Cullowhee, N.C. – Mimicking the pregame leadup and start time of the 2025 season opener on Saturday, Aug. 30 at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field, Western Carolina football hit the turf ahead of a 6 p.m. start to its second preseason scrimmage on Saturday evening. The Catamounts got more than they bargained for, though, as the squad was additionally able to simulate a halftime break – or in this case, a weather delay – as the squad was chased from the field for just over 45 minutes due to NCAA and Southern Conference lightning protocols.
 
All told, though, Western Carolina worked through 20 series with its high-octane offense pitted against its ball-hawking, swarming defense to conclude preseason camp on Saturday with its situational scrimmage, its second intrasquad faceoff. The Catamount offense managed to score eight touchdowns, while the defense had 12 total stops.
 
Western Carolina's offense finished with 499 yards passing over the 20 combined drives that had varying starting field positions, scoring six touchdowns through the air. The unit added 185 rushing yards and a pair of scores on the ground. Defensively, the Catamounts had a pair of interceptions and one fumble recovery for three takeaways, adding six sacks on the red jersey QBs, with nine PBUs and four forced punts.
 
"I thought that we were sharp in our execution overall, which is great to see. We needed to be sharper and better, and I think in one week, we really made an effort to be more efficient on offense, more efficient on defense, as far as the plays that we made. I thought our defense played extremely well today, made it tough on the offense," said WCU head coach Kerwin Bell. "Now, with that being said, we're still making (mistakes) that keep you from winning football games."
 
Bell did reference a couple of holding penalties that negated positive plays and turnovers, with two interceptions and twice putting the football on the carpet by the offense. He also talked about the defense giving up crucial big plays on both third and fourth downs, also committing a couple of infractions that prevented them from getting off the field.
 
All six quarterbacks earned at least one series on Saturday, with Taron Dickens guiding the offense on its first possession and true freshman Ian Grissom earning the final snaps. Redshirt freshman Isaac Lee orchestrated a scrimmage-high seven series, followed by Bennett Judy with six, Jordan Martin-Durham with three, and two by transfer Jack Benson.
 
Judy threw for a scrimmage-best 204 yards on 17-of-27 passing with a pair of touchdowns. Lee completed half of his 16 passes, gaining 163 yards on the eight completions, adding three scores. Martin-Durham, who saw three series in succession in the closing stages of the scrimmage, went 2-for-5 for 70 yards and a TD pass, with both Benson and Dickens going 3-for-6 for 19 and 38 yards, respectively, and both tossing an interception.
 
WCU's 34 completions were spread among 16 different players, with the six scores evenly distributed among the offense. Malik Knight and James Tyre both caught four passes apiece, with Tyre finishing with 56 yards and Knight posting a scrimmage-high 93 yards and a score. Transfer wideout Painter Richards-Baker hauled in three passes for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Marcus Striggles caught two passes with a 49-yard score. Freshmen Michael Rossin and Trey Walker both scored on one of their two catches apiece, Rossin finishing with 35 yards and Walker with 62 yards. TE Bode Burns made a pair of receptions for 21 yards and a TD.
 
On the ground, a combined 14 players recorded rushes, including running backs, quarterbacks, and wide receivers. Pat Boyd Jr. and Camury Reid both rushed a team-best six times, with Reid finishing with 33 yards and a one-yard touchdown to accompany a pair of receptions for seven yards, while Boyd Jr. had 29 yards. Brandon Adams rushed five times for 31 yards, and Markel Townsend scored from a yard away as part of three rushes for eight yards. Freshman Josh Perry ran for 21 yards on five touches.
 
A total of 40 different defenders were credited with statistics on Saturday evening. The defenders unofficially tallied 10 tackles for loss with six sacks, made two interceptions, and forced two fumbles with one takeaway. WCU additionally had nine quarterback hurries and nine pass break-ups.
 
Veteran linebacker Hayward McQueen Jr. led the Catamount defense, finishing with a scrimmage-best six tackles, including one for loss with a hurry. Transfer Jordan Thompson finished had four tackles with a sack, and an interception. Ed Jones IV also jumped a sideline route for an interception to accompany two tackles. Defenders Marseilles Taylor, Cain Jefferson, and Trey Berry III each tallied three tackles apiece, while Joshua Collins and Armond Anderson also collected sacks to effectively end offensive drives.
 
Up front, Justin Wallace tallied a pair of quarterback hurries and a sack for eight yards in losses, while Adrian Stone recovered a fumble to accompany swatting a pair of pass attempts at the line of scrimmage. Zayveon Wells posted a pair of tackles and forced a fumble.
 
On special teams, Christian Lowery did most of the kickoff and placekicking on Saturday, finishing 3-for-4 during the pre-scrimmage rapid-fire field goal drill. Freshman Marcus Trout was likewise 3-for-4, nailing a long of 42 yards. Lowery was the lone kicker to attempt PATs in the scrimmage, going 5-for-5 with Bell opting not to go for the extra points on three of the scores based on time. In addition to holding on placekicks, Stephen Brantley averaged 45 yards over four punts in the pre-scrimmage drills before averaging 44 yards per boot on the four punts in the scrimmage.
 
WCU's offense drove into the red zone on its opening salvo before Jordan Thompson intercepted Dickens as the first of back-to-back defensive stops to start the afternoon. The offense got rolling on its third and fifth series, as Judy mounted a 95-yard drive that was aided early by a defensive pass-interference call, and also by a red zone fumble recovery by Zach Watson that helped set up the Burns score.
 
After Richard Garrett's sack and forced fumble, pounced on by Adrian Stone, Lee developed the scoring drive, capped by Knight's scoring reception. WCU's ground game provided the third score two drives later, following a three-and-out and an Ed Jones IV interception by the defense. Judy converted a third-and-long to spur the drive, and Markel Towsend finished it with a one-yard TD rush.
 
Lee tossed his first of two long scoring strikes of the day on a 49-yard pitch-and-catch to sophomore transfer Marcus Striggles, before Judy again found paydirt with a scoring pass to freshman Michael Rossin. Lee struck again with a 55-yard toss to Painter Richards-Baker. Returning RB Camury Reid was the workhorse on the short field in red zone work, rushing three times with the last a one-yard surge to give the squad its second score.
 
Jordan Martin-Durham capped the offense's scoring with a 63-yard touchdown pass, tossed short into the flat to Trey Walker, who used a convoy to work downfield for the touchdown.
 
Overall, Bell and his coaching staff seemed pleased with the on-field conclusion of fall camp, as the team will start to turn its attention to game preparation. Bell talked about the effort and competitiveness of his fall's preseason camp.
 
"That's the positive, man. These guys competed their butt off. They go against each other – iron sharpens iron. The defense was playing their butts off, forcing the offense to have to compete with them. And they're making big plays. Any time you have two good sides like that, it helps you in the long run. So, we're getting better because we're having to compete against each other at a high level, and hopefully we'll continue to do that," concluded Bell.
 
Saturday evening's 15th preseason practice essentially closed WCU football's preseason fall camp with the team gathering on Sunday before an off day on Monday – the team's typical day away from the field – with the Catamounts beginning their in-season practice schedule on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
 
A reminder that WCU's football practices throughout the 2025 season are open to the public, unless otherwise noted. It is respectfully requested, however, that spectators observe from the stadium seating area and refrain from being on the field or the sidelines for safety reasons. Also, please be aware of the construction fencing around the West side of the stadium, which will limit access points as construction on the Western Skybox and Whitmire West projects continues this summer and into the fall season.
 
Both season and single-game tickets for the six home dates in #CatamountCountry – the most since 2019 – remain on sale now through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, or by phone at (828) 227-2401. Fans can also purchase tickets and game day parking in advance online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Season tickets remain the best bet for securing tickets to each of WCU's highly anticipated six home dates, as preseason ticket sales remain brisk.
    Additional Post-Scrimmage Quotes:
 
Redshirt sophomore OL Steven Hamby
On the team's preseason camp and the offense's development this fall:
"With everyone being new, it takes time to learn everything, to get to know each other – the other offensive linemen. But, throughout camp, I've definitely seen improvement, improving from where we were, and I think that's a great place to start."
 
On the offense against the defense in preseason camp:
"The defense has definitely given us a challenge. We've had to stay on our horse, getting after them. They've been a great defense and will help us get even better, and have been great to play against."
 
Defensive Coordinator Jerry Odom:
On Saturday's second scrimmage:
"I thought that we played well in spurts. Our 1's and 2's are still playing at a pretty high level; some of the 3's struggled. We're still giving up too many big plays – we gave up four, fourth downs. You give up four fourth downs, you're not winning the football game. In those situations, you fight like heck to get them to fourth and 17. But they made plays, and we didn't – give the offense credit for a few of those plays that they made."
 
On the close of preseason camp:
Overall, it was a good camp. I think that we're way, way, way ahead of where we were last year. I do feel like this team really wants to play well. We've just got to keep battling, trying to get better, and I think that we will – I have a lot of faith in these guys."
 
Senior LB Hayward McQueen Jr.
On the differences between this year and last defensively:
"Last year, Coach O's first year, I don't think we were fully understanding the gist of what he wanted us to do. But this year, second year with Coach O, in the spring he really gave us the details on how he wanted his defense to be run. We just took that and ran with it, and we're miles ahead of where we were last year."
 
On Saturday's second scrimmage:
"When you have an amazing offense like we do, and a defense like we have, it's going to be competitive on both sides. Both our offensive coordinator and our defensive coordinators don't like losing. It's always going to be a battle until the end."

2025 Catamount Football Preseason Practice Schedule:
Sun., Aug 17 – Athletics Welcome Back Event at Catamount Soccer – 12:30 pm
Sun. Aug. 17 – Catamount Football Team Building Event – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Mon., Aug. 18 – First Day of Classes at WCU – No Practice (Off-Day)
Tues., Aug. 19 – