Va. – The West Liberty University football team came out on the short end of a 20-16 score against Concord here Saturday in a bizarre Homecoming Game at Callaghan Stadium.

Β Β Β After the Hilltoppers (3-2, 3-2) took a 16-15 lead on a quarterback sneak in the opening minute of the fourth quarter only to see the Mountain Lions (2-3, 2-3) block the PAT and run it all the way for a 2-point defensive safety, regaining the lead at 17-16.

Β Β Β Concord tacked on a short field goal midway through the quarter to push the margin to 20-16 but the West Liberty defense came up big when Jason Mitchell picked off a Mountain Lion pass – his second interception of the day – at the WLU 37 with 3:40 remaining.

Β Β Β Fighting the clock and the Concord defense, the Hilltoppers drove down inside the CU 25 before a quarterback sack set up 4th-and-12 from the 30. Jack Allison fired a sideline dart to a diving Isaiah Robinson for an apparent first down at the 16 but Robinson was ruled out-of-bounds on the catch, allowing the hosts to take over with 1:32 to play and put the game on ice.

Β Β Β West Liberty drew first blood with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Allison to TE Jesse Collins to go up 7-0 at 2:57 of the first quarter. The Hilltoppers pushed the count to 10-0 when a Mitchell pick at the Concord 23 set up a 36-yard Owen Rozanc field goal.

Β Β Β The Mountain Lions broke through with a 34-yard TD throw from Jack Mangel to Tywan Pearce, cutting the margin to 10-6 with just 3:23 left in the half. Concord missed the PAT but a West Liberty miscue on the ensuing kickoff backed the Hilltoppers up to their own 1. Allison fumbled the first down snap but covered it in the end zone for a safety.

Β Β Β The Mountain Lions' Kris Copeland gave the hosts their first lead of the game, 15-10, when he capped a 69-yard, 9-play drive with a 5-yard scoring burst at 5:40 of the third quarter.

Β Β Β An exchange of punts set West Liberty up with great field position and the visitors capitalized with a 38-yard scoring march, touching off the bizarre turn of events that put Concord ahead to stay.

Β Β Β Allison completed 18-of-38 passes for 156 yards and Tyler Moler had 45 rushing yards on 16 attempts as WLU was held to just 189 yards of total offense on 70 snaps.

Β Β Β Copeland was the game's leading rusher for the Mountain Lions with 115 yards on 21 carries while Pearce finished with 6 catches for 70 yards. Mangel completed 21-of-35 passes for 195 yards with one touchdown and the two interceptions by Mitchell.

Β Β Β The teams combined for a staggering 221 yards on 25 penalties. Concord was flagged 17 times for 145 yards with WLU being assessed 76 yards on 8 penalties – both season-highs.

Β Β Β West Liberty returns home on Saturday to host Fairmont State in the Hilltoppers' annual Homecoming Game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at West Family Stadium.


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