Nov. 1, 2008

Box Score |  Notes |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Freshman WR Andrerius Thomas caught two fourth quarter touchdown passes while classmate Levon Curtis rushed for a career-best 104 yards as Western Carolina snapped a 20-game Southern Conference losing skid with a 27-7 win over the Chattanooga Mocs Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.

Junior kicker Blake Bostic also booted a pair of field goals in the win which not only snapped WCU's drought in league play, but also ended a five-game seasonal slide and a two-game slump against the Mocs. The SoCon victory was Western's first since blanking Wofford, 24-0, back in 2005 in Cullowhee.

"I am proud of our players and coaches for sticking with it. Our coaches came up with a great game plan today," said head coach Dennis Wagner after emerging from the victorious locker room. "Defensively, we played a tremendous game. Offensively, we had many opportunities and we didn't take advantage. Certainly we'll watch the film and take the chance to scold them when we get that chance, but for now, we need to enjoy the victory."

Senior offensive lineman James Singletary echoed Wagner's sentiments following the 20-point victory.

"It has been a long time coming," said the Kernersville, N.C., native. "The feeling now is wonderful. I remembered how it felt (to win) and I wanted to get back to it."

With five Hall of Fame inductees, including former football players John Ruta, Alonzo Carmichael and Brad Hoover looking on, the Catamounts - without three key starters in senior WR Donald James, red-shirt sophomore Marquel Pittman and running back Quan Warley - turned to the true freshmen Thomas and Curtis on offense.

Thomas finished with three catches, two of which went for scores of 21 and 17 yards for 44 total yards in the win, while Curtis rushed 18 times for 104 and caught a pair of passes out of the backfield for 15 yards.

Red-shirt sophomore WR Adam Hearns led all receivers with seven catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. On the business end of all three TD passes was red-shirt freshman QB Zack Jaynes, who finished 14-of-25 for 146 yards, with the trio of scores marking a career single-game best. The Canton, N.C., native also rushed 11 times for 62 yards.

"We had a lot of young guys on offense that had to play because of injuries," Wagner added. "When you have Quan Warley, Donald James and (Marquel) Pittman on the sidelines, that's a lot of offense. The young kids played well, that's part of the game - who is going to pickup the flag and move forward. They knew that sometime during this season, their number would be called. They prepared themselves to be in that role and they are going to play a lot of football for Western and take this program to where we want it to go."

Defensively, the Catamounts set the tone by limiting Chattanooga to 178 yards of total offense, the second-lowest output this season (limited Shorter to 142) and did not give up a score to UTC's offense.

Junior LB Quintin Phillips posted a game-high 14 tackles including two for loss and a sack, while classmate Antoine George recorded two interceptions and sophomore Mitchell Bell tallied a third pick in the win. WCU also blocked a punt and picked up a pair of fumbles, both recovered by senior Jeff Bradley. Junior Chris Collins forced his SoCon-leading fifth fumble of the season.

All told, the Catamounts forced five turnovers with four sacks, holding UTC to an opponent season-low 77 total yards on the ground including four sacks for 49 yards.

Western Carolina (3-7, 1-5 SoCon) capitalized on one of the early Chattanooga miscues as it took a lead it would never relinquish late in the first quarter. After the two teams traded punts, the Catamount defense forced a second UTC punt inside its own five yard line. On the ensuing kick, the snap was low and punter Jeff Lloyd could not handle it, recovering before fumbling it forward where a teammate was able to jump on the loose ball, but still giving WCU possession on the turnover on downs.

One play later, Jaynes found Hearns from four-yards out for the early, 7-0, lead. The receiving score was the third of Hearns' career, and second in as many weeks.

Bostic extended the Catamount lead to 13 on back-to-back field goals of 20 and 26 yards, respectively, in the second quarter to give Western a 13-0 halftime lead. It was the second-straight week that WCU had led at intermission while keeping its opponent off the scoreboard.

In the third quarter, Chattanooga (1-8, 0-5 SoCon) mounted its best drive of the game, moving 61 yards in nine plays into the Catamount red-zone. However, the WCU defense stiffened and on a fourth-and-six, Collins broke through on a delayed blitz to sack Mocs QB Sloan Allison for a 12-yard loss and another turnover on downs.

UTC would find a sliver of life late in the fourth quarter, trimming the Catamount advantage to six points, 13-7. Cornerback Raeshon Ball intercepted Jaynes, returning the pick 41 yards for what would prove to be Chattanooga's lone score.

On the ensuing possession, Curtis returned the Mocs' kickoff to near mid-field, but the Catamount offense could not sustain a drive, punting six plays later. Freshman punter Blake Cain, who averaged over 40 yards on his seven kicks while also pinning five inside UTC 20, backed Chattanooga inside its own 15 yard-line at the 12. Three plays later, with Lloyd on to punt again, WCU freshman Trey Selby broke through to block the kick, stemming the Mocs' momentum.

Three plays after the blocked punt, Jaynes found Thomas from 21 yards out for his first of two TDs and a 20-7 advantage. Midway through the half, George's second interception of the contest led to a second Jaynes-to-Thomas connection to provide the final tally, 27-7.

Chattanooga, which was held to a touchdown-or-less for the sixth time out of its nine seasonal games, was led by 95 yards rushing from Erroll Wynn. Starting QB Jare Gault finished 8-of-15 for 57 yards and was sacked three times before being lifted by Allison who was 5-of-19 for 44 yards and three INTs.

"It's the same mistakes we have made all year," said Chattanooga head coach Rodney Allison following his team's seventh-straight loss. "We have not improved; we have not coached them well enough to improve. I give credit to Western Carolina, but we were inept offensively today."

Western Carolina returns to action next Saturday as it visits No. 12/10 Elon, which had its bye week this week. Kickoff from Rhodes Stadium is set for 1:30 pm.