Story by
Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
Concord travels to West Virginia Wesleyan for duel of elite pass catchers
- Story byBluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
- Concord travels to West Virginia Wesleyan for duel of elite pass catchers
ATHENS — The top two receivers in the Mountain East Conference will be playing opposite one another when the Concord football team takes on West Virginia Wesleyan today at Cebe Ross Field in Buckhannon. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
The Mountain Lions (5-2, 3-2 MEC) come into the game after a 34-31 win over Glenville State at Callaghan Stadium in Athens. The Bobcats (3-5, 2-3 MEC) are coming off a 41-21 loss to conference-leading West Liberty.
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"I think for the first time we played a full four quarters of football," said Concord head football coach Cody Edwards of last week's Glenville State game. "Obviously there are things in all areas we have to work on. But we played four quarters of football. Our team was relentless Our team had a lot of grit. Our team showed up and played at a high level."
Bobcats pass-catcher Amari Colon-Brown, who transferred to Wesleyan from Glenville State between seasons, currently leads the MEC with 948 passing yards thus far. Concord's Dom Collins, a former Princeton High School standout, is second in the league in that category with 850 receiving yards. Both receivers have 10 touchdown passes in their respective ledgers.
Last week, Collins collected his fifth consecutive 100-yard receiving game, pulling in eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. Colon-Brown, meanwhile, flouted the defeat last week with 10 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown catch.
Worth noticing: while running the routes for Glenville State last season, Colon-Brown did not catch a single pass during Concord's 42-30 loss to the Pioneers.
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Be that as it may, Edwards is not only concerned with stopping one Wesleyan receiver. He wants to tangle up all of them while stuffing the rush. He was pleased with the way the Concord defensive coordinator and staff handled Glenville State ... holding the opponent to 18 rushing yards. This week, the defense will face different challenges.
"They've got some weapons. That's been the challenge for us this week. How do we take away what they do well?" Edwards said. "They're talented on the offensive side. The receivers are very talented and the quarterback does a good job distributing the football. Running back was a 1,000-yard rusher last year and the offensive line has kind of retooled a little bit."
Liam McGuire and Mike Evans have both played quarterback for Wesleyan in 2026 McGuire has logged 100 more passing attempts than Evans and has compiled 1,169 yards and 11 TDs for the Bobcats.
Concord quarterback Devin Kargman is now at 2,023 passing yards on the season. He has thrown 18 touchdown passes, which is 11th in NCAA Division II in that category. Last week the Mountain Lions passing attack was enhanced by a season-high 247 yards rushing.
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"I think our offensive staff does a great job week-to-week putting our running backs and offensive line in schematic situations where we can have success. It takes the scheme but it also takes players who can execute it. I think we've done a good job pairing those two things together," Edwards said.
