Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina football completed its first preseason scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday (Aug. 13) morning on the turf at Bob Waters Field / E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The squad worked out for right at two hours on a sun-splashed morning in its eighth practice leading into the 2022 season.
 
The Catamount offense scored eight touchdowns over the 17 combined series, five coming through the air and three on the ground. The defensive unit recorded nine total stops, creating two takeaways on an interception by Cameron McCutcheon and a goal line fumble recovered by Brandon Smiley in the end zone for a touchback. The defense tallied three, three-and-outs, forced two punts and a missed field goal, and twice halted drives on fourth-down stops.
 
"I think that I've used this word a lot this preseason, but a lot of great energy today in our first scrimmage. We had guys flying around, playing passionate and being intense. We've just got to get better in our overall execution, but I love our effort. Both sides of the ball played extremely hard," said Bell, who was for the most part pleased with Saturday's performance.
 

Six quarterbacks split reps on Saturday with Carlos Davis orchestrating six total series including five of the first seven drives of the scrimmage. True freshmen Cole Gonzales and Samuel Cornett both had three series with redshirt freshmen Kason Lincke, Brody Palhegyi, and Parish Metzger splitting five drives.
 
Davis finished a team-best 8-of-13 passing for 144 yards with three touchdown strikes of 46-, 54-, and 10 yards, and he was intercepted once. Cornett connected on 5-of-8 passes for 55 yards and two touchdowns of 28- and nine yards, followed by Gonzales who was 5-of-10 for 88 yards through the air. Lincke finished 3-for-4 for 21 yards with Metzger hitting four of his five attempts for 48 yards including three passes of over 10 yards. Palhegyi was 3-for-8 for 26 yards, adding four rushes for 31 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
 
A combined 17 receivers and backs caught passes on Saturday for a total of 28 receptions, none having more than three total grabs. Running backs Corey Reddick and Jaiden Bond both posted a team-high three catches apiece. Freshman WR Jaylin Terzado matched with three receptions for a scrimmage-best 104 yards that included a 54-yard touchdown catch from Davis. His classmate De'Andre Tamarez caught two passes for 50 yards including a 46-yard scoring strike. Also posting scores were freshman WR Malik Knight (28 yards), freshman WR Censere Lee (10 yards), and junior TE Ajay Belanger (9 yards), who scooped a low throw by Cornett for the impressive touchdown reception.
 
Five running backs carried the football on Saturday with Reddick rushing a team-high 12 times for 33 yards, adding 23 receiving yards. Jalynn Williams rushed nine times for a scrimmage-best 56 yards, while Quenten Zanders (7 rushes, 51 yards) and Bond (8 carries, 40 yards) both found the end zone – Zanders from 20 yards out and Bond on a 21-yard carry. Freshman Camury Reid ran nine times for 38 hard-earned yards.
 
The Catamount defense combined for seven tackles for loss including two sacks in addition to the McCutcheon interception and a forced fumble on a fourth-down play. A total of 37 different defenders were unofficially credited with tackles with freshman safety Ja'Morri Downing posting a team-best six stops. Linebacker Giovanni Ricciardi and safety Cory Hennings both finished with four stops apiece.
 
Defensive lineman Marlon Alexander had three total tackles including one for loss on a sack with defensive back Jhamari Pierre-Louis blitzing for the other sack. Also posting TFLs on Saturday were Smiley, DE Malik Richardson, LB Va Lealaimatafao, and LB Hayward McQueen. Linebacker Skylin Thomas posted a couple of tackles and a pass breakup. Also recording PBUs were CB Rod Gattison, S Andreas Keaton, S Jayion McMillan, and CB Justin McMullen.
 
On special teams, preseason NCAA FCS Punter of the Year candidate Brandon Dickerson punted five times between the early practice periods and in the scrimmage, averaging 43.2 yards per boot, while Brady Elms punted six times for an average of 39.2 yards including a long of 50 yards. Richard McCollum handled all the placekicking duties on Saturday, connecting on all eight PAT attempts while missing just right on a 47-yard field goal attempt early in the scrimmage.
 
Following Saturday evening's film session where the squad will analyze the footage from the scrimmage, Western Carolina breaks from preseason practice on Sunday for the annual photo day with team and unit photos followed by weight training by position. The team returns to the practice field on Monday, Aug. 15 for the first of four sessions – two coming in full pads – ahead of next Saturday's game-simulation scrimmage at Noon.
 
"We've got to continue to have growth this next week of practice, from this Saturday to next in our execution. But I love the way we're playing hard. If we can continue to do that then we've got a chance to be a very good football team," said Bell.
 
Both season and single-game tickets, as well as game day parking for Western Carolina's 2022 home schedule, are on sale now through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, and online at www.CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
 
2022 Catamount Football – Preseason Practice Schedule:
Sun., Aug. 14 – No Practice (Team Photo Day)
Mon., Aug. 15 – Practice #9 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (uppers)
Tues., Aug. 16 – Practice #10 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (full pads)
Wed., Aug. 17 – Practice #11 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (full pads)
Thurs., Aug. 18 – No Practice (Off Day)
Fri., Aug. 19 – Practice #12 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (helmets)
Sat., Aug. 20 – Scrimmage #2 (Practice #13) – Noon – 2:00 pm (full pads)
Sun., Aug. 21 – No Practice (Off Day)
Mon., Aug. 22 – First Day of Fall Classes at WCU
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports, FB.com/WesternCarolinaFootball), Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountsfb).

Important Dates in Catamount Athletics & Catamount Football:
Friday, Aug. 19 – WCU Freshman Convocation (Ramsey Center)
Saturday, Aug. 20 – Catamount Volleyball Exhibition – vs. Anderson (Ramsey Center, 6 p.m.)
Monday, Aug. 22 – First day of classes for the fall semester – Cullowhee
Monday, Aug. 22 – 2022 Fall Sports Preview, Facebook LIVE event (6 p.m.)
Thursday, Aug. 25 – Catamount Women's Soccer – Home Opener vs. #25 Clemson (CAC, 7 p.m.)
Saturday, Sept. 3 – 2022 Catamount Football season opener at Charleston Southern (Noon)
Friday, Sept. 16 – The Bob Waters Memorial – Maggie Valley Club – Maggie Valley, N.C.
Saturday, Sept. 17 – 2022 Catamount Football home-opener, vs. Presbyterian (3:30 pm)