Cullowhee, N.C. – Trailing 21-3 early in the second quarter, Western Carolina stormed back with 28-straight points to seize a 10-point, 31-21, lead late in the third stanza in Saturday's Family Weekend matchup with Samford. However, the Bulldogs rallied with three-consecutive scores in building an 11-point edge and then held off a late Catamount comeback attempt to escape E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field with a 42-37 win in the first Southern Conference game of the season.
 
Saturday's game was marred by a two-hour lightning delay midway through the first quarter and a persistent drizzle that peppered the proceedings much of the afternoon. All told, the two teams combined for 188 total plays – 97 by WCU and 91 for Samford – with a combined 1,030 yards of offense including 527 by Samford and 503 by the home squad.
 
Catamount fifth-year transfer quarterback Rogan Wells amassed 441 yards of total offense including 321 passing and a game-high 120 on the ground in the loss. Wells finished 25-of-57 with a trio of touchdowns including two to Raphael Williams who finished with a game-high 132 yards receiving on eight catches. Running back TJ Jones added 108 total yards with 55 yards and a two-yard touchdown rush on the ground and five catches for 53 through the air.
 
Samford QB Liam Welch threw for 352 yards on 27-of-48 passing for 352 yards and one touchdown while tailback DeMarcus Ware rushed for 118 yards and three scores including the deciding score late in the fourth quarter. Montrell Washington accounted for 187 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, one on a 33-yard reception in the second quarter and an eight-yard reverse early in the fourth quarter that put the Bulldogs ahead for good.
 
WCU's defense turned Samford (2-1, 1-0 SoCon) over five times on Saturday including four interceptions and a scoop-and-score on a sack-fumble midway through the third quarter. The unit also forced a pair of three-and-outs on Samford's final two possessions to give the Catamounts a chance in the waning moments of the game.
 
Down by 11, Wells delivered a strike to Calvin Jones on a crossing pattern and the second-year freshman wide receiver did the rest on a 52-yard touchdown to pull the Catamounts to within five after the failed two-point conversion with six and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter. After the first three-and-out, the Catamounts moved deep into Samford territory on a 33-yard completion Wells to TJ Jones, but the drive stalled from there with three incompletions including one on fourth down gave the ball back to the Bulldogs.
 
After stuffing three Samford rushing attempts and expending its allotment of timeouts, WCU forced the second three-and-out, giving Wells and the offense the football back with just four seconds remaining for one last attempt. However, a Wells pass for Raphael Williams fell incomplete allowing the Bulldogs to get out of Cullowhee with the conference win.
 
Senior linebackers Ty Harris and Kareem Taylor paced the WCU defense with 10 tackles apiece including a combined 2.5 tackles for loss. Taylor recorded the sack and forced fumble, rumbling 16 yards for a TD. LA Rogers-Anderson finished with a career-high eight stops on the day. True freshman DB Andreas Keaton intercepted a pair of passes with a third pass break-up to accompany two tackles as the Catamounts picked off Welch four times with corners Ronald Kent Jr., and Cameron McCutcheon also tallying interceptions.
 
Williams caught his first of two TD passes in the final 30 seconds of the first half to make it a 21-10 game at halftime.
 
Samford turned the ball over three times on its first three possessions of the second half with the Catamounts cashing in two for scores including the Taylor scoop-and-score and TJ Jones punching it in from two yards out after Keaton's second INT. Williams danced his way across the back of the end zone on a 27-yard pitch-and-catch with Wells to push the Catamounts ahead, 31-21, before Welch led Samford back with three-consecutive scores to set the stage for the final push in the fourth quarter.

Richard McCollum scored seven points for the Catamounts on Saturday, splitting the uprights from 25 yards out to put WCU on the board early in the second quarter while tacking on four PATs.
 
Western Carolina (0-3) steps out of conference for the final time of the regular season next Saturday, Sept. 25 as it travels to Boiling Springs, N.C., to face Gardner-Webb (1-2) with a 6 p.m. kickoff at Spangler Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 5 p.m.
 
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