Cullowhee, N.C. – Scoreless after the opening quarter, Western Carolina erupted for 52 points over the next three frames, sparked by a 24-point second quarter as the Catamounts remained unbeaten in Southern Conference play and extended their current win streak to four in a row with a convincing 52-7 victory over Furman on Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.
 
WCU (4-3, 3-0 SoCon) created four takeaways on defense with three interceptions and a fumble recovery in the home win, turning in the most complete game of the 2025 season to date.
 
Taron Dickens completed 17-of-24 pass attempts for 220 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 48 yards to guide the Catamounts to the home victory and its second-straight win over the Paladins. Dickens tossed scoring strikes of 50, 9, 41, and 6 to four different receivers, with two scoring their first collegiate touchdowns.
 
A combined 10 different Catamounts caught passes, but none recorded more than four receptions as team-leader James Tyre had four catches for 29 yards. Michael Rossin caught a pair of passes for a team-leading 59 yards and his first receiving score on a 50-yard strike. Malik Knight finished with a pair of receptions and 45 yards, 41 of which came on a touchdown pass from Dickens, with freshman TE Josiah Thomas collecting the fourth scoring toss.
 
Making his collegiate debut, freshman tailback Josh Perry rushed for 38 yards and tallied his first career touchdown on his first career reception for a nine-yard score. Backfield counterpart Markel Townsend finished with 53 yards on the ground in WCU's balanced rushing attack, scoring on a 12-yard romp, while Patrick Boyd Jr. ran for a team-best 68 yards as he set the tone of the third quarter with half of his total coming on four solid carries after intermission.
 
Capping the scoring and WCU's rushing attack was back-up quarterback Isaac Lee who rumbled a career-best 66 yards for the exclamation point in the winning effort.
 
All told, the Catamounts amassed 522 yards of total offense, including a season-best 302 rushing yards and 220 through the air.
 
But it was the Western Carolina defense that stole the show in Saturday's victorious effort, stymying the Furman offense with three interceptions – two coming in the endzone to thwart would-be scoring drives and one that was returned 64 yards for a touchdown by Ken Moore Jr. that handed the home squad a 24-0 first-half advantage.
 
Back in the lineup after missing the Wofford game, team ball-hawking leader Hasaan Sykes set the tone by wrestling the football away from the intended Paladin receiver in the endzone for his third pick of the season, halting Furman's second drive of the contest. Moore Jr. collected the other two interceptions, scoring his second career defensive touchdown with his second-quarter theft before squashing a Paladin drive with his career single-game best second interception in the third quarter.
 
WCU also forced the Paladins to put the football on the carpet twice as Samaurie Dukes forced a fumble that Justin Wallace recovered, while Sykes jarred the ball loose on a fourth-and-goal play that kept the Paladins from finding paydirt. Wallace added a sack to his takeaway.
 
Sykes was credited with a team-high tying six tackles, each as a solo stop, with the sack-fumble, while Dukes and Jordan Thompson both finished with six tackles apiece. Linebackers Hayward McQueen Jr. and Hank Bodine posted five tackle efforts. Caleb Fisher and Ryan McKinnis combined on a sack to join Sykes and Wallace.
 
Furman second-year quarterback Trey Hedden finished 18-of-35 for 208 yards and a touchdown pass, but was sacked three times and threw three interceptions. WR Ethan  Harris caught six passes for a game-high 95 yards with Joshua Burrell hauling in the lone Paladin TD. Ben Crossdale rushed six times for 72 yards to edge teammate Gavin Hall, who toted the football 17 times for 68 yards on the ground.
 
Saturday's SoCon matchup was a stalemate through 15 minutes that was dominated by defenses. The two squads managed just 88 combined yards of offense – 56 by the Catamounts and 32 for the Paladins. Then, on the fourth play of the second quarter, true freshman placekicker Marcus Trout broke the scoreless affair with a career-long 44-yard field goal that gave WCU a lead it would never relinquish and sparked a 24-point barrage.
 
On its next offensive possession, the Catamounts found the endzone as freshman Michael Rossin caught a deep pass from Dickens at the 10-yard line and muscled his way into the purple turf for both his and the game's first touchdown. Three plays later, Samaurie Dukes forced a Furman fumble that Justin Wallace corralled at the 28-yard line. Dickens then connected with true freshman Josh Perry for a nine-yard score, his first TD coming on his first reception and the 17-0 lead.
 
With under five minutes to play before halftime, Ken Moore Jr. intercepted an overthrown ball that alluded multiple hands before finding its way into his. The speedy preseason all-conference defender weaved his way to the near sideline and raced 64 yards for the score and the 24-0 lead.
 
Furman (4-2, 2-1 SoCon) ended the half with its best offensive drive of the day, marching 75 yards in 10 plays, converting on three third downs along the way before Hedden found  Burrell for the TD and a 24-7 score at the break.
Out of the halftime locker room, WCU flexed its muscle on the ground as Patrick Boyd Jr. rattled off four consecutive carries for 34 yards before Dickens went back to the air. The Miami, Fla., product connected with Malik Knight on a 41-yard touchdown and a 31-7 lead for the home squad.
 
The Paladins responded by marching back into the red zone, spurred by a 33-yard Devin Hester Jr. catch-and-run. However, with Furman threatening from the 11-yard line, Ken Moore Jr. played centerfield and collected his second interception of the day to halt Furman's drive. The Catamounts cashed the takeaway into points and a 38-7 lead as Markel Townsend capped a 12-play, 80-yard march with a 12-yard touchdown run, carrying defenders into the end zone.
 
Furman again countered with a solid drive back inside the WCU 10-yard line. However, facing a fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line, Sykes blindsided Hedden on a corner blitz, knocking the football loose on the sack with the oblong orb ultimately bouncing out of bounds despite being chased by a trio of Cats. WCU would again cash in on the takeaway with Dickens finding Josiah Thomas for his fourth passing TD of the day.
 
Midway through the final frame, backup QB Isaac Lee delivered a pair of handoffs to Josh Perry for nine yards before doing the rest himself. The Concord, N.C., product scrambled out of the pocket and raced 66 yards for the touchdown to cap the game's scoring.
 
Despite the final scoreboard, many of Saturday's statistics remained almost even. Both teams finished with 23 first downs, while the time of possession was 30:16 to 29:44 in favor of Furman. Steven Brantley uncorked a 62-yard punt as part of a 48.2 average of four punts, adding a pair of touchbacks on kickoffs. One telling stat that did speak volumes was WCU's 21 points off Furman turnovers, while the Catamounts valued the football without a giveaway.
 
Westen Carolina hits the road for two straight SoCon games spanning the next three weeks, first traveling to face The Citadel (3-3, 2-1 SoCon) in Charleston, S.C., next Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff from Johnson Hagood Stadium is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
WCU has its scheduled bye-week on Oct. 25, before traveling to the Scenic City to battle the Chattanooga Mocs on Nov. 1.
 
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