Johnson City, Tenn. – Richard McCollum punched through a game-winning 33-yard field goal as time expired on Saturday afternoon as Western Carolina reclaimed "the Rock" traveling trophy in the Blue Ridge Border Battle with a 20-17 road win over Southern Conference rival ETSU at Greene Stadium.
 
Rushes of 13 yards by Desmond Reid and 16 yards by TJ Jones opened what proved to be WCU's game-winning drive on Saturday as the Catamounts moved off their own 25-yard line. Freshman Quarterback Cole Gonzales found freshman counterpart Censere Lee for a 31-yard strike to push WCU into scoring position at the ETSU 16-yard line. Four plays later including a 10-yard holding penalty against the Catamounts and 10 rushing yards by Gonzales set McCollum up from the middle of the field.
 
After a timeout to stop the clock with just two seconds remaining and kicking into the wind, McCollum calmly split the uprights for his second field goal of the day, scoring the victory.
 
Gonzales guided the Catamount offense to 475 yards of total offense with  268 passing yards and two touchdowns while adding 67 rushing yards in leading WCU to its first road win since early September. Censere Lee caught a career-high nine passes for 107 yards and a first-quarter touchdown to lead six Catamount receivers with receptions on the blustery Saturday afternoon.
 
Reid accounted for 134 all-purpose yards, rushing for a team-best 72 yards while catching three passes for 62 yards in the winning effort.
 
ETSU tailback Jacob Saylors rushed for 172 yards – 115 coming in the first half as he was limited to just 57 yards in the second – with a touchdown on the ground. Quarterback Tyler Riddell threw for 116 yards on 11-of-22 passing. The Bucs added a Jawan Martin touchdown rush from three yards out.
 
Western Carolina capped a game-opening, 81-yard drive with a Gonzales TD pass to Lee as the Catamounts grabbed the early advantage, 7-0. Saylors broke a 20-yard touchdown run late in the opening frame to put the Buccaneers in front with Martin pushing the home squad ahead early in the second quarter. WCU added a 40-yard McCollum field goal late in the frame to trail, 14-10, at halftime.
 
Following a scoreless third quarter, Raphael Williams got open for a 29-yard touchdown pass from Gonzales as the Catamounts regained the lead, 17-14, early in the fourth quarter. ETSU's Tyler Keltner hit a 31-yard field goal after a WCU defensive stand forced the Buccaneers into the 3-point attempt with two and a half minutes to play, setting up the finish for McCollum.
 
WCU's defense limited ETSU to 319 yards of offense on the day, 203 on the ground with 116 through the air. Safeties Jacob Harris and Andreas Keaton finished with a team-high six tackles apiece with Harris adding a pass break-up, with defensive end Micah Nelson also posting six stops. The Catamounts tallied three sacks in the win with defensive linemen KJ Milner, Timothy Jamison, and Marlon Alexander credited with hits on the quarterback.
 
Keeping with the youth movement theme, freshman Samaurie Dukes forced a fumble that was recovered by classmate Lee Campbell for WCU's lone takeaway of the game.
 
Western Carolina (5-5, 3-4 SoCon) plays its home finale next Saturday, Nov. 19, hosting the nationally-ranked Chattanooga Mocs (7-3, 5-2 SoCon) on Hall of Fame Day and Senior Day at Bob Waters Field / E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee. The game has been billed as the SoCon Ingles Game of the Week and will air on select Nexstar stations and concurrently on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
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