Wheeling, W. Va. - When the Mountain East Conference (MEC) preseason polls were released back in August Wheeling University and Concord were picked number eight and number seven respectively. Flash forward and both teams sit tied for second as the Wheeling University football team get set to take on those Mountain Lions Saturday with kickoff at noon. Both teams sit tied for second and are looking to get their spot in the regional rankings as the race for the NCAA DII tournament is on.
Last time out, the Cardinals went up the hill for "The Battle for Wheeling" when they took on West Liberty. The offense got going right away, scoring on their first drive of the game for the second consecutive week, and used that momentum to pick up a 43-21 win. The offense scored 21 first half points and the score sat tied at 21-21 as the teams broke for the locker room. The Cardinals came out and scored quickly in the second half and the game was sealed when linebacker Javon Johnson picked the ball off at the 49-yard line and ran it back to the end zone to make it a 35-21 game. The Cardinals defense held strong, not allowing West Liberty to score in the second half as Wheeling improved to 6-2 on the season.
That offensive success was led by quarterback Javon Davis who set the program record for touchdowns in a single game with five. Davis ended up throwing for 313 yards while going 16-24 with the five touchdowns. His top target of the day was senior Chris Canaday who finished with five catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Lowell Patron also grabbed two touchdowns while pulling in four catches for 69 yards. The other Cardinal touchdown came courtesy of Steven Mitchell who pulled in a touchdown pass for the second straight game. The Wheeling University Run game had been leading the charge early in the season, but lately the passing game has taken over as Davis is taking control of this Cardinal offense.
On the defensive side of the ball The Cardinals did not allow a point in the second half as they held up strong for the third game in a row. They have allowed 21 points or less in three of their last four games and have allowed just 10 second half points during that stretch. They were led by a strong day from Johnson, who finished with seven total tackles, six solo and one assisted, 1.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions including the pick 6. Jason Simon has also been having a good stretch and tied for second with six tackles. The Cardinals linebacking corps has been racking up the tackles while their secondary has been limiting the opponent's passing game.
The first NCAA D2 Regional rankings came out this past week and two MEC teams were listed. Notre Dame College and Concord each made the list of the top 10 teams under consideration for the NCAA D2 playoffs. For the Cardinals it creates an opportunity on Saturday as a win could get them in the discussion for the week two regional rankings. In its fourth season Wheeling football has never been ranked in the Atlantic region and are looking to get their name in the conversation this week. The Cardinals currently sit one game behind conference leading Notre Dame College and are one game ahead of a slew of teams tied for 4th. Wheeling is looking to stand alone in at least second for the conference with a win and challenge for that top spot.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Mountain Lions are meeting for the third time in program history, with Wheeling winning each of the first two matchups. The matchup moves back to Athens, West Virginia for the first time since the 2019 season in the inaugural meeting of This matchup. Wheeling is averaging 21 points per game so far in the matchup and has scored at least 15 points in each game. In their last meeting, Wheeling won a defensive battle 15-14 in Athens, West Virginia.
Special teams led the way for Wheeling in that matchup as kicker Matt Greenwood made two field goals and scored seven of his teams 15 points on the day. The rest of the points came courtesy of the defense with former Cardinal Josiah Wright picking up a pick 6 and a Cardinal's safety accounted for the final eight points. Chad Palmer got the start in that game and went 11-25 for $167 yd. Running back Sy Alli would lead the ground attack, carrying the ball 24 times for 104 yards.
The Details
Kickoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for noon at Callaghan Stadium on the campus of Concord University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with live stats by clicking HERE.
