Oct. 7, 2000
Box Score
CULLOWHEE, NC -- Georgia Southern struck early, posting 29 first-half points en route to a 42-24 win over the Western Carolina Catamounts Saturday night at E. J. Whitmire Stadium.
The win improved Georgia Southern to 5-1 overall, 4-0 in the Southern Conference, while Western Carolina fell to 2-4, 1-3 in league play.
After the game, Catamount head coach Bill Bleil said, "It was a disappointing loss. I thought our kids played extremely hard. You take away those miscues in the first half and we're right there in the game."
He added, "I'm proud of how the team played. It's just hard to play catchup, especially against a team as good as Georgia Southern."
GSU junior fullback Adrian Peterson rushed for 181 yards on 29 carries for the Eagles, scoring his lone touchdown on the night late in the second quarter. Eagle quarterback J. R. Revere added 122 yards on the ground and two scores. Revere also threw for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Catamounts, freshman tailback Fred Boateng finished with 213 yards on 24 carries. That mark is the highest rushing output from a Catamount freshman in school history, ranking as the sixth-best single-game total in the WCU record book. The 213 yards is also the second-most by a rusher in the conference this season.
Boateng, who was the third different ball carrier into the game for WCU, scored one touchdown.
Senior quarterback David Rivers threw for 151 yards on 14 of 32 passing and had two scoring strikes.
Georgia Southern drove 74 yards in 14 plays to open the game, ending with Revere tallying his first of two rushing scores. The Eagles then capitalized on a WCU fumble with Revere throwing his first of two passing touchdowns.
GSU was up 20-0 before the Catamount offense could put points on the board on a seven play, 82-yard drive, capped off by a seven-yard TD strike from Rivers to sophomore Michael Banks.
Western Carolina made it interesting down the stretch, pulling to within 12 at 29-17 on an Aaron Wright touchdown grab, but GSU countered with a 65-yard drive, which culminated with a 70-yard pass from Revere to senior wide receiver Chris Johnson.
The Catamounts will travel to Spartanburg next Saturday to take on the Wofford Terriers, while Georgia Southern returns home to host Appalachian State for Homecoming.
