Nov 2, 2002

Final Stats

LEXINGTON, Va. - Western Carolina quarterbacks Pat Cilento and Brian Gaither combined for 350 yards passing and four touchdowns to lead Western Carolina past VMI, 35-23, in the final Southern Conference game played at Alumni Memorial Field in Lexington.

Cilento connected on 12 of 21 attempts for 188 yards and two touchdowns, while Gaither was 10 of 18 for 162 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, the two have each thrown for over 1,000 yards and have combined to put WCU atop the SoCon standings in passing. (The last time the Cats paced the league in passing was 1982 when current head coach Kent Briggs was an assistant on Bob Waters' staff.)

The Catamount win was the 11th straight for Western over the Keydets and snapped VMI's three-game win streak. Also, with the win, WCU improves to 5-5, 3-4 in the Southern Conference, while VMI fell to 5-5 and 2-4 in the SoCon.

The Catamounts never trailed in the game and opened the scoring with a 13-play, 78 yard drive late in the first quarter that was capped by a Cilento 17-yard strike to Brian Rucker at the 3:33 mark of the opening quarter. Cilento dissected the Keydet secondary on the drive, using five different receivers and completing six of nine passes for 69 yards.

VMI answered on the ensuing possession when Mizzer took a shovel pass and raced down the right sideline for a 65-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter.

The Catamounts capitalized on a VMI turnover on the first play of the second quarter to take the lead for good. On a second-and-nine from the VMI 21, WCU senior captain Pat Leach blindsided Keydet quarterback Joey Gibson at the 14-yard line and forced a fumble, which Michale Spicer recovered at the VMI 12. Three playes later, Gaither hooked up with Brenden Roy in the right corner of the endzone for a 10-yard TD pass that put the Cats up, 14-7 with 13:33 remaining in the second quarter.

WCU stretched the lead to 21-7 when a 23-yard punt return by Michael Banks to the WCU 47 jump-started a two-play, 53-yard drive that consisted of a 37-yard pass to senior wideout Chris Lane and an 11-yard burst to the endzone by junior running back Manny DeShauteurs.

The Catamounts opened the second-half with an onsides kick that was recovered by Lamont Reid at the VMI 45. Four plays later, Cilento connected with freshman wide receiver Xavier Godard for a 34-yard TD strike over the middle to extend the lead to 28-7 just 1:48 into the third quarter.

The Keydets halved the deficit when a 38-yard pass from Gibson to Pedro Garcia keyed a 21-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Greg Carlson to cut the deficit to 28-14 at the 6:09 mark of the third quarter. WCU went up three scores on the next drive when Gaither threw a 28-yard TD pass to Lane. However, VMI answered when Mizzer dashed 28 yards to pull VMI within 35-21 at the 2:53 mark of the third quarter. The drive was set up by a 51-yard kick return by senior Kevin Solomon.

The game then dissolved into a scoreless standstill with the next nine combined possessions ending in six punts, a fumble recovery and one possession on downs. A safety taken by Western Carolina punter Stanton Horne as the Cats were trying to run out the clock provided the final margin.

Senior wide receiver Michael Banks led all receivers with seven catches for 79 yards. He now ranks third on the SoCon career receptions list and fifth on the league's career receiving yards list. Lane added four catches for a career-high 112 yards and a touchdown, while Lamont Seward hauled in five passes for 61 yards. DeShauteurs had a workmanlike performance, carrying the ball 25 times for 74 yards.

Defensivley for the Cats, Spicer finished with seven tackles, including four for losses and a sack, to go along with his fumble recovery and pass breakup. The junior now has 24 tackles for losses on the season, which establishes a WCU record, bettering the 23 set by Clyde Simmons in 1985.

The loss spoiled an outstanding performance by Mizzer. The VMI freshman running back went over the 100-yard rushing mark for the third straight game with 106 yards and a touchdown, and the Maryland native also caught four passes for 104 yards and a score. Also Gibson turned in a season-high 305 passing yards on 18 of 41 passing with two touchdowns.

Western Carolina will be off next Saturday before hosting Appalachian State on Nov. 16 in the annual Battle for the Old Mountain Jug. The game will start at 3:30 pm and will be telecast on Fox Sports Net South.