The WVWC football team jumped out to a 21-0 lead over Concord University only to see it slip away in the final seconds of the game. Dante Satcher’s 11-yard run started the day for the Bobcats with just 13:35 left in the first quarter of play. Bobcat quarterback, Luke Casey, wasted no time getting back to work hitting Jujuan Linzy on a 43 yard pass with 10:52 remaining in the 2nd to give the Cats a 14-0 lead. Four minutes later, Luke Casey connected with sophomore, Kenney Lewis on a 13-yard touchdown strike. Tyler Fischer’s 3rd PAT of the day was good to give the Cats a 21-0 lead.
Facing a three-touchdown deficit, the Mountain Lions began their comeback. With just over 5:30 left in the first half, freshman running back Kris Copeland broke a 73-yard touchdown run that took him from the left sideline before he reversed field and scampered in front of the CU bench, down the sideline and into the end zone. A late CU drive stalled out before half as Concord faced a 21-7 deficit at halftime.
Concord came out of the break and managed a 17 point 3rd quarter to head into the 4th up 24-21. The Bobcats drove the field on the next possession and scored on a 2-yard scamper by Casey. Fischer’s PAT attempt split the posts to put the Cats back on top 28-24. The Bobcat defense held the line on the ensuing drive. The Cats managed to get into field goal range in the next possession. Fischer’s 31-yard field goa attempt was good to give the Bobcats a 7 point lead with 6:14 remaining in the contest.
A string of untimely penalties and since reversed targeting call that put the ball on the 13 yard line proved costly for the Cats. Concord managed to score on 4th down with :56 seconds left in the game.
In an effort to get into field goal range, the Cats committed a costly turnover and gave the Mountain Lions new life. A QB scamper and a quick pass to the sideline were all Concord needed to give freshman kicker, Luke Walls, an opportunity to nail a 40-yard field goal as time expired
“I was disappointed in myself for the way I managed the second half” said 3rd year head coach, Del Smith. “I thought we had an opportunity to burn more clock in certain situations. At the end of the day, we should have never put ourselves in the that position. We made critical errors in all three phases of the game in the 3rd quarter. The good thing for our football team is that every mistake is correctable and we showed that we have am opportunity to be pretty good. There is a tremendous amount of learning and improvement that happens from week 1 to week 2.”
