Cullowhee, N.C. – Cole Gonzales passed for 363 yards and five touchdowns as No. 21/17 Western Carolina amassed a season-high 687 total yards of offense including 513 yards through the air to cruise past mountain-rival East Tennessee State 58-7 in Southern Conference action at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. With the win, the Catamounts retained possession of "the Rock" traveling trophy in the "Blue Ridge Border Battle" rivalry series for a second straight season.
 
Trailing 7-3 midway through the first quarter, WCU closed the game by scoring 55 unanswered points to erase the deficit and power to the victory while the defense blanked the Buccaneers over three and a half quarters, limiting ETSU to an opponent season-low of 215 yards of offense. WCU's offense scored on 10 of its 14 possessions in the winning effort.
 
Gonzales tossed five touchdown passes for the third time this season – and the second in the last three games – to guide the Catamount offense. The Ocala, Fla., product finished 25-for-38 with scoring strikes of 40, 38, 5, 31, and 6 yards as the first of four quarterbacks to see action. Redshirt sophomore Brody Palhegyi orchestrated a scoring drive, rushing three times for 23 yards and completing 2-of-4 passes for 43 yards and a 27-yard touchdown.
 
Freshman QB Bennett Judy made his collegiate debut, completing 6-of-8 passes for 71 yards with classmate Taron Dickens completing a 36-yard pass on two attempts in relief.
 
Tailback Branson Adams scored twice including a four-yard TD rush in the second quarter and a six-yard scoring reception in the third out of the WCU backfield. The Greensboro, N.C., product rushed for a career-best 110 yards while adding seven catches for 73 yards to amass 183 all-purpose yards. Censere Lee matched Adams with seven receptions for a game-best 127 receiving yards to give the Catamounts two over the century mark.
 
Three seniors – TE Clayton Bardall, TE Ajay Belanger, and WR David White Jr. – each scored touchdowns in their final regular-season home appearance. White caught six passes for 86 yards with TD receptions of 40 and 5 yards.
 
All told, 12 different Catamounts recorded receptions as WCU finished a combined 34-of-52 as a team.
 
Defensively for the Catamounts, senior interior lineman Marlon Alexander was credited with a team-best five tackles and forcing a fumble as 29 defenders posted tackles. Curtis Fann Jr. had 1.5 tackles for loss with a sack among his two total stops
 
Samaurie Dukes intercepted a pair of passes to accompany his two tackles including half a tackle for loss, while Darian Anderson Jr., secured his first career interception as WCU forced four total turnovers. The Catamount defense also forced ETSU into eight total punts including four 3-and-outs.
 
Richard McCollum connected on his first of three field goals, splitting the uprights on a 32-yard attempt to cap a nine-play, 50-yard opening drive to give the home squad the early 3-0 lead. After the two teams traded punts, ETSU took advantage of flipped field position for a 47-yard scoring drive spurred by a 35-yard pass completion on third and short with RB Trey Foster scoring on a three-yard TD rush.
 
On the ensuing possession, the Catamounts took the lead for what proved to be for good as Gonzales capped an 80-yard drive with a 40-yard scoring strike to White Jr. for a 10-7 lead after one quarter.
 
Gonzales found Lee for consecutive pass completions of 30 and 38 yards – the latter going for a touchdown – on the first two plays of the second quarter to extend the lead to 10, 17-7. McCollum hit his second triple on a 41-yard boot near the 12-minute mark of the frame, with Adams sending teams to the locker rooms with a four-yard rush and a 27-7 Catamount lead.
 
WCU effectively put the game away in a 21-point third quarter as Gonzales tossed scoring passes of five yards to White Jr. for his second score, 31 yards to Belanger, and a six-yard TD pass to Adams for a 48-7 lead through three complete.
 
Backup QB Brody Palhegyi led a seven-play, 66-yard fourth-quarter drive with the 27-yard TD pass to Bardall. Judy and Dickens combined on the game's final scoring drive that was aided by running into the kicker penalty with McCollum capping his career-best 16-point day.
 
ETSU was held to 215 yards of total offense including 132 yards through the air and just 83 yards on the ground, the fourth time this season the Bucs failed to hit the 100-yard mark. ETSU only completed five of its 15 pass attempts with three ending up in the Catamounts hands on interceptions.
 
Western Carolina (7-3, 5-2 SoCon) closes the regular season next Saturday, Nov. 18, with a road trip to Lexington, Va., to face the VMI Keydets (4-6, 3-4 SoCon). Kickoff from Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium on post is scheduled for Noon in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live audio through the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 11:00 a.m.
 
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