Box Score
ATHENS, W.Va.—In their final road game of the 2014 season, the Notre Dame Falcons fell to No. 13 Concord, 51-14 on Saturday afternoon.  

The Falcons (6-4, 6-3 MEC) have now dropped two in a row on the road, while the victory for the Mountain Lions (10-0, 9-0) keeps their chances of capturing the Mountain East title alive as they remain the only unbeaten team in the MEC. 

The Falcons appeared ready to take an early advantage after forcing a turnover on Concord's opening possession. Darius James sacked Concord quarterback Brian Novak, and forced a fumble, which the Falcons recovered at the Concord 33 yard line. 

However, the Falcons could not capitalize on the great field position. The drive didn't net much yardage for the Falcons, as they got to the 23-yard line, resulting in a 40-yard field goal attempt from Kyle Kaplan, which was blocked, and picked up by Jeremiah Johnson who returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to give Concord the early 7-0 lead. 

On their next drive, the Falcons took it inside Concord territory again, only to see their drive stall as they turned it over on downs at the Concord 34. A few plays later, Novak tossed his first of four first half touchdown passes, on a 14-yard toss to tight end Dalton Brindo. 

After forcing a three and out from the Mountain Lions, the Falcons committed their lone turnover of the half, as Ray Russ's pass was tipped, and intercepted by Derrick Johnson at the Concord 33. Two plays later, Novak found TJ Smith on a 52-yard touchdown pass to give Concord a 20-0 lead with 11:14 left in the first half. 

That very same combination of Novak and Smith hooked up on a 59-yard touchdown with 5:19 to play in the first half to give Concord a 27-0 lead. 

Notre Dame responded, as Emmanuel Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. It was Smith's second kickoff return for a touchdown this season, resulting in Notre Dame's only points of the half. 

Concord scored one final time, in the final minute of the half as Novak found Smith on a 17-yard touchdown strike with 30 seconds remaining to give Concord a 34-7 lead at the break. 

Notre Dame held a big edge in time of possession (18:23 to 11:37) and ran 17 more plays (45-28) than Concord in the opening half, but they were not able to match the big play ability of the Mountain Lions, who outgained the Falcons, 316-170 in total offense. 

Unfortunately for the Falcons, things didn't change much in the second half. Concord was still able to move the ball effectively in the second half, thus chewing up a lot of clock which negated any chance for the Falcons to get back into the contest. 

Ben Nester ran for a score on Concord's second drive of the half. The two-yard touchdown rush gave the Mountain Lions a 41-7 lead with 6:43 left in the third. Concord added three more on a 33-yard field goal from Andy Ellington in the fourth quarter, and they scored one final time on a 69-yard touchdown rush from Calvinaugh Jones with 12:59 to play. 

The Notre Dame offense had not been shutout since the 2012 finale against Ashland, and they were able keep that streak alive, as Russ found C.J. Germany on a 66-yard touchdown pass with a little less than three minutes left in the contest for Notre Dame's only offensive score of the game. 

Russ completed 22-of-52 passes for 266 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. With the touchdown pass, he has now thrown at least one in 21 consecutive games. Wide receiver Mitchell Shegos hauled in 13 passes for 96 yards, and set a new program record for receptions in a season with 98. 

The Falcons will wrap up the 2014 season next Saturday, Nov. 15, when they play host to West Liberty at Mueller Field. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon.