Oct. 19, 2002

Final Stats

Spartanburg, S.C. - Western Carolina quarterback Pat Cilento posted career highs by completing 30-of-37 passes for 295 yards, but Wofford's J.R. McNair rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Terriers in a 31-24 victory over the Catamounts Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium.

Four of Wofford's five scoring drives were at least 74 yards in length, including a 19-play, 77-yard drive that covered 9:40 in the second half. The Terriers held a 36:28-to-23:32 edge in time of possession and were 4-of-5 on fourth-down conversions.

"Our offensive line was the key to the game," Wofford Head Coach Mike Ayers said. "We were able to take it right at them and we challenged them on fourth down several times. Western Carolina is too good to let them have the football too many times. They are very explosive offensively.

A Todd Rhoden 27-yard field goal capped an 18-play, 75-yard drive to give the Terriers (5-2, 3-1) an early 3-0 lead. On the fourth play of the possession, Wofford converted a 4th-and-1 at its own 24-yard line when McNair carried up the middle for four yards.

Western Carolina (3-5, 1-4) took its only lead of the game at 7-3 when Fred Boateng scored on a one-yard run with 2:18 to play in the opening quarter. Boateng topped the Catamounts with 53 yards rushing on 10 carries. He later added another one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

The Terriers responded to Boateng's first score with a five-play, 80-yard drive, keyed by a 64-yard Johnson run, to take a 10-7 lead on an eight-yard keeper by quarterback Jeff Zolman. A McNair 30-yard scoring run with 2:39 left in the second quarter gave Wofford a 17-7 halftime lead.

After Chris Vought converted a 24-yard field goal to pull the Catamounts within seven, 17-10, with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter, Wofford began its 9:40 scoring drive that culminated with a one-yard McNair touchdown run to extend its lead to 24-10 with 11:27 left.

Western Carolina then drove to the Wofford 29-yard line before cornerback Craig Thomas recorded his first career interception at the Catamount seven-yard line to halt the scoring threat. Following Thomas' return to the Wofford 34, consecutive personal foul calls against the Catamounts allowed the Terriers to begin their possession at the WCU 36-yard line. Melvin Jones carried for 29 yards on first down. Two plays later, Jackson scored on a five-yard run for his first collegiate touchdown to give Wofford a 31-10 lead.

The Catamounts scored twice in a 2:08 span late in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin. After Boateng's second score made it a 31-24 game with 1:16 to play, Western Carolina's onside kick sailed out of bounds. The Terriers then ran out the clock.

Brenden Roy was Western's leading target with six receptions for 40 yards, while Lamont Seward added five catches for 62 yards. Michael Banks added four receptions for 53 yards. With their performances, Seward and Banks both moved up the WCU record book. Seward entered the school's all-time top 10 for receiving yards (1,943). Banks, now with 168 career receptions, passes Jerry Gaines for third on the WCU all-time list and UTC's Cos DeMatteo for seventh on the SoCon career list. Banks also has 2,667 career receiving yards, which moves him to fourth on the WCU and sixth on the SoCon all-time lists.

Defensively, Rod Dunlap registered his sixth double-digit tackle performance of the season with 11, while senior Dunstan Kendrick had a career-high 10 stops.

Western Carolina will host Chattanooga next Saturday (Oct. 26) at 2 p.m., as the University celebrates Homecoming activities throughout the week.