Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina football returns to NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) play this Saturday as the Catamounts travel to Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Ky., to face the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the second of three-nonconference road games this fall semester for the Catamounts.
The sixth all-time series meeting between the Catamounts and Colonels – the first since a Catamount win back in 2009 – should have a postseason feel as the two teams compete for a trophy in the "Opportunity Bowl" presented by Raising Cane's and played in memory of Dr. Shelia Pressley. Pressley, who passed away in January of 2020, was the dean of the College of Health Sciences at Eastern Kentucky University. She attended Western Carolina University for her undergraduate education, graduating in 1989.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Bryant Johnson on play-by-play and Bob Belvin as the analyst. The game will also be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with an air time of the Pepsi Tailgate Show at 2:00 pm. Fans across western North Carolina can hear the game locally on nine CSN affiliates: in Cullowhee on 90.5 FM WWCU; in Dillsboro on 95.3 WWOO; 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC "The River" in Sylva; 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC in Franklin; WISE Sports Radio 1310 AM and 102.9 FM in Asheville; and 970 AM WYSE in Canton, with live streaming audio online at CatamountSports.com.
Opting out of spring competition in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), Eastern Kentucky (2-6) plays its ninth of nine games this fall that included two against preseason No. 11 Central Arkansas – splitting the seasonal meetings – and three against NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) competition – at Marshall, at West Virginia, and at Troy. EKU received votes in the 2020 FCS preseason rankings.
Two of EKU's losses have been by three or fewer points including a near-miss against NCAA FBS-member, Troy, 31-29. The Colonels pulled ahead, 29-28, with 21 seconds remaining in the contest back on Oct. 17 only to see the Trojans hit a game-winning 47-yard field goal as time expired.
The Colonels enter the game having dropped back-to-back games for the third time this season, but have not suffered more than two-consecutive defeats overall under first-year head coach Walt Wells who served as an assistant under longtime head coach Roy Kidd. Last week in the return meeting with Central Arkansas, EKU fell behind 24-0 before rallying to grab a 25-24 lead before faltering, 37-25, as the Bears avenged EKU's 31-28 victory in Richmond back on Oct. 24.
Western Carolina (0-1) looks to build upon many of the positives from the season-opening loss at nationally-ranked Liberty, while trying to correct mistakes as it gets into similar competition at the FCS level. The Catamounts turned in a balanced offensive effort in its latest season-opening game in program history, finishing with 282 yards including 142 rushing and 140 passing.
WCU's two quarterbacks – junior transfer
Mark Wright who earned the season-opening start and redshirt junior
Will Jones who's been in the program for four years – both orchestrated scoring drives against the Flames and are expected to see action on Saturday. Tailback
Donnavan Spencer rushed for a team-best 79 yards while tight end
Owen Cosenke caught a team-high five passes.
Defensively, WCU senior linebacker
Ty Harris was selected as the Catamount Peak Apartments "Peak Performer of the Game," during the CSN postgame after recording 11 tackles including a sack. It was the ninth-time in his career that Harris had been credited with double-digit tackles.
Western Carolina vs. Eastern Kentucky – All-Time Series History:
- Saturday marks the sixth all-time series meeting between Western Carolina and Eastern Kentucky on the football gridiron … EKU has a slim, one-game lead in the head-to-head series, 2-3;
- Western Carolina won the most recent meeting in Richmond, Ky., 24-7, back in 2009 … the 20-17 win for WCU in Cullowhee back in 2006 was over then 19th-ranked EKU;
- Saturday's meeting is scheduled to be the front-end of a home-and-home contract;
Western Carolina vs. the Ohio Valley Conference:
Western Carolina is 16-16-1 all-time against the nine current members of the Ohio Valley Conference with 34 meetings played against just four of the current nine schools: EKU – 2-3; Jacksonville State, 5-3; Murray State, 3-3; Tennessee Tech – 6-7-1
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Familiar Faces in the WCU-EKU Series:
- Western Carolina's Clayton Bardall will share the field with his older brother, Jackson Bardall, who is a starting offensive lineman and a team captain for the Colonels;
- As a tight end, Clayton has two career receiving touchdowns including a nine-yard strike for WCU's first score of 2020 in the season-opener at No. 20 Liberty ... Jackson has played in 41 games during his time in Richmond, Ky.
- DID YOU KNOW: Western Carolina's baseball coach Bobby Moranda is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky, helping the Colonels win two-consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championships and earn a top 30 national ranking under the late Jim Ward ... He also started his collegiate coaching career in Richmond.
Game 2: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 –
Opportunity Bowl – 3 pm
Location: Richmond, Ky. (Roy Kidd Stadium – 20,000)
Records: Eastern Kentucky (2-6) vs. Western Carolina (0-1)
SATURDAY'S BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Television: ESPN3
PBP: Bryant Johnson; Analyst: Bob Belvin
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
PBP:
Daniel Hooker; Color/Sideline: Greg McLamb; Producer: Jeff Bryson
Catamount Sports Network Affiliates:
- Cullowhee – 90.5 FM, WWCU
- Dillsboro – 95.3 FM, WWOO
- Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM, WRGC
- Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM, WFSC
- Asheville – WISE Sports Radio 102.9 FM / 1310 AM
- Canton – WYSE Sports Radio 970 AM
- Online: CatamountSports.com
Keep track of everything related to Catamount Football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports), and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
