Staff reports
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
HICKORY, N.C. —
Brian Kennedy scored from two yards out with 9:42 left in the fourth quarter, as the Concord Mountain Lions defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 20-17 on Saturday night.
Concord (2-0), which defeated the Bears 52-45 in overtime last season, didn’t extra time in this one, but did need Kennedy’s 171 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, including a 6-yard run in the third quarter.
Zack Grossi also completed 26-of-42 passes for 299 yards and a 19-yard first quarter touchdown to Thomas Mayo, who finished with eight catches for 101 yards.
Grossi was picked off three times, and was sacked four times.
Lenoir-Rhyne (1-1) took a 10-7 lead at the break, answering the scoring pass to Mayo with a 28-yard field goal by Colin Corpe, and a 65-yard scoring run by Gaston Miller.
Kennedy put Concord back up with 5:55 left in the third quarter with a 6-yard run, but James Pone pulled the Bears ahead with a 21-yard run with 14:14 left in the game.
Lenoir-Rhyne's lone giveaway of the evening proved to be costly when a Major Herron fumble was forced by Joe Greenway and recovered by Davon Marion at the Bear 11-yard line to set up Kennedy's winning touchdown rush.
Brandon Strupp added the third of his three extra point kicks for the final margin.
Giles’ product Nathan Tanner had seven catches for 54 yards for Concord, while Rashid Baker added five for 50 more yards. Kennedy also caught three passes for 27 yards.
Concord out-gained the Bears 452-344. Lenoir-Rhyne gained 319 of its yards on the ground, while the Mountain Lions ran for 153 and threw for another 299.
Miller led Lenoir-Rhyne with 107 yards rushing on just four carries. Herron was 9-of-16 passing for just 25 yards. Nick Stutts caught six passes for 24 yards.
Concord will be off this week, and will return to the gridiron on Sept. 18 at West Virginia Wesleyan.
