MEC Football Week Eight

· There’s Mountain East Conference football action on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week as another exciting season turns down the homestretch.

· It kicks off under the Thursday Night Lights in Frostburg, Md. as the Bobcats host Wheeling in a 7 p.m. clash. Unbeaten Charleston welcomes Fairmont State to UC Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. Three games are set for Saturday afternoon with West Liberty visiting Glenville State at 1 p.m., W.Va. Wesleyan hosting Concord at 2 p.m. and West Virginia State traveling to UNC-Pembroke at 4 p.m.

WEEK 8 SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 24
Wheeling (3-4, 2-3) at Frostburg State (6-1, 4-1) | 7 p.m. | Frostburg, Md.
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Last Meeting: September 9, 2023, Wheeling, W.Va. (Frostburg State d. Wheeling, 20-16)
Notes: This is the sixth meeting between the Bobcats and Cardinals with FSU having won four of the previous five matchups. …The Cardinals nipped W.Va. State, 35-33, on a 13-yard TD pass from Landon Lutz to Tre Holloway with just 22 seconds to play on Saturday. …Lutz threw for 289 yards and 3 TDs, Holloway had 10 catches for 130 yards and 2 TDs while Steven Mitchell rushed for 103 yards and a score. …Frostburg State dropped a 48-7 decision at home to unbeaten Charleston. …The Bobcats committed three turnovers and were held to just 195 yards of total offense. …The game will be televised regionally on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN)

Friday, October 25                                                                                              
Fairmont State (4-3, 3-2) at Charleston (7-0, 5-0) | 7 p.m. | Charleston, W.Va.
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Last Meeting: October 21, 2023, Fairmont, W.Va. (Fairmont State d. Charleston, 33-30)
Notes: This is the 25^th meeting between Charleston and Fairmont State with the Golden Eagles holding a 15-8-1 series lead. …The Falcons jumped out to a 31-14 halftime lead in Saturday’s 37-28 win over UNC-Pembroke. …QB Nino Marzullo had 256 passing yards and 4 TDs to lead the FSU attack while the Fairmont State defense forced four turnovers. …The Golden Eagles are coming off a 48-7 statement win at previously-unbeaten Frostburg State. …Chavon Wright ran for 225 yards and 5 TDs as UC rolled up 345 rushing yards and 471 yards of total offense against the nationally-ranked Bobcat defense.

Saturday, October 26                                                                         
West Liberty (2-5, 2-3) at Glenville State (3-4, 3-2) | 1 p.m. | Glenville, W.Va.
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Last Meeting: October 7, 2023, West Liberty, W.Va. (West Liberty d. Glenville State, 48-40)
Notes: This is the 85^th time the Pioneers and Hilltoppers have met on the gridiron. …West Liberty has won four of the last five and holds a 47-33-4 series lead. …The Hilltoppers picked up their second win in the last three weeks with a 21-9 victory over W.Va. Wesleyan. …QB Levi Gullion completed 17-of-33 throws for 248 yards and 3 TDs, highlighted by an 81-yard TD bomb to WR Ben Turner. …The Pioneers came from behind to pull out a 24-21 victory over Concord on Saturday. …Anthony Garrett threw for 177 yards and 3 TDs while Tariq Miller had 6 catches for 81 yards and two second-half TDs. …Sean Scott blocked a 32-yard Concord field goal attempt midway through the fourth quarter to preserve the 24-21 lead

W.Va. State (5-2, 4-1) at UNC-Pembroke (2-5, 2-3) | 4 p.m. | Pembroke, N.C.
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Last Meeting: September 7, 2023, Institute, W.Va. (W.Va. State d. UNC-Pembroke, 37-35)
Notes: This is the 7^th meeting between the schools with the Braves having won five of the previous six matchups. …The Yellowjackets had their 4-game win streak snapped on Saturday in a 35-33 loss at Wheeling. …Justin Pessoa rushed for 165 yards and a TD while Joel Felder ran for 55 yards and 2 TDs to go along with 98 receiving yards and another score. …Isaiah Bess had 271 passing yards and 2 TDs with 3 INTs. …UNC-Pembroke came out on the short end of a 37-28 shootout at Fairmont State on Saturday. …Colin Johnson passed for 315 yards and 3 TDs and led the Braves with 52 rushing yards. …Jaiden Nesbit had a game-high 14 tackles, including 10 solo stops

