Lexington, Va. – Behind back-up quarterback Brody Palhegyi, No. 18/14 Western Carolina erased all but three points of a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit as the final drive ended just a couple of yards short on a long fourth-down play as VMI scored the upset win, 27-24, on Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action on Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium.
 
VMI's Hunter Rice staked the home squad to a 17-point, 27-10, early in the fourth quarter on his fourth rushing touchdown of the game. But Palhegyi orchestrated a pair of scoring drives with a 21-yard TD pass to De'Andre Tamarez and a four-yard scoring scamper to make it a one-possession game.
 
After the defensive stood tall and forced a missed field goal, WCU's offense started to move before a costly sack on third down. With the hopes hanging on one final play, Palhegyi again scampered for 13 yards but needed 15 as the Keydets took over from there to seal the win.
 
Cole Gonzales, the SoCon's most efficient passer, exited the game in the first quarter with an upper-body injury, thrusting backup Palhegyi into the spotlight. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., product finished a career-best 18-for-31 for 253 yards and a touchdown pass, seeing the most extensive action of his collegiate career. Palhegyi rushed for a team-best 80 yards on 13 carries. Gonzales was 2-for-4 passing for 22 yards in the limited action.
 
Saturday's loss also overshadowed the much-anticipated return of tailback Desmond Reid, who was in the cross-hairs of the Keydets defense all afternoon. Reid finished with 40 yards on the ground and his 13th touchdown rush, adding a team-best seven receptions for 101 receiving yards for a combined 141 all-purpose yards. AJ Colombo and Calvin Jones both recorded three receptions apiece for 35 yards while freshman Zion Booker caught two passes for 45 including the team's longest play on a 41-yard reception.
 
Defensively for the Catamounts, Andreas Keaton paced the squad with 10 tackles for his third double-digit tackle effort of the season, each coming in the last four games. Chris Morgan and Hayward McQueen Jr. were credited with six stops apiece with McQueen recording a sack as a part of two tackles for loss and forced a fumble. Ed Jones IV posted five tackles including a sack with Rod Gattison intercepting a pass in the endzone to go along with three tackles including a TFL.
 
On special teams, Richard McCollum scored six points on Saturday afternoon including a 41-yard field goal and a trio of extra points to finish the regular-season with 300 career points, just two shy of matching program record-holder Kirk Roach (302, 1984-87).
 
VMI (5-6, 4-4 SoCon) saw teammates post 100-yard performances on Saturday as Rice rushed 21 times for 138 yards and the four scores, while Aidan Twombly caught six passes for 133 yards through the air. Quarterback Collin Ironside finished 12-of-24 for 194 yards with an interception.
 
Gonzales wasn't the only Catamount to be forced to the sidelines on Saturday. Coming off his career rushing performance a week ago, tailback Branson Adams was forced out early.  A pair of right tackles in starter Christian Coulter and his replacement Nate Linkous also exited early and did not return.
 
WCU finishes the 2023 regular season at 7-4 overall and 5-3 in league play.
 
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