CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS IN WEEK 2
• The conference portion of the MEC football schedule begins this week with three matchups on Thursday night and two more on Saturday afternoon.
• The Thursday night slate features UNC Pembroke at West Virginia State beginning at 6 p.m., while Concord at Charleston and Fairmont State at West Liberty are set for 7 p.m. kickoffs.
• Saturday’s action gets underway at 12 noon with West Virginia Wesleyan at Notre Dame College. At 1 p.m., a pair of 1-0 teams square off as Frostburg State travels to Wheeling. Glenville State has a bye in week two.
WEEK 2 SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 7
UNC Pembroke (1-0, 0-0) at West Virginia St. (0-1, 0-0) | 6 p.m. | Institute, W.Va.
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Notes: UNC Pembroke picked up a 45-24 home victory over West Virginia State in 2022 … UNC Pembroke comes into Thursday’s game with a 1-0 record after defeating Fayetteville State in the Two Rivers Classic last Friday … The Braves took the lead with :09 seconds remaining on a 24-yard field goal by Ty Woods, this week’s MEC Special Teams Player of the Week … West Virginia State is 0-1 on the season following a 37-35 setback at FCS foe Morehead State … The Yellow Jackets outgained Morehead by a margin of 457-to-424 … State running back Joel Felder had 117 yards rushing and 46 yards receiving in the game.
Concord (0-1, 0-0) at Charleston (1-0, 0-0) | 7 p.m. | Charleston, W.Va.
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Notes: Concord defeated Charleston in an offensive shootout last October, coming away with a 68-60 home victory over the Golden Eagles … Concord suffered a lopsided 56-10 setback against Emory & Henry last Saturday at home … E&H had four interceptions in the win … Concord receiver Kris Copeland hauled in 11 passes for 147 yards and a score in the game … Charleston is 1-0 following a 22-13 win over Gannon last Thursday … The Golden Eagles scored 13 points in the final 3:53 of the fourth quarter … Javonte Howard completed 17-of-29 passes for 197 yards and two passing TDs in the game.
Fairmont State (1-0, 0-0) at West Liberty (0-1, 0-0) | 7 p.m. | West Liberty, W.Va.
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Notes: West Liberty edged Fairmont State, 27-24 (in overtime), last season at Duvall-Rosier Field … Fairmont State is 1-0 on the season after defeating Bloomsburg 34-30 at Duvall-Rosier Field … FSU’s Dereik Crosby II scored on a two-yard TD run with :12 seconds remaining to give the Falcons the lead for good … Fairmont State had 168 rushing yards in the game … West Liberty was edged 24-21 last Thursday against Walsh … Despite the setback, WLU outgained Walsh 404-281 … West Liberty quarterback Rudy Garcia went 35-of-59 for 370 yards and three passing TDs … Garcia had two 100-yard receivers in the game Rashawn Harvey (14-168) and Chris Charles (5-100).
Saturday, Sept. 9
West Va. Wesleyan (0-1, 0-0) at Notre Dame (1-0, 0-0) | Noon | South Euclid, Ohio
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Notes: Notre Dame defeated West Virginia Wesleyan, 41-9, in week seven of the 2022 season in Buckhannon … West Virginia Wesleyan dropped a 49-6 final against Johnson C. Smith in week one to fall to 0-1 on the season … JCS outgained Wesleyan 479-180 in the game … Ely Ghameshlougy finished the game with eight tackles and a pass break-up to lead the Bobcat defense … Notre Dame edged Ohio Dominican 23-21 last Saturday to open the season 1-0 … Notre Dame quarterback Isaiah Murphy completed 15-of-27 passes for 225 yards and a score in the win.
Frostburg State (1-0, 0-0) at Wheeling (1-0, 0-0) | 1 p.m. | Wheeling, W.Va.
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Notes: Wheeling picked up a 31-27 victory over Frostburg State in 2022 … Frostburg State opened the 2023 season with a 27-24 victory over New Haven last Thursday on the road … Dayne Koontz gave the Bobcats the win with a 23-yard, game-winning field goal in overtime … FSU receiver Jeremiah Gibson hauled in six passes for 127 yards and a touchdown in week one … Wheeling also opened the 2023 season with a win, picking up a 35-24 home victory over Seton Hill last Thursday … Wheeling running back Eli Young scored two rushing touchdowns in the victory.
NOTABLE
• MEC teams went 7-4 in non-conference play last weekend.
• Six games were decided by 4 points or less during week one, including one overtime game (Frostburg State at New Haven). In the games decided by four points or less, MEC teams were 4-2.
• Four MEC teams scored 30+ points last weekend, including a week-high 44 points from Glenville State. West Virginia State (35), Wheeling (35) and Fairmont State (34) also broke the 30-point mark during week one.
• West Liberty’s Rudy Garcia was the lone 300-yard passer in the Mountain East Conference in week one. He completed 35-of-59 passes for 374 yards and three TDs. West Virginia State’s Donovan Riddick also threw three touchdown passes in week one. Riddick completed 25-of-32 passes for 288 yards.
• Five MEC schools rushed for over 100 yards during the opening weekend of the season, led by 173 yards from Frostburg State. West Virginia State (169), Wheeling (168), Fairmont State (168) and Glenville State (117) also broke 100 yards last weekend. West Virginia State’s Joel Felder was the lone 100-yard rusher in the league last weekend, finishing with 117 yards on 15 carries. Frostburg State’s Sean Aaron and Wheeling’s Eli Young each scored two rushing touchdowns.
• Three teams recorded over 400 yards of total offense last weekend, led by West Virginia State with 457 yards. (Frostburg State, 429; West Liberty, 403).
• Four MEC receivers recorded over 100 receiving yards in week one, including West Liberty’s Rashawn Harvey (14-169) and Chris Charles (5-100), Concord’s Kris Copeland (11-147), and West Virginia State’s Javion Monroe (7-133).
• Five players recorded double-digit tackles in week one, led by UNCP’s Sean Hill with 12 stops. Wheeling’s Dalton Hoover recorded 11 tackles.
• Two players recorded multiple sacks in games last weekend, including two sacks apiece from Nick Evans (UC) and Lavell Gibson (NDC).
• Five MEC kickers made field goals of 40-yards or more last weekend, including a league-long 46 yards by West Virginia Wesleyan’s Liam Depp. UNC Pembroke’s Ty Woods (43), Fairmont State’s Emmanuel Richardson (43), Charleston’s Tim McCutchen (43) and Notre Dame’s Cameron Shirkey (41) also connected on 40-plus-yard field goals in week one.
• Charleston’s Tae Marrero led the league in all-purpose yards (233) in week one. Marrero had 64 receiving yards, 85 punt return yards and 84 kick return yards.
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