FSU hosts Concord in battle for first place in MEC

Cumberland Times-News, Md.
·2 min read

Sep. 24—FROSTBURG — With first place in the Mountain East Conference on the line, Frostburg State will host Concord today at 1 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium.

Both teams enter with 3-0 records overall and 2-0 in the MEC, which places both tied for first in the standings.

This will be third meeting between the two that Frostburg State has pretty much dominated. The Bobcats won 42-23 last season and rolled over the Mountain Lions 52-14 in 2019.

Concord is undefeated through three games for the first time since 2014.

The Mountain Lions are coached by Dave Walker, who took over the program in December of 2019 after leading Martinsburg to eight West Virginia Class AAA championships. Walker began coaching at East Hardy and he owns the West Virginia record for high school playoff victories with 53.

Last week, Concord led 34-17 against West Virginia Wesleyan before holding off the late comeback for the 34-32 victory.

Frostburg State won its first road game at Charleston, 34-28.

The Bobcats led 10-0 before Charleston took a 14-10 lead. FSU answered for a 17-14 halftime lead. Charleston would again pull ahead, 21-20, before the Bobcats scored twice for some breathing room and the eventual six-point victory. Redshirt freshman receiver Jordan Marcucci caught three TD passes from Isaiah Lester of 1, 5 and 73 yards.

The MEC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week will go up against each other in Concord quarterback Jack Mangel and FSU redshirt freshman safety Wylan Harrich.

Mangel, from Athens, Georgia, completed 27 of 35 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns against West Virginia Wesleyan. He also rushed four times for 21 yards. The performance was Mangel's sixth of throwing for at least 350 yards.

Harich, a safety from Point of Rocks, led the Bobcats defense with eight tackles — six solo — and a pair of interceptions against the Golden Eagles. His second interception sealed the win as Charleston began a drive with 2:19 remaining to play.

Harich now has two multiple interception games during the 2022 season following a two-interception performance in week one against American International.