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CONCORD – Over their last two weeks, the Wheeling University Football team (5-4, 4-2) has used a balanced attack to get back on track after two heartbreaking losses earlier in October. On Saturday, it was the run game taking charge, putting together a season-best 259 yards and scoring five of the team’s six touchdowns as they took down Concord 47-25. The 47 points were a season-best effort for the Cardinals, as they enter the final two weeks of regular season play sitting at 4-2 and moving up to a tie for second in the MEC standings.
Early on, the Mountain Lions showed why they are one of the top offenses in the conference after receiving the opening kick-off. They drove 80 yards on the opening drive, with a 21-yard run from Jayden Williams giving Concord an early 7-0 lead. The Cardinals would get into the redzone on their first drive, but stalled at the Concord 22-yard line. They would call on Conor Fitzpatrick to get them on the board with a 39-yard field goal, and he would split the uprights to make it a 7-3 game. The Mountain Lions would once again keep the ball moving on their second drive, getting down inside the Cardinal 38-yard line before Christian Torres hit a 55-yard field goal that made it a 10-3 Mountain Lion lead. Wheeling would get the ball back with 3:31 to go in the quarter, and drove into Mountain Lion territory at the 44-yard line before the quarter ended with the score sitting at 10-3 in favor of Concord.
They would end up getting down to the Mountain Lion 15-yard line, but an interception brought the drive to an end. After a three and out from the Cardinal defense, Wheeling would take to the ground to even the score. They would use eight straight rushing plays to drive the 44 yards, with a one-yard run from O’Marion Taylor capping things off with a touchdown. Fitzpatrick would send the PAT through and Wheeling tied the game at 10-10 with 9:58 to go in the half. Both teams would look for momentum going into the break, and it was the Cardinals who would get it with 4:53 to go. Jalen Higginbotham pulled in an interception and took it back to the Concord 16-yard line. The Cardinal offense took it from there, using three rushes to get to the goal line before Ayden McKinstry would get into the end zone to make it a 17-10 Wheeling lead. That would give them the advantage going into the halftime break, with the ground game leading the charge.
As they came out for the second half, that ground game was once again at the forefront, after a 34-yard connection between Lutz and Trey Shaw III got the team into Mountain Lion Territory, Wheeling would run the ball three times down to the Concord two-yard line. It would be Landon Lutz that took the ball the rest of the way and the PAT would make it a 24-10 Wheeling advantage. It would be the first of three scores in the quarter for Wheeling, and it would be the Cardinal defense that got on the board next. After back-to-back three and outs, Concord would be set up with 3rd and nine at their own 21 yard line, and Jacob Jones would jump in front of a Devin Kargman Pass. He would take the interception to the house 30 yards and, after a failed PAT, the Cardinals lead would move to 30-10 with 8:20 to go in the third quarter.
Concord would quickly get that momentum back, with Kargman hitting Dom Collins on a 95-yard strike that got the score back to 30-17. Wheeling would continue to methodically move the ball down the field, kick started by another 24-yard strike, this time to Manny Ortega-Garcia. Wheeling would slowly work their way inside the Concord 10 yard line, and McKinstry would find the endzone for the second time on the day to make it a 37-17 Wheeling lead. That would be the score at the end of the third quarter, and the Cardinal offense would strike twice more in the fourth quarter. Fitzpatrick got the Cardinals to an even 40 points with a 30-yard field goal, and Taylor would find the end zone for the first time on the day on a four-yard run. Wheeling would take a 47-17 lead and, despite one more Mountain Lion score, Wheeling would go on to win 47-25, moving them to 4-2 in MEC play.
It was a big day for the Cardinal ground game, with seven different running backs combining for 259 yards on the ground and five touchdowns. Leading the charge was Ayden McKinstry, who carried the ball 17 times for 89 yards, including two of the five rushing touchdowns. Landon Lutz would find the end zone twice, rushing for 25 yards on 10 carries, while O’Marion Taylor racked up the final score with 10 carries for 43 yards. Landon Lutz would lead the passing game, going 9-16, throwing for 145 yards and an interception on the day. His top target was Manny Ortega-Garcia, who finished with three catches for 58 yards to round out the offense. Joe Rispoli would lead the defense with eight total tackles, six solo and two assisted, while Jalen Higginbotham and Jacob Jones each pulled down interceptions, with Jones returning his for a touchdown.