Box Score Oct. 20, 2007
Final Stats |
Cullowhee, N.C. - Coming off the bench midway through the third quarter, senior quarterback Todd Spitzer completed 15-of-21 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns - both to red-shirt freshman receiver Marquel Pittman - as Western Carolina scored 21 points in the fourth quarter in a 37-31 Homecoming loss to The Citadel Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field.
The loss was WCU's fourth-straight to the Bulldogs, and 12th-consecutive in Southern Conference play and relegated the Catamounts to 1-7 overall, 0-4 in league play. The Citadel (5-2, 3-1 SoCon) keeps pace in a tight conference race, moving into a three-way tie with Elon and Wofford atop the standings.
"We had our opportunities to put points on the board especially late in the game. Overall, I felt that our defense played well early, but our offense played inconsistently," said WCU head coach Kent Briggs. "Todd (Spitzer) came in for us and played well and that helped boost our confidence and gave us some momentum. We have some things we need to work on and unfortunately we've got a lot we need to do in a short week."
Spitzer, who guided the Catamounts on their final six possessions after subbing for red-shirt freshman signal caller Adam Hearns at the 7:07 mark of the third quarter, nearly surpassed the 200-yard passing mark in less than a half of work His favorite two targets were classmate Eddie Cohen, who hauled in seven passes for 104 yards and Pittman, who tallied a pair of receiving TDs. For Cohen, it marked the fourth-straight game he had surpassed the century mark in receiving (212 at Georgia Southern; 177 vs. Elon; 109 at Chattanooga).
Senior all-purpose runner Mike Malone set school-history twice on Saturday. With his first kickoff return at the 8:28 mark of the first quarter, the Gainesville, Ga., native became Western's all-time leader in kickoff returns surpassing Otis Washington (1985-88). Also, one week after joining former Catamount great Kerry Hayes (1991-94) as just the second WCU kick returner to eclipse the 2,000-yard barrier, Malone surpassed Hayes for career return yards on his second return. Malone currently stands with 88 career returns for 2,120 yards, first in both categories.
Two Western Carolina turnovers - both coming on its opening possessions of each half - proved to be the difference in the game as it led to 14 Bulldog points. After forcing The Citadel to punt on its opening possession, the Catamounts coughed the ball up as Hearns scrambled to his right, alluding a trio of Bulldogs before Joshua Lawson jarred the ball loose and Tillman Millhouse scooped up the ball and rumbled 21 yards for the early, 7-0 lead.
The second turnover was a Hearns' interception on the fourth play from scrimmage after intermission. The Citadel's Mel Capers split two WCU receivers and picked off the pass to switch the field. Four plays later, the Bulldogs scored for an 18-point, 28-10, lead.
"The two turnovers were a huge factor in the game for us, especially the one earlier in the game when they were able to turn it into six (points). They were a huge momentum killer for us. During the last three weeks, turnovers have been a huge obstacle for us. If you take away that turnover earlier in the game, then clearly the result on the scoreboard would read different."
Trailing by three touchdowns, 31-10, late in the third quarter, Western outscored The Citadel 21-to-6 over the final quarter in mounting another second half rally. Spitzer capped off a 10-play, 69-yard drive, which featured a pair of double-digit Cohen receptions, with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Pittman to close the deficit to 14, 31-17.
On the ensuing possession, the Catamount defense stiffened after the Bulldogs had moved into the red-zone, limiting The Citadel to a 29-yard Mike Adams field goal and a 34-17 advantage.
Spitzer again moved the offense down the field, this time going 69 yards in just seven plays with Hearns finishing off the drive under center with a head-first plunge over the goal line to trim the deficit to 10, 34-24.
After The Citadel answered with a third Adams' field goal to pull back in front, 37-24, Spitzer orchestrated his third scoring drive of the quarter. Aided by a 33-yard kickoff return by senior Mike Malone, Spitzer drove the team 54 yards in seven plays, finding Pittman in the purple and gold clad end zone to it to one score, 37-31. However, WCU's on-side kick attempt failed and the Bulldogs were able to run out the final 1:56 of the game clock to preserve the win.
Western Carolina used a 36-yard Jonathan Parsons field goal in the wanning moments of the first quarter to keep pace with the Bulldogs who came into the game averaging 40 points per contest. Down 14-3, WCU turned to freshman fullback, Andrew Rogers, on its next drive. Two plays after recording his first career reception -- a nine-yard gain with the Catamounts in the red-zone -- Rogers hauled in his first career touchdown, a six-yard score from Hearns to pull WCU back within four, 14-10 late in the first half.
Yet, The Citadel answered with a six-play, 69-yard drive that ate up 2:10 of the remaining 2:47 on the first half clock to lead 21-10 halftime.
WCU junior Quinton Phillips led the Catamount defensive attack with a career-high 20 tackles including 12 solo stops and two tackles for loss. Sophomore safety Chris Collins finished with 10 tackles while Brandon Drumgoole and Levander Thomas each finished with six hits.
The Catamount defense limited Bulldog quarterback Duran Lawson to 199 yards passing marking the first time since Nov. of last year an opponent had held the senior under 200 yards through the air. Lawson completed 14-of-20 passes with one touchdown, while red-shirt senior Tory Cooper finished with 99 yards rushing on 25 carries with a pair of touchdowns in the win.
Western Carolina will have a short turnaround as the Catamounts return to Whitmire Stadium/Waters Field this Thursday, Oct. 25, to host the Wofford Terriers in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU.
