Concord will welcome 4-1 Frostburg State as they search for their first victory on the season. It will be no easy task as Frostburg has won eight of their last nine games dating back to last season. They also currently sit at number three in the MEC polls. To earn a victory on Saturday, the first key is to eliminate mental mistakes and stick to the details of the game.
“We have to eliminate the number of turnovers that we are having. So firstly, we have to take care of the football, and then we have to eliminate the silly mistakes and penalties such as jumping offsides…. Also, for us, where we are right now with our youth on the team it’s going to come down to the details. We have to make sure that all 11 guys on the field whether it is offense, defense, or special teams are doing their assignment to the details.”
Brian Ferguson, Head Football Coach
Offensively
When it comes to offense for Concord, the overall product hasn’t been great. Averaging just 18 points a game thus far, compared to 27 at this time last season. Their task doesn’t get any easier this week as they host the number one total defense in the conference. When asked if anything will change schematically for this week, Coach Ferguson says execution of the game plan is the most important key for his offense.
“We are going to put our best players in the best situation for us to win games. We have to come up with things to do to counter what they want to do on defense, with how physical they are on the defensive line, and how they like to blitz. We have put a game plan together that we feel very confident about, now we just have to go execute the game plan.”
Coach Brian Ferguson
Defensively
Concord’s main focus on defense this week will be to stop the run. Frostburg is a run-first offense having attempted 129 passes compared to 201 rush attempts. They also have the 6th leading rusher in the conference in Sean Aaron.
“They want to run the football; they are kind of built the same way that they are on defense where they want to be physical and pound you with the football.”
Coach Brian Ferguson
Team leaders in tackles such as Jamari Smith and Brodee Rice will be key for Concord this week.
Homecoming Week
It is also homecoming week for Concord University, which is something Coach Ferguson and his players do not take lightly.
“We want our players to take this game seriously, because 10-15 years from now when they come back to Concord on Homecoming, they are going to want to root for a good football team… Our goal is to put a good product on the field so everyone in attendance can have a good experience.”
Coach Brian Ferguson
The message has been the same for Coach Ferguson since the beginning of the season, he wants to build champions for life. On and off the field, however, a win on Saturday in front of a huge crowd would certainly help the morale of the entire group.
On Saturday, in Callaghan Stadium, the kickoff is at 1:00 p.m.
by Seth Ross