Box Score Oct. 6, 2007
Final Stats | 
| WCU vs. Elon Post-Game Notes
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina red-shirt freshman quarterback Adam Hearns threw for a career-best 310 yards and three touchdowns, adding 73 yards and his first career rushing score Saturday night as the Elon Phoenix held off the Catamounts, 38-36, in Southern Conference action at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
The loss snapped Western's unbeaten mark against Elon at Whitmire Stadium (7-1) and relegated the Catamounts to their 10th-straight defeat in SoCon play.
Hearns, who was making his first collegiate start, helped the Catamounts out gain Elon, 462-to-404 in total offense, including a 152-to-28 yard edge in the rushing game. Senior Eddie Cohen was the rookie's favorite passing target on the night, hauling in a career-high 12 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
"I am hurting for the team. Everybody went out there and fought hard - we believed in each other all game long. We made some mistakes along the way and that's something we need to work on, but they played with a lot of effort out there and you can't be too down on them for that," said WCU head coach Kent Briggs. "(Adam) Hearns did a nice job for us and he fought hard all game long. He brought a lot of explosiveness to the offensive line and he avoided the pass rush well and made some key plays that were determining factors in the game."
In what started out as a high-scoring track meet with both teams combining for 51 first half points, it was the play of the respective defenses in the closing quarter that proved to be the difference in the outcome.
After staking itself to a two-point, 23-21, lead with 2:13 to play in the second quarter, Western witnessed the Phoenix post three-consecutive unanswered scores - including one with just 16 seconds on the clock before intermission - to surge in front by 15, 38-23, midway through the third quarter. A second lost Catamount fumble at the 8:15 mark gave Elon the ball with a chance to cement its lead. But the WCU defense rallied, allowing just one first down in forcing an Elon punt.
Six plays and 68 yards later, Hearns found senior Mike Malone on a 17-yard touchdown reception to shrink the deficit to eight, 38-30. On the ensuing Elon possession, back-to-back sacks by sophomore Kadeem Morgan and a combined sack by junior Jeff Bradley and senior Levander Thomas helped get Western the ball back as the third quarter closed. Four plays into the final 15-minute session, Hearns found Cohen from 10-yards out to pull WCU to within two, 38-36, but the two-point conversion attempt failed.
Over the remainder of the fourth quarter, the Catamounts had the ball four more times but were never able to cross midfield. Conversely, Western's defense did its part forcing two, three-and-outs by the Phoenix defense and forcing four punts.
"I wanted to go out and win, and fight as hard as I could," said Hearns on making his first collegiate start. "It is always hard making your first start, but coach (Briggs) put the game on my shoulders and I had to be the leader tonight. I didn't feel any pressure and I wasn't as nervous. I just wanted to go out and play my best tonight."
Last week's SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, Western's Quinton Phillips, again led the Catamounts, posting 10 tackles, including five solo stops, with one pass break up. Morgan, who was forced to play more snaps after first half injuries to starting linebackers Michael Shaw and Mordy Ornguze, finished with eight tackles including a pair of sacks and three total tackles for loss.
Additionally for the Catamount defense, junior rush end Brandon Drumgoole posted eight tackles, while his front line classmate Jeff Bradley recorded seven tackles including four tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries and 1.5 sacks.
Receiving the opening kickoff, Western Carolina opened the high-scoring first half as the Catamounts drove 57 yards in just five plays. The drive was sparked by a 38-yard hook-up from Hearns to Cohen, with sophomore tailback Willie Harper finishing off the drive with his first career TD run from two yards out. It marked just the second time this season - both coming at home - that WCU had scratched the scoreboard on its opening possession.
Elon and its frosh signal caller, Scott Riddle, answered on its first possession, knotting the game at seven with a seven-play, 59-yard drive.
However, in the simmering back-and-forth, see-saw slugfest, it was Western which first flinched. Leading by six, 13-7, after Hearns connected with sophomore Marcus Brown for his second career TD reception, the WCU defense forced a Phoenix punt setting up the offense with good field position. Yet, four plays later, a fumble cost the Catamounts a chance to extend its lead.
Capitalizing on the turnover, Elon opened the second quarter with a 25-yard touchdown strike from Riddle to Terrell Hudgins to push the Phoenix ahead, 14-13. Western fumbled the ensuing kickoff setting up the Phoenix with perfect field position which Riddle exploited with a 24-yard pass to Hudgins and later plunging in from one-yard out on a third and goal situation for the 21-13 lead.
But as was the case all night long, the Catamounts did not quit, answering with an 11-play, 50 yard drive keyed by an 11-yard pass to Cohen and an 11-yard slicing rush by Malone. Junior Jonathan Parsons finished off the possession with a 42-yard field goal that split the uprights to close the gap to five, 21-16.
After forcing a three-and-out by the Elon offense, Western Carolina took its final lead of the night on Hearns' first career scoring run, a slippery 11-yard scramble that was concluded with a head-first flip into the end zone as to allude several Phoenix defenders that put the Catamounts on-top, 23-21, before Elon tallied its three-straight scores.
For Elon, Riddle finished the night 30-for-45 for 354 yards with four passing touchdowns through the air. Hudgins and Michael Mayers each caught eight passes for 103 and 84 yards, respectively, with Hudgins tallying a pair of scores.
Western Carolina hits the road next Saturday as it travels to Chattanooga to face the Mocs at 6:00 pm at Finley Stadium.
