Lexington, Va. – Senior quarterback Rogan Wells threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns spread to four different receivers, including a three-yard pass to classmate Daquan Patten who added a 78-yard punt return for a score as Western Carolina closed the 2021 season with an emphatic 52-24 road win over the defending Southern Conference champion VMI Keydets on Saturday afternoon at Foster Stadium.
 
VMI, which dropped three-straight games to conclude the season, rallied from a 21-point deficit through the game's opening quarter. The Catamounts then broke a 21-21 tie midway through in the second quarter with a TJ Jones one-yard touchdown run as a part of outscoring the Keydets, 31-to-3, over the final two and half quarters for the win. After VMI tied the game, the Catamounts forced five Keydet punts on five three-and-outs, forced four turnovers, and only surrendered three points.
 
WCU finished the regular season with wins in four of its final five regular-season games, including three-straight SoCon road victories.
 
Wells accounted for 483 yards of total offense, adding a team-best 84 yards rushing to his amended 399 through the air coming on 30-of-51 passing. Second-year freshman Calvin Jones was his favorite target, finishing with a career-best 10 catches for a career-high 195 receiving yards and a 59-yard third-quarter touchdown reception. The Forest City, N.C., native recorded 233 all-purpose yards, his fifth game with over 100 yards this season and seconds straight in eclipsing the 200-yard mark.
 
Tailback Kenny Benjamin finished with 118 all-purpose yards, hauling in five catches for 64 yards while rushing for 54. Patten eclipsed the century mark in his final collegiate game with 102 total yards. Patten returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown and caught three passes for 27 yards with the game's final score.
 
For the Keydets, quarterback Seth Morgan finished 23-of-47 for 205 yards with a pair of touchdown passes but was intercepted three times by the Catamount defense. Tight end Aidan Twombly caught a team-best eight passes for 88 yards and a score, while Leroy Thomas had seven catches for 65 yards and a TD. Running back Rashad Raymond ran for 105 yards on 19 touches before being sidelined by injury, with Hunter Rice rushing for 30 yards, including a two-yard scoring plunge.
 
Hot out of the gates, Western Carolina jumped out to a 21-0 lead through the first eight minutes of Saturday's finale. Wells capped the game's opening drive with a six-yard scoring strike to Aldie, Va., senior Owen Cosenke. A minute and a half later, Patten weaved his way to the end zone with WCU's first punt return for a score since 2007 for the 14-0 lead before Benjamin capped a nine-play, 90-yard drive with a five-yard TD reception.
 
VMI (6-5, 4-4 SoCon) responded with a trio of scores by Thomas, Twombly, and Rice to claw back even early in the second quarter. TJ Jones, who rushed for 75 yards in the winning effort, gave the Catamounts the lead for good by capping a grueling 14-play, 75-yard drive with a one-yard plunge on a fourth-and-goal. Wells spurred the drive with a 32-yard scramble on a third-and-20.
 
Calvin Jones scored the only points of the third quarter on a 59-yard pitch-and-catch with Wells before VMI's Jerry Rice nailed a 28-yard field goal to make it 35-24 early in the fourth quarter. The Catamounts closed the game with 17-consecutive points to secure the win as Raphael Williams caught a 30-yard strike for his ninth receiving TD of the season, Richard McCollum nailed his 12th field goal of the season in remaining perfect on the year, and Patten closing his career with the three-yard score.
 
Defensively for the Catamounts, senior LB Kareem Taylor posted his eighth double-digit tackle performance of the season with a team-high 11 stops including six solo stops, while classmate Ty Harris closed his career with eight tackles to give him 363 for his career, second all-time in Cullowhee. Freshman Andreas Keaton had six solo stops, while Ivan Hogans was credited with five tackles and recorded a pair of interceptions. Cameron McCutcheon tallied the third interception for the WCU defense while also recovering a fourth-quarter fumble that was punched loose by senior LB Trevor Childers.
 
For VMI, Ethan Caselberry (15) and Josh Knapp (11) both finished in double-digit tackles, with Caselberry forcing and recovering a WCU fumble. LB Stone Snyder had nine tackles, including four for loss with a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery.
 
Western Carolina concludes the 2021 season – the first under head coach Kerwin Bell – with a 4-7 seasonal record, including a 4-4 mark in SoCon play. The Catamounts finished tied for fourth place in the league standings with Furman and VMI but defeated the Paladins and Keydets in head-to-head competition.