Concord (0-7, 0-5) at W.Va. Wesleyan (0-7, 0-5) | 6 p.m. | Buckhannon, W.Va.
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Last Meeting: October 28, 2023, Athens, W.Va. (Concord d. W.Va. Wesleyan, 38-9)
Notes: This is the 42^nd matchup between Concord and W.Va. Wesleyan. …Concord has won six straight and 12 of the last 13 to open up a 26-14-1 series lead. …The Mountain Lions battled Glenville State to the wire in a 24-21 loss on Saturday. …JQ Brown ran for 206 yards and 2 TDs – including a 80-yard scoring sprint – to key the Concord attack. …Two CU quarterbacks combined to complete 15-of-27 passes for 144 yards. …The Bobcats were held to just 194 yards of total offense in a 21-9 loss at West Liberty on Saturday. …Immanuel Scott led the receiving corps with 4 catches for 56 yards while Raphael Manning rushed for 50 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown on 15 attempts

NOTABLE

· Coming off his second straight 5-touchdown game in the win against Frostburg State on Saturday, Charleston's Chavon Wright leads the nation with 24 rushing TDs through 7 games. Virginia Union's Jada Byers is a distant second with 13 running scores

· Current Denver Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin set the MEC single-season record with 33 rushing TDs in 14 games for Notre Dame (Ohio) in 2019

· After blocking three PATs and a field goal try in Saturday's 35-33 loss at Wheeling, W.Va. State is tied for the NCAA D2 lead with 7 blocked kicks

· Six of the MEC's 10 teams are averaging more than 30 points per game with two of them among the Top 10 nationally. Charleston now leads the MEC and ranks No. 6 in the nation at 40.0 ppg., just ahead of No. 7 W.Va. State (39.9 ppg.). Frostburg State (36.6) is third in the MEC followed by Fairmont State (34.3), Wheeling (32.9) and UNC-Pembroke (30.9)

· Four MEC teams are averaging over 400 yards/game in total offense. W.Va. State leads the MEC and is 8th nationally at 459.4 yards/game. Charleston (437.0) is next followed by Fairmont State (431.7) and Frostburg State (400.3). UNC-Pembroke is one yard shy of a 400 yards/game average at 399.9 ypg.

· Charleston leads the MEC and ranks 5th in the nation with an average of 264.4 rushing yards/game. West Virginia State is second in the MEC and No. 15 among NCAA D2 squads at 206.9 yards/game

· Fairmont State and UNC Pembroke rank among the nation's Top 20 passing teams. The Falcons lead the MEC and are No. 14 nationally with an average of 284.7 yards/game through the air. The Braves are 15th nationally and second in the MEC at 284.4 ypg.

· Charleston's Wright leads the nation in rushing yards (1,297) and yards/game (185.3). W.Va. State's Justin Pessoa is the MEC's second-leading rusher with 724 rushing yards, an average of 103.4 ypg.

· UNC-Pembroke's Colin Johnson is the leading passer in the MEC at 253.9 yards/game. West Virginia State's Isaiah Bess (235.9) and Fairmont State's Nino Mazzullo (225.8) rank second and third, respectively

· Johnson leads the MEC with 19 passing TDs while Frostburg State's Myles Fulton continues to lead in pass efficiency (174.8), which ranks No. 6 nationally

· West Liberty's Ben Turner leads the conference in receiving yards (584), receiving yards/game (83.4) and receiving yards/catch (23.4),

· Fairmont State's Gage Michael tops the MEC with 39 pass receptions while UNC-Pembroke's Josiah Hayes leads all MEC receivers with 10 TD grabs

· Two MEC standouts rank among the top three nationally in All-Purpose Yards. Charleston's Wright is No. 2 among all NCAA D2 gridders with an average of 192.0 yards/game while Wheeling's Tre Holloway is third in the nation with a 169.4 ypg. averag

Concord's Ryker Brown leads the MEC with 55 total tackles. Fairmont State's Donovan O'Malley (50) and West Liberty's Trent Crawford (49) are second and third, respectively. Glenville State's Shaun Sterling Jr. and W.Va. State's Tim Sanford II are tied for the MEC lead with 34 solo stops