Cullowhee, N.C. – Donnavan Spencer rushed for a career-high 220 yards and two touchdowns, with Mikai Stanley adding a third score on the ground as Western Carolina built a 21-6 halftime lead and held off The Citadel to earn a 21-14 victory in Southern Conference football action on Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.
 
Saturday's win snapped a six-game seasonal slide and was WCU's first win in nine games, halting an overall eight-game drought.
 
Spencer posted the fifth, 100-yard rushing performance of his WCU career with his 220 yards on the ground representing the eighth-best individual rushing performance in school history. Spencer added two receptions for 45 yards to amass 265 all-purpose yards. Stanley rushed for a career-high 65 yards and a TD for the second-consecutive week. QB Ryan Glover completed 11-of-18 passes for 86 yards, finding Raekwon Heath for a team-best four receptions.
 
Bulldog quarterback Jaylan Adams rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown, while A-back Nathan Storch added 125 rushing yards and a score for The Citadel. Linebacker Anthony Britton Jr. finished with 16 tackles to lead the Bulldogs, finishing with nine solo stops and half a sack. Raleigh Webb tallied 59 all-purpose yards, including two catches for 26 yards, 21 yards on kickoff returns, and 12 yards on the ground.
 
Spencer accounted for all the offensive yards on WCU's opening possession as the Catamounts capitalized on a 36-yard kickoff return by Calvin Jones. Spencer took care of the rest, posting rushes of 36, 10, and one-yard for the score as the Catamounts grabbed an early 7-0 lead. The Citadel answered, marching 65 yards in nine plays with Storch capping the drive by plunging in from two yards out. However, on the ensuing point-after try, WCU's Timothy Jamison blocked the kick keeping the home squad in front, 7-6.
 
Later in the first quarter, the Bulldogs had a chance to take the lead, driving to the WCU 26-yard line, but a 43-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright and fell off target.
 
Midway through the second quarter, Stanley galloped in for an 18-yard touchdown rush to cap a seven-play, 76-yard drive to push the Catamounts ahead, 14-6.
 
With the Bulldogs driving just before the half, Western Carolina created its lone takeaway as Willie Hampton jarred the football loose from Storch with Tre Jolly corralling the bouncing ball for the takeaway inside the final minute of the first half. It was all the opening the Catamounts would need as on the very next play, Spencer slipped through the line and raced 67 yards for his second score of the day and a 21-6 lead at intermission.
 
The Citadel (0-7, 0-3 SoCon) turned to its ball-control ground game in the second half, chewing up nearly 12 minutes off the game clock with 120 rushing yards in the third quarter. Adams pulled the Bulldogs back within a score with a 20-yard rushing touchdown at the 1:21 mark of the third. Cooper Wallace's two-point conversion made it 21-14 entering the final frame.
 
Western Carolina's defense stood tall in the fourth quarter, though, as the Bulldogs were looking for the equalizing score. Tre Jolly halted a 13-play drive with a third-down sack of Adams forcing The Citadel to punt. The Catamounts managed to drain the clock inside of two minutes on the ensuing possession, forcing the ground-oriented Bulldogs to the air. Backed-up in their own territory, Jolly and K.J. Milner combined on a game-sealing sack of Adams on a fourth-down pass attempt.
 
Linebacker Ty Harris led the WCU defense with 13 tackles for his fifth double-digit tackle performance of the season, finishing with seven solo stops. Murphy, N.C., product Micah Nelson posted a career-best nine stops, including a tackle for loss with Darrius Bell credited with eight tackles. Jolly finished with a career-best seven stops, including 1.5 TFLs with 1.5 sacks and recovered the fumble, while Milner had four tackles, including the half-sack.
 
Western Carolina opens a two-game road swing next Saturday traveling to Macon, Ga., to face the Mercer Bears (1-5, 1-2 SoCon) for the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week that will be broadcast through NexStar and ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Kickoff at Five-Star Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m.