Thursday, Aug, 31 7:00 p.m.
West Virginia Wesleyan (0-0) at Concord (0-0)
Series History: Concord leads the series 19-14
Last Game: 2016 -- Concord 20, West Virginia Wesleyan 17
Current Streak -- Concord has won six in a row
BUCKHANNON - West Virginia Wesleyan enters year two of the Coach Del Smith Era tonight, traveling to face the Concord Mountain Lions. Last season, the Mountain Lions earned a hard-fought 20-17 victory in Buckhannon.
With a multitude of new faces in each lineup and on each coaching staff, Thursdsy night brings an element of the unknown. In 2016, Wesleyan ended 4-7 (4-6), while Concord ended 2-9 (2-8).
Wesleyan returns five of the team's top seven team tackle leaders on the defensive side of the ball; defensive backs Chad Pinson, Nate Simmons, and Trey Lee, and linebackers Brandon Grayson and Gabriel Moultrie.
Offensively, the Bobcats lost MEC Offensive Player of the Year Mike Anderson to graduation, but they return quarterback Ryan Deal who passed for 2,214 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2016. There will be several new faces on the Bobcat offense, both on the line and in the skill positions. Deal's top four targets from last season are gone, o there will be several new receivers on the other end of his aerials.
"We have some new faces on both sides of the ball that we feel can be dynamic performers for our program," Coach Smith said. "We are also looking for some quality leadership from our upperclassmen as we get our schedule started and moving forward."
Concord is a tough task when playing in Athens. The Mountain Lions have won five consecutive home openers, and seven of their last eight. Last year they opened with a victory over West Liberty.
Concord's head coach Paul Price is very familiar face to Bobcat faithful. He was an all-conference center for the Wesleyan teams of Coach Kent Carpenter in the early 80's, and served as a long time coach at Wesleyan for over two decades. Price was the defensive coordinator for the Bobcats when Smith was a player.
"Coach Price is not only one of my closest friends in this profession, but one of my closest friends in life," Smith said.
