Cullowhee, N.C. – Trailing by three in the waning moments of Saturday's 2021 season-opener, Western Carolina moved into field goal range on a pair of Rogan Wells completions to Raphael Williams to set-up second-year freshman placekicker Paxton Robertson for a game-tying field goal. However, his career-long attempt of 56 yards fell just short of the crossbar as Eastern Kentucky held on for the 31-28 victory at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.
 
Wells threw for 275 yards and a touchdown while adding 67 yards and a score on the ground in opening his fifth season on the gridiron, the first at WCU. Williams led eight WCU receivers with eight catches for a game-high 122 yards including 31 coming on the final drive. Running back TJ Jones rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown, adding 31 receiving yards and a second score while backfield counterpart Kenny Benjamin caught six passes for 56 yards and 36 yards on the ground.
 
EKU tailback Da'Joun Hewitt rushed for 76 yards and three scores to lead the way for the Colonels who earned their second-straight victory over WCU after ending the 2020 fall season with win in Richmond, Ky. Quarterback Parker McKinney completed 20-of-28 passes for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the win as Mo Edwards Jr., caught six passes for 103 yards and a nine-yard touchdown.
 
"I thought that we played a decent game, but we just made too many mistakes to win a close game like that," said WCU first-year head coach Kerwin Bell following Saturday's loss. "Those are the kind of games that you wish that you could have back; EKU just took advantage of the opportunities."
 
In a game that saw 860 yards of total offense, it was special teams that ultimately was the deciding factor in the season-opener for both teams. EKU's Patrick Nations hit what proved to be a game-winning 21-yard field goal with 11:09 remaining in the fourth quarter to push the Colonels up 11, 31-20.
 
WCU also saw a pair of impressive first-quarter drives end in field goals as Richard McCollum split the uprights twice from 26 and 34 yards away as the Catamounts took an early 6-0 lead.
 
But the biggest of the turning points in the game occurred just before halftime.
 
With the Catamounts leading 13-7 after a Wells-to-Jones touchdown hook-up, WCU was again driving inside the final five minutes of the opening half and had moved inside the Colonel 20-yard line. Wells looked to fire a pass into the left flat, but his receiver turned to the inside leaving the defender – Roy Baker – in a perfect position for the interception. EKU cashed in the 78-yard interception return four plays later on Hewitt's second scoring plunge from a yard out to give the visitors a 14-13 lead at intermission.
 
"Our receiver just ran the wrong route," Bell explained on the late first half turnover. "We've only been in (practice) for just over 20 days. We just didn't get the signal right, ran the wrong route and we throw a pick, and then they go down and score and its 14-13 at halftime. That was a crucial mistake for us. But, like I told the team, I was so proud of the way they showed grit and grind through that third and fourth quarter; they refused to lose. Down by 11, they just got us back in it and gave ourselves a chance to tie it there at the end."
 
EKU pulled ahead by eight, 21-13, midway through the third quarter before Jones capped a nine-play, 92-yard scoring drive for the Catamounts with a two-yard romp to pull WCU back within a point, 21-20, before Hewitt's third touchdown gave the Colonels a 28-20 lead headed to the final frame, setting up the finish.
 
Defensively for the Catamounts, transfer Kareem Taylor posted 10 tackles while Ivan Hogans was credited with nine total stops including a pair of tackles for loss. Freshman Andreas Keaton tallied eight tackles and his first career interception, extending to snare a pass out of the air in the third quarter. EKU's Matthew Jackson (11) and Kyle Bailey (10) both finished with double-digit tackles with Baker and Jaden Woods recording the two interceptions.
 
Western Carolina (0-1) hits the road next Saturday, Sept. 11 as it visits second-ranked Oklahoma (1-0), a 40-35 winner in its season-opener against Tulane in a game moved to Norman in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm CT in a game that will be televised on pay-per-view and broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with a 6:00 pm ET air time.
 
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