Aug. 23, 2007
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina's defensive unit stymied the offense through its first seven drives before getting on track during the two-minute drill and red-zone situations Wednesday night in the annual "Meet the Cats" scrimmage at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field. Both sides showed moments of brilliance, with the defense creating stops and turnovers, with the offense moving the chains and putting points on the board late in the event.
"I felt the defense came out with good intensity and executed their assignments. The offense made some plays, but did not consistently move the ball," said sixth-year head coach Kent Briggs. "Coming off a long, hard preseason camp and being 10 days out from our opener at Alabama, we limited the number of reps tonight and held some guys out for precautionary reasons."
He added, "Tonight proves that we have a lot of work left to do. Tomorrow is another work day and our focus will shift to preparing for our season opener."
After a three-and-out on its opening drive, Western's offense secured its first, first down on its second possession as sophomore tailback Willie Harper scampered 11 yards to move the chains. However, on third and long of the same drive, senior defensive end Darren Curtis recorded his first of four sacks in the scrimmage to end the drive.
Two stalled drives later, which included a fumble and another Curtis sack on third down, senior quarterback Todd Spitzer was intercepted by junior transfer Quinton Phillips on an athletic leaping play over the middle to end the drive.
Spitzer guided the scrimmage's first scoring drive in the first of consecutive two-minute drill scenarios as Harper slipped in from two yards out. Spitzer completed 5-of-9 passes for 61 yards, including four completions to classmates Eddie Cohen for 36 yards and a 25-yarder to Mike Malone.
In the first red-zone set, junior L.J. Davis rattled off back-to-back runs of 7 and 13 yards, rumbling past two defenders on the latter to reach the end zone. The offense also scored on the final drive in two-minute work as junior Jonathan Parsons connected on a 43-yard field goal.
Harper led all running backs with 29 yards on six carries and a touchdown, with Cohen's four catches for 36 yards leading all receivers. Sophomore signal caller Adam Hearns completed 5-of-7 passes for 37 yards in the limited plays with Spitzer going 5-of-13 for 61 yards and one pick on the night.
Led by four from Curtis, the Catamount defense tallied nine sacks in the restricted QB contact, with junior Levander Thomas and Phillips adding a pair. Thomas also recorded a fumble recovery for the defensive unit.
During special teams work, senior Stephen Brown had two punts of 45 yards and one pooch punt downed inside the 20, with Blake Bostic averaging 42 yards per kick.
Western will now set its sights on its season opener next Saturday, Sept. 1 at Bryant-Denny Stadium at Alabama. The game will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network with a 6:00 pm air time for the 7:07 pm ET kickoff.
