Birmingham, Ala. – Taron Dickens passed for 408 yards and three touchdowns to lead the offensive attack and Western Carolina converted a pair of late first-half takeaways into points before withstanding a furious third-quarter rally by the Samford Bulldogs as the Catamounts closed the regular season with a 47-42 road victory in Southern Conference action Saturday at Pete Hanna Stadium.
 
Leading by nine in the waning moments of the first half, WCU defensive back Jordy Lowery emphatically slammed the door shut on a would-be Bulldog scoring drive by returning an interception 92 yards for a touchdown to extend WCU's lead to 30-14 with just 21 seconds remaining before intermission. On the ensuing possession, Samford capitalized on a couple of chunk plays on the ground to move just into reachable field goal range. Caleb Fisher swatted the line-drive field goal attempt, though, with Alabama native CJ Williams scooping the rejection and scampering 72 yards as time expired in the half to propel the Catamounts to a 37-14 halftime lead.
 
However, just as quickly as the momentum swung in favor of the Purple & Gold in the closing seconds of the opening half, Samford (4-7, 3-4 SoCon) rebounded to open the third quarter by capitalizing on a pair of short fields to carve into the Catamount lead. The Bulldogs scored two touchdowns within the opening two minutes of the third quarter as QB Quincy Crittendon threw and rushed for a score before the 'Dogs cashing-in an 85-yard scoring romp by Micah Kelly to pull to within two, 37-35, headed to the fourth quarter.
 
This time, the Catamounts did not let the moment slip away, pulling ahead by nine on another Jalynn Williams short-yardage rushing score and Christian Lowery tacking on an insurance field goal to polish off WCU's historic road victory. WCU's offense chewed up nearly nine minutes of the fourth-quarter clock while the defense slowed the tempo just enough that Crittendon's fourth rushing score of the day with 33 seconds remaining simply provided the final tally in the finale.
 
The win was a historic one for the Catamounts, halting the program's 10-game road losing skid to the Bulldogs in games played in Birmingham with the first road victory since 1969. It was WCU's first road win over Samford in SoCon play. The victory also handed WCU its second-straight seven-win season and represented the first six-win SoCon finish for the Catamounts ever since joining the league back in 1976.
 
WCU secured sole possession of second place in the SoCon standings, the best seasonal finish for the Catamounts since finishing tied for second back with Samford at 5-2 back in 2014. One has to go back to 1986 to find the last time the Catamounts finished alone in second place, again with a 5-2 league mark.
 
Never trailing on Saturday, Western Carolina (7-5, 6-2 SoCon) closed the 2024 regular season as one of the hotter teams in the country. The Catamounts won six of their last eight games with three of those victories coming with a backup redshirt freshman quarterback who saw the most extensive time of his collegiate career as he replaced the nation's top offense-producing player.
 
Dickens posted his second 400-yard passing performance since being thrust into the starting role four games ago, securing his third multi-touchdown pass performance in a late-season bid for SoCon Freshman of the Year accolades. The Miami, Fla., product is one of just three league freshmen to collect national weekly honors, doing so after throwing for a career-best 431 yards with five TDs in the win over nationally-ranked Chattanooga in his first career start.
 
Dickens was again efficient through the air, completing a career-high 36 of his 46 attempts (78.3%) to 11 different players – including his second career catch on a pass batted right back to him. Dickens closed the regular season as the SoCon's most efficient passer with a 163.1 QB rating coming on a league-best 73.8 percent completion rate.
 
Sure-handed junior AJ Colombo caught nine passes to match his career-best going for a career-high 116 yards – his first career 100-yard receiving game – to lead the Catamounts, adding his fifth receiving score of the season and the 10th of his career. Zion Booker recorded five catches for 64 yards while Malik Knight hauled in four for 79 yards including a 22-yard reception that spurred an early scoring drive. De'Andre Tamarez tallied his team-best sixth receiving score of the season as part of a three-catch, 50-yard performance while true freshman Isaiah Johnson continued his strong rookie campaign with his fifth touchdown catch.
 
Branson Adams finished with 75 all-purpose yards including 54 on the ground and 21 on a pair of receptions with converted tailback Patrick Boyd Jr. rushing for 44 yards on a career-high 16 touches. Jalynn Williams punched in his SoCon-leading 10th rushing score of the season early in the fourth quarter.
 
For the Bulldogs, QB Quincy Crittendon amassed 412 yards of total offense with 209 rushing yards and four touchdowns while throwing for 203 yards and a score on 20-of-35 passing but was intercepted three times and sacked twice. E. Jai Mason led the home squad with 61 receiving yards on four catches including a third-quarter TD.
 
Jordy Lowery recorded two of WCU's three interceptions in the winning effort, closing the regular season tied for second in the SoCon with six picks. His 92-yard interception return for a touchdown was the second-longest in WCU program history. He added three solo stops, while Ken Moore Jr. paced the squad with six total tackles and his fourth interception of the year. Fisher was credited with three solo stops with one tackle for loss to accompany his blocked field goal, while Antoine Williams matched with three tackles and forced a fumble.
 
WCU's defense tallied a pair of QB sacks with senior Jaquarius Guinn and Blue Monroe credited with two stops including the other sack for the Catamounts.
 
Samford's preseason All-American linebacker Noah Martin finished with a game-high 14 tackles including 13 solo stops with three for loss as the Bulldogs posted 13.5 TFLs. Half of Dontae Pollard's seven tackles sent for losses with 3.5 TFLs with Seth Parker securing five tackles and a first-quarter interception that delayed WCU's first score of the day.
 
Despite limiting the Bulldogs to just 26 yards on 11 total plays in the first quarter, Samford managed to outgain the Catamounts overall, 568-to-482. The Catamounts ran 89 offensive plays compared to 70 by the 'Dogs.
 
Western Carolina has done all that it could to build its seasonal resume and make a case to the 10-member NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee that will determine the 24-team FCS playoff single-elimination tournament. A combined 10 conference champions will be joined by 14 at-large selections, weighing the merits of seasonal records, national rankings, and the Massey ratings that are a combination of multiple factors.
 
The Catamounts finished the season with a pair of wins over nationally-ranked competition, defeating Elon on the road and winning over conference-foe Chattanooga at home with the Mocs likewise earning a victory over a ranked FCS opponent. WCU also went on the road to finish off the regular season with the Samford win, a team that also tallied a pair of nationally-ranked victories including handing the SoCon's automatic qualifier, Mercer, its lone league loss.
 
WCU had to fight through adversity following the devastation of Hurricane Helene across western North Carolina, defeating Wofford in Cullowhee without spectators in an empty stadium that eerily felt like the COVID games. The Terriers, by the way, went on the road to beat CAA-champion Richmond this season.
 
The 2024 NCAA FCS selection show is Sunday, Nov. 24, at 12:30 p.m. and will air on ESPNU. First-round games are slated for Sat., Nov. 30, with the second round on Saturday, Dec. 7. Quarterfinal games will be split between Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14, with the semifinals just before the Christmas holiday on Sat., Dec. 21. The playoffs culminate with the NCAA FCS Championship game scheduled for Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
 
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