Christian Lowery Collects SoCon Weekly Special Teams Award
Junior transfer scored 15 points on three field goals and six PATs vs. Vemi
 
Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina junior transfer placekicker Christian Lowery was today named the Southern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 15 points in last Saturday's 58-28 conference victory over VMI in the 2024 regular-season home finale at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.
 
Lowery was also listed as an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week, while redshirt freshman quarterback Taron Dickens in just his third career start was an honorable mention for the Stats Perform National Freshman Player of the Week accolade with the weekly awards presented by FedEx.
 
The SoCon weekly award – selected and announced by the conference office from nominations by the communications staff at each member institution – is the third by a Catamount this season and the first on special teams. Lowery joins quarterbacks Cole Gonzales (Oct. 21) and Taron Dickens (Nov. 4) who collected offensive Player of the Week honors this season.
 
Sitting in second place in the highly-competitive Southern Conference standings still with a chance to earn a share of the program's first-ever SoCon championship this week, the Catamounts (6-5, 5-2 SoCon) remained in the 'Others Receiving Votes' portion of the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. WCU needs a victory and a Mercer loss at home to Furman that would leave the two tied atop the final regular-season standings with identical 6-2 league marks.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 
Handling the bulk of the kicking duties in Saturday's win over the Keydets, Lowery split the uprights a career-best three times on a trio of field goals measuring 45-, 26-, and 27 yards. He also successfully converted 6-of-6 points after touchdowns (PATs) in helping WCU win with 15 points scored.
 
Lowery additionally handled all kickoffs last Saturday, kicking a career-high 11 times. The Acworth, Ga., native was also instrumental in aiding one of the game's biggest turning points. One of his kickoffs landed near the Mercer 10-yard line close to the sidelines with the return team anticipating an oblong bounce out of bounds. Instead, though, the backspin deadened the ball. Isaac McClellan, a converted defensive end who has seen the bulk of his playing time on special teams pounced on the ball to set the Catamounts up at the VMI 11-yard line where Jalynn Williams cashed in the short field with the first of his two rushing scores.
 
After the weekend, Lowery moved into a tie with fifth-year senior RB Jalynn Williams for the team lead with 54 points scored. This season, he is 24-for-24 on PATs and has nailed seven of his 12 field goal attempts including 8-of-11 from inside 39 yards and two 40-yarders including a season-long 47-yarder at Elon and the 45-yard field goal against VMI.
 
Western Carolina concludes the regular-season portion of its 2024 schedule on Saturday (Nov. 23) by visiting the Samford Bulldogs (4-6, 3-3 SoCon) on Bobby Bowden Field at Pete Hanna Stadium, formerly known as Seibert Stadium until its 2023 meeting with Furman back in 2023. WCU looks to keep its postseason hopes alive, entering the weekend with an outside chance of sharing the SoCon crown if Mercer (9-2, 6-1 SoCon) were to stumble at home against Furman (3-7, 2-4 SoCon). WCU also eyes a program-record six league victories, having won five a combined 13 times since 1976.
 
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live audio coverage through the Catamount Sports Network. The airtime of the Pepsi Tailgate Show is 2 p.m. ET ahead of the 3 p.m. ET  kickoff. Fans across Western North Carolina can listen to the game locally on five affiliate frequencies: in Sylva on 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC, "The River" (WRGC.com) and 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC "Franklins First Voice" in Franklin (1050WFSC.com); in Asheville on 1310 AM WISE Sports Radio (wisesportsradio.com). Live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network is also available online at CatamountSports.com.

Fans can additionally follow Saturday's game with live stats accessible online by clicking HERE with timely in-game updates on TwitterX following @Catamounts and @CatamountsFB.
 
Catamount head football coach Kerwin Bell is the featured guest on Monday night's "Catamount Football Weekly" coaches show, presented by Stanberry Insurance LIVE on location at Rodgers Bros and Speedy's Pizza in Cullowhee. With inclement weather forecasted for later in the midweek, WCU will move its off-day to Tuesday and will practice on Monday afternoon - therefore, Monday's show will air at 7 p.m. on the Catamount Athletics Facebook page (fb.com/catamountsports).