Nov. 18, 2006

Final Stats

Gainesville, Fla. - The third-ranked Florida Gators scored on all eight of its drives to hand Western Carolina a 62-0 loss in the Catamounts' 2006 season finale on Saturday afternoon at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium/Florida Field. Despite the loss, Western Carolina was able to take some positives from the outing, namely senior tailback Darius Fudge gaining 44 rushing yards to give him 1,001 for the season. He becomes just the sixth Catamount to accomplish the feat and it marks just the eighth time in school history a player has reached the plateau.

Fudge ends his career with 2,274 career rushing yards to finish seventh on the WCU all-time list. Also for his career, The Riverdale, Ga., native had 456 rushing attempts and finishes his career 10th on the career attempts list and fourth on the career yards per carry list with his average of 4.99.

"This season has had a lot of ups and downs to it, but we kept fighting every game to get every yard," Fudge said. "(Getting 1,000) is kind of more cherished because it was so hard to get. Football is a game of inches and yards. I would like to thank everybody for helping me achieve this. Not only my offensive line opening holes and wide receivers blocking downfield, but the defense as well for pushing me and the offense everyday in practice. While I know my name will be left in the record book, this is definitely a team accomplishment."

Fudge's quest for 1,000 was in jeopardy as he had five carries for zero yards at halftime. However, the coaches made some adjustments during the break with Fudge taking the snap in a shotgun formation. With that, Fudge orchestrated a game-long, eight-play drive to put him at 999 yards for the season. Then, on WCU's first drive of the fourth quarter, Fudge lost two yards only to gain four over the next two attempts to get the mark.

Also making his mark in the WCU record book this season was junior receiver Michael Hines. The Asheville, N.C., had two receptions Saturday and finishes with 60 on the season to tie for eighth on the Catamount single-season list.

Lastly, senior punter Tim Mayse averaged 42.3 yards on his 10 punts. He ends the season with a punting average of 41.6 to rank eight on the WCU single season list. (He also holds the sixth-best single-season average.) For his career, Mayse ends his four years with a career punting average of 41.1 to rank second on the WCU all-time list.

Another positive was the play of redshirt sophomore quarterback Andy Horn. Horn, who was listed as low as fifth on the WCU depth chart during the preseason, took his first collegiate snap Saturday and performed admirably under the circumstances. He completed 5-of-12 passes for 35 yards, including a 17-yard first down pass to fullback Joe Clark.

On defense, three seniors led the way as Bruce Lee had a game-high seven tackles while Mitchell Dukes, who played through an injury, and Shelton Gaffney each added six stops. Dukes also had a pass breakup with Gaffney seemingly being involved or around nearly every tackle made.

For Florida, all three players who took snaps accounted for touchdowns. Starter Chris Leak complete 9-of-12 passes for 100 yards and a TD, while Tim Tebow completed 10-of-12 passes for 200 yards and two scores. Tebow also added rushing touchdowns of 20 yards and one yard. Jarred Fayson had an eight-yard rushing TD and finished gaining 77 yards on seven attempts. Tailback Mon Williams had nine carries for 95 yards. Riley Cooper had three receiving scores, including a seven yarder, 55 yarder and a 20 yarder. DeShawn Wynn was responsible for Florida's first two scorers, thanks to a 26-yard run and a seven-yard run.