Nov. 11, 2000
Box Score
CULLOWHEE, NC -- The Western Carolina Catamounts came up seven points short to mountain rival Appalachian State, falling 35-28 to the Mountaineers Saturday afternoon at E. J. Whitmire Stadium.
Catamount head coach Bill Bleil was proud of the way his squad played.
"I thought our guys played with great intensity. I've got to give Jerry Moore's crew a lot of credit, they're a good football team and they play hard and execute well when they need to," said Bleil.
He added, "I was real proud of our guys. They played hard. Maybe didn't execute as well at times as we have been in the last two or three weeks, but you got to give a little of that credit to App State for playing extremely well."
WCU (4-6, 3-5) struck first, taking the opening kickoff and driving 76 yards in 12 plays for the game's first score. Redshirt freshman Lee Williams broke free for a four-yard sweep to the endzone.
The Cats held the lead until late in the second quarter when ASU (7-3, 6-2) quarterback Joe Burchette scampered in from six yards out. Burchette was also involved with the Mountaineers' next score as he found senior receiver Troy Albea on a 17-yard TD strike.
For Appalachian State, Burchette finished 25 of 37 passing for 379 yards and four touchdowns. He added 31 yards rushing and the touchdown. His favorite target on the day was Albea, who had a career-high eight catches for 88 yards.
WCU tied the game up at 14 following a defensive stand to start the second stanza when junior Walter Gary surged in from one-yard out. The Cats finished with 102 net yards rushing, led by freshman Fred Boateng with 107.
The Mountaineers went up 21-14 when Burchette connected with senior Rashaad Slade on a 34-yard pass, capping off an 82-yard drive.
Late in the second half, ASU's Burchette put the game out of reach with two, long touchdown passes of 59 and 54 yards. He found Daniel Wilcox and Jimmy Watkins, respectively, for the two long scoring strikes. The 59-yarder was the longest completion of Burchette's career.
However, the Catamounts kept it interesting, driving 79 yards in 15 plays ending with sophomore Michael Banks running in from three yards out to cut the Mountaineer lead to seven. Banks finished with 74 yards receiving, tied with freshman Lamont Seward who also had 74.
WCU had a chance to make a game-tying drive when ASU stalled and an Eric Rockhold field goal attempt hit the left upright and fell no good. However, Catamount senior quarterback David Rivers was hit as he attempted to scramble out of the pocket causing him to fumble the ball and ending WCU's comeback hopes.
Rivers finished 19 of 36 passing against ASU for 198 yards and one TD.
Sophomore Justin Fryer led the Catamount defensive attack, recording five tackles, two interceptions with 41 yards returning, a pass breakup, and blocked an point-after-touchdown attempt. Senior Lorenzo Ferguson led the team in tackles, finishing with 11, ten-unassisted and a sack.
Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore, who improved to 11-1 against WCU in his career, had high praises for the Cats.
"They (WCU) didn't waste those two weeks. I can't say enough about them. They took a lot away from us," said Moore.
Western Carolina and Appalachian State both step out of conference to finish their regular seasons next weekend. The Cats will host Tennessee Tech at 1 PM and ASU hosts Liberty.
