Cullowhee, N.C. – Taron Dickens tossed a Southern Conference single-game record seven touchdown passes to five different receivers on Saturday afternoon, and Western Carolina battled back from a trio of double-digit deficits in the second half but were unable to complete the upset victory over No. 10/12 Mercer, falling in a shootout 49-47 before the third-largest crowd in E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field history.
 
Dickens threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, twice pulling the Catamounts back from 12-point deficits and propelling the Catamounts to a short-lived, 47-46, lead inside the game's final four minutes. However, Reice Griffith connected on a 37-yard go-ahead field goal to again put the Bears in front with 90 seconds to play.
 
With time dwindling in regulation, Dickens and WCU again methodically drove the length of the field to set up a would-be game-winning 33-yard field goal at the final horn. But the effort was pushed just wide right as the Bears escaped the SoCon's loudest house with the hard-fought two-point victory.
 
Saturday's instant classic had a playoff feel as the two high-powered offenses traded haymakers. The two teams combined for 1,167 yards of total offense, including 994 yards through the air, and 96 total points scored, with 10 combined passing touchdowns. The game was witnessed by the third-largest crowd in the 51-year history of Whitmire Stadium (14,501), WCU's best attendance since 2008.
 
Dickens finished Saturday's game 33-of-49 (67.3%) passing for 551 yards, his fifth career game with 400 or more passing yards to outduel Mercer freshman Braden Atkinson, who was 23-of-39 for 443 yards and three TDs. Dickens connected with 11 different receivers, with Malik Knight catching five passes for a career-high 141 receiving yards and two scores.
 
Freshman WR Michael Rossin caught two TD passes among his three receptions for 65 yards, with Patrick Boyd Jr. leading the way with seven receptions for a career-best 93 yards and a score out of the WCU backfield. WR Jai Boyd (2-21 yds) scored his first touchdown of the season coming in the fourth quarter, while WR James Tyre (3-78 yds) hauled in his SoCon-best 11th receiving TD of the year, diving into the endzone with WCU's go-ahead score with 3:13 to play in the game.
 
Mercer's 23 completions went to just six different receivers, with Adjatay Dabbs catching four for 147 yards and a score, while Kendall Harris scored twice among his six receptions and 73 yards. Running back CJ Miller just missed his third-straight 100-yard game, rushing for 91 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 57 receiving yards for 148 yards of total offense.
 
Samaurie Dukes led a pair of Catamounts with double-digit tackles, credited with a career-high 13 stops, while Hasaan Sykes posted 10 tackles with both securing a pass breakup. Micah Nelson (3 tackles), Ken Moore Jr. (2 tackles), and Caleb Fisher (2 tackles) each recorded a tackle for loss.
 
Though the Catamounts did not officially get to Bear QB Atkinson, WCU did register eight hurries, including two apiece by Jordan Thompson to accompany five tackles, and two by Justin Wallace.
 
Mercer (8-1, 7-0 SoCon) saw Julian Fox post 13 tackles, and Drew Clare was credited with 10, adding a fumble recovery for one of the two takeaways by the Bears. The visitors added four sacks from four different players, with Kaleb Hutchinson recording the lone interception of the game.
 
Billed as an offensive showcase in the pregame hype, Saturday's nationally ranked showdown took time to get going as the squads traded first-quarter touchdowns. Rossin opened the scoring with a 27-yard reception from Dickens, with Miller scoring on a seven-yard rush for the Bears.
 
A 25-point second quarter saw Boyd Jr., score on a 21-yard reception before the Bears responded with eight-straight, including a sack for a safety and a Kendall Harris touchdown on the ensuing possession for the one-point, 15-14 lead. Rossin dotted the corner of the endzone on a "free play" for his second receiving TD of the day in the second quarter before Reice Griffith chipped home a 24-yard field goal to send the teams to the locker rooms with the home squad in front, 21-18.
 
Including Griffith's first of two field goals, Mercer flipped the game between the end of the second quarter and the midpoint of the third, scoring back-to-back third-quarter TDs as part of outscoring the Catamounts 21-to-6. Miller added his second of three ground scores, and Harris again found paydirt for an 11-point, 32-21, Bear advantage.
 
But before the third was through, the two squads traded scores on a 32-yard Catamount TD to Malik Knight to again trim the deficit to a one-possession game, only to see Miller score from 26 yards out to send the game to the fourth with a 12-point margin, 39-27.
 
Western Carolina's feverish run to the finish saw the home squad outscore Mercer 20-10 in the final frame with touchdowns from Knight (54 yards), Jai Boyd (10 yards) and James Tyre (42 yards), the latter making it 47-46 for the Purple & Gold. However, Griffith split the uprights on a 37-yard attempt for the two-point, 49-47, Mercer lead with 1:30 to play.
 
Using chunk plays of 14 yards on a pass to Patrick Boyd Jr., 19 yards to Tyre, and 20 yards to Knight, the Catamounts moved to the Mercer 15-yard line inside the final minute. Three run plays later, WCU opted for the field goal attempt as time expired. After Mercer used its final timeout just before the snap, WCU's 33-yard effort just missed the right upright no good.
 
With Saturday's win, Mercer claims at least a share of the 2025 SoCon regular-season championship with one game to play, hosting Chattanooga (5-5, 4-2 SoCon) next Saturday. The Bears did secure the league's automatic qualifier into the NCAA FCS postseason, earning the tiebreaker over the only team remaining that can match them in the standings, WCU.
 
Western Carolina (6-4, 5-1 SoCon) remains at home for its final regular-season home game next Saturday, Nov. 15, hosting mountain-rival East Tennessee State (5-5, 3-3 SoCon) at Whitmire Stadium / Waters Field. Kickoff of the annual Senior Day and Hall of Fame Day game is scheduled for Noon as the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week on Nexstar and ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
On the heels of the third-largest crowd in Whitmire Stadium history, single-game tickets and gameday parking for Saturday's rivalry game against ETSU are on sale now at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets or by phone by calling (828) 227-2401.
 
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