Published: November 06, 2009 11:25 am      

CU marks first winning season in decade

FAIRMONT — When he took over the Concord Mountain Lions football program last December, head coach Mike Kellar said he wanted to build a program as well as win games. On Saturday, a key step in that program building occurred as Concord won its first WVIAC road game this year and clinched its first winning season since 1998 by beating the Fairmont State Falcons 15-9.

Concord (6-4, 4-3) opened the scoring with a 16-play, 86-yard drive which ended with Brian Kennedy scoring on a two-yard run with 4:25 left in the first quarter, making it 6-0 CU (kick was blocked). The drive saw a 24-yard run by Dennis Cole, two consecutive runs by Kennedy of 17 and 18 yards and an 11-yard run by Cole.

The game’s next score occurred with 1:59 left in the half as Brandon Strupp hit a 41-yard field goal, which culminated a 10-play, 41-yard drive, making it 9-0 CU. The drive saw a 20-yard Kennedy run and an 11-yard Steven Hearons to Cole pass.

After a scoreless third quarter, Concord made it 15-0 with a Hearons to Nathan Tanner nine-yard pass connection (kick blocked), ending a seven-play, and 74-yard drive at 2:07 left in the game. The drive saw a 65-yard Hearons to Thomas Mayo pass connection.

The blocked extra point was returned by the Falcons’ Brandon Tucker all the way to their end zone for a safety, making the score 15-2.

Fairmont (3-7, 3-4) cut the score to 15-9 with: 47 left as J.J. Mayer hit Jeff Smothers with a 14-yard scoring pass (Alex Ashley kick), winding up an eight-play, 54-yard drive. The drive saw Mayer hit Smothers for 13 yards and Mayer rush for 10 yards and 13 yards.

Concord recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock.

Concord was led by Kennedy with 106 yards rushing in 27 attempts with a touchdown. Hearons went 7-15 for 105 yards passing with a touchdown. Mayo caught five passes for 86 yards. R.J. Anderson (seven solo) and Joe Greenway (five solo) had eight tackles each.

Fairmont State was led by Mayer with 55 yards rushing and 10-22 for 120 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown passing. Smothers caught three passes for 39 yards and T. Hawthorne caught two passes for 45 yards. Luke Black (five solo) and Dan Dario (three solo) had eight tackles each.

Concord concludes their season tomorrow at West Liberty State. Game time is 1 p.m.

— Contact Jeff Harvey at jharvey1@frontiernet.net or delimartman@yahoo.com.