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Post-Game Notes
Western Carolina 42, Mars Hill 14
E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field
Cullowhee, N.C. - Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015
Attendance: 12,348

With the Win ...
- Western Carolina picks up its first season-opening victory since 2012 – which was also a 42-14 win over Mars Hill which was head coach Mark Speir’s first career victory … the Catamounts are now 15-25 in season-opening games since joining the Southern Conference;

- WCU improved to 31-11 in home openers since moving into E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field in 1974 … the Catamounts have won 13 of their last 16 home-opening games since 2000;

- The Catamounts extended their current series winning streak to 16-straight victory over Mars Hill … Saturday’s win was also WCU’s 13th-straight over the NCAA Division II Lions in Cullowhee dating back to 1967.

Post-Game Notes:
- The 12,348 fans at Saturday’s season-opener represented the third largest crowd for a home-opener in Whitmire Stadium history … It was just the 11th-time since the stadium opened in 1974 that WCU had 10,000-or-more fans at a home-opening contest … WCU was just 287 fans shy of the home-opener record of 12,635 that witnessed WCU’s first home game against Furman back in 1985 (L, 31-27);

- Western Carolina scored its first touchdown of the 2015 season on the first offensive play of the game … Running back Detrez Newsome – who was making his first collegiate start – threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Spearman Robinson just 16 seconds into the game (14:44) … Newsome has a knack for #StartFast – last year, the Raeford, N.C., product returned the opening kickoff against Wofford 100 yards for a touchdown, doing so in just 12 seconds (14:48);

- Senior quarterback Troy Mitchell became Western Carolina’s all-time leader for total offense, surpassing former QB Lonnie Galloway (1990-93), who is being inducted in WCU’s Athletics Hall of Fame this year … Galloway amassed 6,832 career yards (1,287 rush yards; 5,545 pass yards) while Mitchell entered the season with 6,565 (1,093 rush yds; 1,548 pass yds) – just 267 yards shy of the record … Mitchell eclipsed the record on a 44-yard scoring strike to Karnorris Benson in the third quarter;

- Mitchell now has 37 career touchdown passes, third all-time in the WCU record books … He is two behind second-place Don Dalton (39, 1966-69) and six behind record holder Mike Pusey (43, 1977-79);

- With the aforementioned receiving touchdown, redshirt senior Karnorris Benson now has 19 career scores through the air, moving him into a tie for fourth in school history … Benson matched former Catamount standout Michael Banks (1999-2002) with 19 receiving TDs;

- Senior tailback Darius Ramsey scored two rushing touchdowns on Saturday, giving the Waco, N.C., product 14 career rushing scores ... He is just six rushing scores shy of WCU's career top 10;

- Sophomore DB Keion Crossen picked off a Mars Hill pass to give Western Carolina its first defensive takeaway of the season … It was his first career interception;

- Sophomore QB Wes Holcombe recorded his first career points, successfully converting a two-point attempt on a scoring strike to tight end Tyler Sexton in the third quarter;

- Freshman running back Corey Holloway saw his first career action, scoring his first career touchdown – a six-yard run early in the fourth quarter;

Miscellaneous Notes:
- Western Carolina's team captains for Saturday night's game were junior DB #3 Fred Payne; senior DB #4 Sertonuse Harris; senior QB #10 Troy Mitchell; redshirt sophomore LB #58 Daniel Riddle; and redshirt senior OL #61 Jake Thornton;

- Honorary team captains for Saturday’s game were former WCU All-America placekicker Josh Jones (1999-2000) and United States Marine vet – and WCU’s Director of Basketball Operations – Stephen McDonald … Both took part in Saturday’s ceremonial coin toss;

- Senior RB #20 Darius Ramsey carried out the American flag while senior DE #93 Caleb Hawkins carried out the “All You’ve Got” flag during pregame on Saturday.