By Cody Shook, Sports Editor
Last weekend the West Liberty University football team took care of business in front of a huge homecoming crowd, as they were able to take down West Virginia State in a 36-24 game. The Hilltoppers will be back in action today, Oct. 27, at noon against the Concord Mountain Lions in a battle between Mountain East Conference teams.
After this weekend, the Hilltoppers will only have one more MEC game remaining on the schedule.
West Liberty is currently 3-5 on the year with a chance to finish the 2018 campaign with an above .500 record, which is something they haven’t done since the 2014 season. They are scheduled to kickoff at noon against the Concord Mountain Lions, who are 1-7 coming into this weekend’s game.
By Concord’s standards, they are having a down year as in 2014 the Mountain Lions finished the season with a 13-1 overall record. Ever since that incredible year, the Mountain Lions have slowly found themselves more towards the bottom of the MEC standings.
The Hilltoppers improved their record to 3-5 last weekend as they were able to beat a middle of the pack West Virginia State team.
In front of a crowd of over 2,800 people, the Hilltoppers showed why they should never be taken lightly. The running backs led the way with 273 yards on the ground, which was 113 more yards than what West Virginia State had. West Liberty was able to compile 412 yards of total offense which was exactly what they needed to hold off a late comeback attempt by the Yellow Jackets.
The Mountain Lions lost last week’s game against UNC-Pembroke in an out of conference match-up. The final score was 48-34, which dropped Concord’s record to 1-7 on the season. The team had 459 yards of total offense and they dominated the ground game and the passing attack, but they weren’t able to stop them when it mattered most.
In today’s game, the Hilltoppers will have to step up once again because even though this Concord team’s record doesn’t show it, they are able to get yards very easily and march up and down the field. One of the strong points for this year’s Hilltopper team has been the defense, as it has been the bread and butter for the past five plus years.
The game is scheduled for a noon kickoff in Athens, W. Va. on the campus of the Concord Mountain Lions. This MEC match-up could prove to be a very exciting game.
Photo Credit: Daniel Morgan
