Nov. 1, 2003

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Brian Gaither completed a 37-yard pass to Xavier Godard on the first play of the game and Western Carolina never looked back in the Catamounts 26-3 win over Elon Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field. Western Carolina, who got two rushing touchdowns from Nicholas Wishart, improves to 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the Southern Conference, while Elon falls to 2-8, 1-5.

Wishart (Toronto, Ontario/Central Tech) had 16 carries for 81 yards in the first half, leading the Cats to a 23-0 lead at the break. The true freshman, who finished with 18 carries for 87 yards, accounted for 38 of Western's 70 yards on the first drive, which ended with a 22-yard Chris Vought field goal.

The Catamount defense came up big on Elon's first possession when junior Albert Reid caused and recovered a fumble on the Phoenix 37. Gaither connected with Lamont Seward for a 33-yard pass on the first play and Wishart did the rest, scoring from two yards out after.

Western's defense forced an Elon three-and-out on the next possession. The Catamount offense put together an impressive drive, covering 10 plays and 68 yards for a 17-0 lead. Gaither completed three passes in the drive and Wishart ran for 34 yards, including two runs of 12 yards. The second big gainer, highlighted by a dive from the three yard line, went for Wishart's second rushing TD of the game.

As the first half ended, Western, facing fourth and 23 from its own eight, punted and T.J. Clegg returned it 16 yards putting the Phoenix on the Catamount 33. Rashaud Palmer had a 22-yard rush to start the drive, getting to the WCU 11. Four plays later, Elon went for it on fourth down from the WCU two and got the one yard needed to set up first and goal from the Catamount one. However, on the next play, Marcus Johnson fumbled and Western's Francis Brown recovered the ball.

Western did not capitalize and Elon regained possession six plays later after Jacobi Jones intercepted a pass and returned it to the WCU 32. Two rushes totaling two yards and two incomplete passes gave Western the ball back on downs. The Catamounts would take advantage on their next possession, driving 69 yards in nine plays to make the score 23-0. The drive was capped by a 15-yard Gaither-to-Seward touchdown. The hookup, Seward moved up in the NCAA, Southern Conference and Western Carolina record books. Seward, who had four catches for 64 yards, now has 181 career receptions to rank fourth in the SoCon and 57th in the NCAA all-time lists. He also has 2,836 career receiving yards to move to fourth on the WCU and fifth on the SoCon all-time lists.

Midway through the third quarter, on Elon's second possession of the second half, Western Carolina's All-American candidate Michale Spicer picked off a Phoenix pass and returned it four yards to the Elon 10. The interception, which was the first in Spicer's career, led to Western's final scoring drive of the game. A penalty put Western in a first and goal situation. A short pass and two incompletions brought on Vought, who connected from 30 yards out and gave Western a 26-0 lead.

Neither team got much going offensively in the second half until Elon had a 12-play, 31-yard drive which consumed 3:53 on the clock. William Rawls came on to kick a career-long, 48-yard field goal, which just clear the crossbar. The kick provided the final 26-3 margin and kept Elon from being shutout for the 40th consecutive game.

For the game, Western averaged an impressive 4.1 yards per rush and the 176 yard was the Cats second-best total of the season. The WCU defense held Elon, who was averaging 141.0 yard per game, to just 79 yards rushing and a 1.9 yards per rush average.

In addition to Wishart and Seward, Western was led offensively by Gaither and Michael Reeder. Gaither was 15-for-28 for 257 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Reeder, like Seward, had four catches, gaining 31 yards. Defensively for the Cats, a trio led the way. Senior Nick McNeil, sophomore Jada Sullivan and true freshman Ryan Nesby, who was making his first career start, each tallied eight tackles. Of McNeil's eight stops, four were for losses, including a sack. McNeil now has 41 TFLs for his career, moving him to fifth on the WCU all-time list. Rod Dunlap had seven stops, including one TFL. Dunlap now has 43 for his career to rank fourth on the WCU all-time list. Spicer is the school's all-time leader in TFLs. He had two today, giving him 55, including a sack. With the sack, Spicer now has 25.5 for his career, moving to second on the WCU all-time list.

Palmer moved to 12th on the Elon career rushing yards list, gaining 88 on 24 carries versus Western. Palmer mow has 2,317 career rushing yards. Phoenix quarterback Anthony Crews completed 15-of-30 passes for 115 yards. Amazingly, he connected with 12 different players. Elon was led defensively by Eddie Bell, who had eight stops. Jones had three pass break ups to go along with his interception and six tackles.

Western Carolina will be off on Nov. 8, returning to action Nov. 15 at Appalachian State.