Cullowhee, N.C. – Jalynn Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown on a six-yard rush off right tackle with 2:53 remaining in regulation and the Catamount defense stood tall on Wofford's final possession as Western Carolina rallied for a 36-29 Homecoming Day victory over the Terriers on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon at Bob Waters Field / E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
 
Taking over on a short field after Wofford had trouble punting out of its own endzone in a driving rain late in the fourth quarter, freshman tailback Desmond Reid accounted for 27 of the 40 yards on the game-winning drive including an impressive cut-back run of 17 yards that ignited the sidelines. Williams put the finishing touches on the drive with romps of seven and six yards, respectively, for the game-winning score, his second rushing tally of the day.
 
Western Carolina's victory halted a three-game seasonal slide and a five-game winless drought on Homecoming Day in Cullowhee.
 
Reid eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the third time this season with a game-high 112 yards on 20 carries to lead the way, while quarterback Carlos Davis rushed for 78 yards. Williams twice found the endzone on rushes of one and six yards, tallying 37 yards on the ground to go along with 32 receiving yards on a trio of receptions. Reid added three catches for 45 yards, tallying 157 all-purpose yards in the winning effort.
 
Davis finished 16-of-24 for 268 yards with a pair of touchdown passes, finding Censere Lee on an eight-yard strike and the big play of the game on a 73-yard pitch-and-catch to Raphael Williams that gave WCU a 26-21 lead after trailing 21-12 early in the third quarter. Williams finished with four receptions for 89 yards with Lee matching with four catches for 84 receiving yards.
 
Wofford's Jimmy Weirick threw for 269 yards and a touchdown with Kyle Pinnix catching five passes for 87 yards and the score for the Terriers. Wofford was limited to just 80 rushing yards, though Ryan Ingram rushed for two TDs among his 33 yards and Nathan Walker found the endzone from two yards out as a part of his team-best 36 yards on the ground.
 
The first of three Richard McCollum field goals on a 33-yard boot on the game's opening, 13-play drive gave the Catamounts the early 3-0 advantage. Wofford responded, though, with a 69-yard scoring drive capped by Ingram's first of two scores for the 7-3 Terrier lead. Consecutive scores including a 36-yard McCollum field goal and the first rushing TD by Williams pushed the home squad ahead, 12-7, in the closing minutes of the first half.
 
However, Wofford marched 75 yards in eight plays, scoring with four seconds showing on the Whitmire Stadium clock to carry the 14-12 lead into the locker room and with possession to start the second half.
 
Out of the locker room, the Terriers built a game-high 21-12 lead as Walker plunged in from two yards out on a 75-yard drive that used just four plays including deep passes of 23 and 29 yards. Midway through the third quarter, though, the Catamounts started to find rhythm on offense with consecutive scores on the passing TDs to Lee and the over-the-top bomb to Williams pushing WCU ahead, 26-21.
 
Wofford managed to regain the lead early in the fourth quarter as Ingram capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a two-yard run with the successful two-point conversion making it a three-point game, 29-26, in favor of the visitors.
 
The Catamounts managed to tie the game on an efficient nine-play, 60-yard drive that stalled at the two-yard line. WCU had three cracks at the endzone from the five-yard line but had to settle for McCollum's chip-shot, 19-yard field goal that knotted the game at 29. With the Terriers starting from their own eight-yard line after a penalty on the ensuing kickoff, the WCU defense then forced a three-and-out with a bobbled snap on the punt resulting in just a 28-yard boot. That setup the Catamounts for the go-ahead scoring drive.
 
On the final possession, the Terriers managed a first down on a fourth-down rush. However, the next three pass attempts were broken up by Taurus Dotson and Mateo Sudipo with a holding penalty negating a would-be 24-yard pass play for Wofford. WCU then held on fourth down to start the postgame celebration for the Homecoming win.
 
Cornerbacks Rod Gattison and Cameron McCutcheon were credited with six and five tackles, respectively, with defensive end KJ Milner also tallying five stops. Micah Nelson tallied WCU's lone sack on the day, throwing Weirick for a 10-yard loss as a part of his three-tackle performance. Sudipo had three tackles and three pass breakups with Dotson posting two tackles for loss among his three stops with a near interception on the game's final drive.
 
Western Carolina amassed 515 yards of total offense on Saturday – 268 passing and 247 on the ground – while Wofford finished with 349 including 269 through the air and just 80 yards rushing. In the decisive fourth quarter alone, the Catamounts limited the Terriers to just 19 total yards on 17 plays from scrimmage.
 
Western Carolina (4-5, 2-4 SoCon) returns to action next Saturday as it ventures over Sam's Gap to face ETSU (3-6, 1-6 SoCon) in the annual gridiron grudge match, the "Blue Ridge Border Battle" at Greene Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn. Idle this weekend, the Buccaneers have lost three-straight games on the year but have retained the traveling trophy in the rivalry series in consecutive years against the Catamounts.
 
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