Cullowhee, N.C. – Senior tailback TJ Jones capped a five-minute, game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter with a one-yard plunge as Western Carolina capped its 2022 season with an upset victory over No. 15 Chattanooga 32-29 in Southern Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Bob Waters Field / E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
 
Trailing by five in the final six minutes of regulation, freshman QB Cole Gonzales drove the Catamounts into the red zone keyed by a pair of big plays including a 17-yard completion to classmate Censere Lee and a 24-yard rush by freshman Desmond Reid. With the football first-and-goal at the six yard line, Chattanooga's vaunted held WCU out of the endzone on three-consecutive Gonzales rushes leaving the Catamounts with a fourth-and-goal scenario at the one-yard line.
 
With the game hinging on one play, Jones drew the call and bullied his way up the middle behind his offensive line for the one-yard touchdown rush, putting WCU ahead by one, 30-24. Gonzales then found tight end Ajay Belanger for the all-important two-point conversion to make it a three-point game with just under a minute to play.
 
On the ensuing possession, Chattanooga got consecutive chunk plays on its first two snaps with a 23-yard catch by Javin Whatley and a 10-yard scramble by quarterback Preston Hutchinson to move across midfield. However, scrimmaging from the WCU 42-yard line, the Catamount defense stiffened and forced four-consecutive incompletions to secure the victory and WCU's first winning seasonal record since 2017.
 
Both Jones and Reid, a SoCon Freshman of the Year candidate, scored twice for the Catamounts who claimed their third-straight victory to close the 2022 campaign. Jones capped his collegiate career with 102 all-purpose yards, rushing for 36 yards with the one-yard score while catching eight passes for 66 yards and a TD. Reid finished with 71 total yards in the win, rushing for a team-best 58 yards and a 20-yard score in the first quarter and adding a five-yard TD reception, the first of his career.
 
Gonzales finished 24-of-38 for 224 yards with the two touchdowns and one interception, earning his third victory as a starting quarterback. Lee paced the squad with 85 receiving yards coming on six catches.
 
Freshman Hayward McQueen led WCU with nine tackles including one for loss with senior K.J. Milner and Ed Jones IV both credited with seven tackles. Milner added a sack and a pair of quarterback hurries with LB Va Lealaimatafao and DL Chris Morgan both tallying five stops and a sack apiece to lead the Catamount defense.
 
Tailback Ailym Ford finished with 102 yards on the ground to place the Mocs to a 123-yard rushing performance with Hutchinson finishing 29-of-48 for 323 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Redshirt freshman WR Sam Phillips caught nine passes for 106 yards with four different Mocs catching Hutchinson's TD passes. Ty Boeck posted a game-high 11 tackles including two tackles for loss and a sack.
 
After Chattanooga misfired on a 41-yard field goal attempt on the game's opening drive, clanging the right upright, Western Carolina (6-5, 4-4 SoCon) would capitalize on a pair of short fields in the first half. The Catamounts took advantage of a botched punt snap with a one-play scoring drive on Reid's 20-yard game-tying touchdown rush off the right side on the final play of the first quarter. Then midway through the second quarter, Reid again lit the scoreboard on a five-yard reception out of the backfield after graduate transfer senior Taurus Dotson Jr. provided the short field on his second interception of the season as the Catamounts took a 14-7 lead.
Chattanooga (7-4, 5-3 SoCon) rallied back just before halftime with transfer tight end KeShawn Toney hauling in a three-yard score to send the teams to the locker rooms deadlocked at 14 apiece.
 
The defenses took over much of the third quarter with the Mocs managing just 83 total yards on 21 plays while the Catamounts were held to 65 yards on 15 offensive snaps. With the field flipped, Chattanooga managed to pull out to a game-high nine-point lead with a safety recorded on a sack by Ty Boeck and an intentional grounding penalty with Jamoi Mayes catching a 15-yard touchdown pass to give the visitors a 23-14 lead midway through the third.
 
Western Carolina got the offense going late in the frame with Jones rumbling down the right sideline from 14 yards away for a receiving score to pull the home squad back to within two through three quarters of play.
 
Into the fourth quarter, Richard McCollum capped an 11-play drive by splitting the uprights for the 17th time this season with a 34-yard field goal as the Catamounts regained the lead with nine minutes to play. Chattanooga would answer, though, marching 76 yards in just seven plays with Hutchinson finding tight end Camden Overton for the go-ahead score – but the two-point pass failed leaving it a five-point game, 29-24, setting-up WCU's game-winning, five-minute drive with Jones putting the finishing touches on the game.
 
The top two sack-producing defenses in the SoCon managed three sacks on the opposing quarterbacks on the day between six different players.
 
Western Carolina capped its second season under head coach Kerwin Bell with its first winning record since 2017 – which was also WCU's last victory over a nationally-ranked NCAA FCS team.