Sept. 1, 2011

Final Stats |  Notes |   

Atlanta, Ga. - Georgia Tech scored on its first four possessions before the Catamounts were able to light the scoreboard at Bobby Dodd Stadium as Western Carolina dropped its season-opener to the Yellow Jackets, 63-21, Thursday night.

"It was disappointing. On defense, we couldn't slow them down," said WCU head coach Dennis Wagner during post-game comments with the media. "The things that hurt us were those big plays in the first half. I think in the second half, it was more about not stopping them on third down. They converted several third downs."

He added, "I thought offensively we did some things at times, but we left a lot of plays on the field. I'm proud of the fact that we played hard - it didn't show by the score because we certainly didn't finish the way we needed to."

Georgia Tech got on the board early and quickly, running a combined 10 plays covering 255 yards en route to a 28-0 first quarter lead. The Yellow Jackets took advantage of a short field following a WCU fumble as starting quarterback Brandon Pechloff was striped as he rolled to his right out of the pocket, leading to a one-play scoring drive.

Three more possessions and just nine plays later, Georgia Tech had a 28-0 lead.

The Catamounts got the "Pistol" offense firing in the second quarter, scoring a pair of offensive touchdowns before special teams put an exclamation point on a 21-point quarter. Pechloff and Michael Vaughn both put six on the board on the ground with Isaiah Moore scoring on a blocked field goal.

Junior transfer defensive lineman Rainey Ala broke free up the middle on a Georgia Tech 45-yard field goal attempt. The native of Pago Pago, American Samoa swatted the would-be field goal attempt with Moore scooping up the bouncing ball at the 31 yard line and racing 69 yards up the sidelines with a host of Catamount blockers, cutting back near the 15 to reach the end zone.

Pechloff spread the ball around to 11 different receivers, tallying career-highs with 20-of-33 passing for 180 yards on the night. Deja Alexander led all WCU receivers with six catches for 64 yards with both George Richardson and tight end Andrew Rogers catching three passes apiece. Freshman tailback Shaun Warren rushed 13 times for 43 yards with classmate Petey Boone carrying the ball five times for 42 yards including a long of 33.

Western Carolina (0-1) caught a break in the opening half that led to its first touchdown. Georgia Tech's Euclid Cummings tried to dive on a punt, contacting the ball making it live. Courtland Carson, who also recorded three tackles including one for loss, was able to then pounce on the live ball on it giving WCU possession inside the Jacket 10 yard line. Following an illegal substitution penalty, Pechloff then plunged in from two yards out to put the Catamounts on the board, 28-7.

Whereas the first half was about big plays and quick scores for the Yellow Jackets, the second was more traditional for the triple-option, including a 15-play, 74-yard drive in the fourth quarter that provided the final tally.

Junior transfer defensive lineman Andre Shishkin led the Catamounts with eight tackles with half a tackle for loss. Defensive back Ace Clark and linebacker Brandon Vaught finished with seven tackles apiece for the Catamounts.

For Georgia Tech, 12 different players recorded rushes with Orwin Smith tallying 84 yards on four carries and Synjyn Days rushing 14 times for 55 yards and a score. Surprisingly, the run-oriented Yellow Jackets threw for 365 yards of their 662 total offense.

Western Carolina will have a few extra days in which to prepare for its 2011 home opener, one-week from Saturday as the Catamounts host the Mars Hill Lions. Kickoff from E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field is scheduled for 6:00 pm.