ATHENS, W. Va. – Urbana University quarterback Cale Burdyshaw accounted for three touchdowns and found wide receiver Trevon Saunders in the end zone twice through the air, while the UU defense shut out Concord in the second half to power the Blue Knights past the Mountain Lions, 21-15, on Saturday at Callaghan Stadium.
Both teams are now 1-2 on the season and tied for fifth place in the Mountain East Conference standings.
After trailing 15-14 at the half, UU scored on the first possession out of the locker room to reclaim the lead for good. Burdyshaw engineered a 12-play, 74-yard drive that lasted over four minutes. The play of the drive came on fourth-and-four at the Concord 28, as Burdyshaw found Saunders for 10 yards to extend the move into Concord territory.
Three plays later, Saunders caught a six-yard touchdown.
On offense, Burdyshaw recorded two passing touchdowns and one rushing TD for the second straight week. The senior finished the game passing 17 of 26 for 134 yards, while also carrying nine times for 36 yards. Saunders caught a team-high seven balls for 73 yards, while scoring both of his touchdowns on short routes. Sophomore running back Trey McFadden continues to get stronger, racking up a career-high 82 yards on 22 carries.
The offensive line showed major improvement, allowing a season-low one sack during the contest.
Defensively, the Blue Knight unit came up big in key moments late in the game.
Concord had a chance late to make a comeback, putting together a long drive beginning at its own eight with 2:57 left in the contest and all three timeouts remaining. The Mountain Lions were able to work into UU territory by converting a couple of third downs and one fourth down, eventually moving up to the UU 21. However, the Blue Knights stiffened and forced four consecutive incompletions with under a minute left to seal the victory.
Carlton Rematt led the Blue and Grey with 10 total tackles and a pair of pass breakups, followed by Josh Dillard with nine stops and Duray Hall and Clayton Bullard each with eight.
In the secondary, Zach Severance recorded his first interception of the year and Dereck Givens registered two breakups.
The punt team continued its strong performance this season, led by Brandon Purk who blasted a 57-yarder and pinned the Mountain Lions inside their 20 on two occasions. For the season, Purk is averaging 43 yards per punt.
UU outgained CU on the ground 146-141, led by McFadden in the backfield.
The Blue Knights were only penalized four times for 33 yards, while the Mountain Lions were flagged 13 times for 119 yards.
Both teams had one turnover with an interception on each side. Saunders was picked off in the fourth quarter on a trick play attempt.
UU finished 50 percent on third-down conversions (7 of 14), while holding CU to 44 percent (8 of 18).
Efficient play in the red zone continued with a perfect 3 for 3 showing. UU has now scored on 8 of 9 trips inside the 20 this season.
Saunders has recorded a touchdown reception in five straight games and one more will put him in an eighth-place tie in UU career history.
UU will try to get back to .500 with a home date against West Liberty on Saturday. Kickoff inside UU Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
