Greenville, S.C. – Western Carolina's valiant fourth-quarter rally came up just five yards short on Saturday as the Catamounts fought back to a one-score affair, suffering a 47-40 loss to the Furman Paladins in Southern Conference action at Paladin Stadium.
 
Freshman back-up quarterback Cole Gonzales orchestrated three fourth-quarter scoring drives, capping drives with a nine-yard TJ Jones rushing score and tossing touchdown passes of 42 and 69 yards to classmate Censere Lee as the Catamounts clawed back to within a score, 44-40, with 2:18 to play. WCU's defense limited the Paladins to a field goal on the ensuing possession setting up a frantic finish.
 
Seeking the equalizing tally, Gonzales then drove WCU into scoring possession in the two-minute offense with a pass interference call putting the squad at the Furman 26-yard line. On the game's final play, Gonzales again found Lee, but he was dropped at the five-yard line, securing the win for the Paladins.
 
Western Carolina's 20 fourth-quarter points were more than Furman had allowed all-season long collectively as the Paladins entered the day outscoring its opposition 31-0 in the final quarter overall the season.
 
Catamount starter Carlos Davis threw for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18-of-27 passing while rushing for a career-high 104 yards on 11 carries. However, he was sidelined in the third quarter by an injury, thrusting Gonzales into the lineup. The Ocala, Fla., finished 12-of-16 for 253 yards and the two scoring strikes to Lee who caught three passes for 164 yards. Raphael Williams caught a team-best eight passes for 102 yards and a score.
 
TJ Jones ran for 67 yards with a score while Jalynn Williams ran for 58 yards. WCU kicker Richard McCollum punched through a pair of field goals including a 27-yarder as time expired in the first half as the Catamounts rallied from a 17-point deficit to trail by a score at intermission, 27-20.
 
The Paladins returned the second half kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown as a part of 17-consecutive points to build a game-high 44-20 lead before the Catamounts started their rally.
 
Furman (5-2, 3-1 SoCon) used a strong rushing attack on Saturday, amassing 426 yards on the ground coming on 57 carries led by Dominic Roberto who ran for 252 yards and two touchdowns on 25 touches. Devin Abrams just missed the century mark with 92 yards on the ground on 19 carries. Quarterback Tyler Huff was an efficient 7-of-10 for just 66 yards but three of his completions went for scores including two by tight end Ryan Miller.
 
Defensively, linebacker Va Lealaimatafao posted a career-best 10 total tackles including two solo stops with Andreas Keaton finishing with nine total tackles including four solo stops and half a tackle for loss. Hayward McQueen had eight stops and Jaylen Floyd recorded 1.5 tackles for loss among his three total tackles and forced a fumble. Rod Gattison also punched the football loose late with Samaurie Dukes recovering in setting up one of WCU's late TD passes.
 
Western Carolina (3-4, 1-3 SoCon) returns home for back-to-back home games, first hosting The Citadel Bulldogs next Saturday at Bob Waters Field / E.J. Whitmire Stadium (1-5, 1-3 SoCon) on Heroes Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
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).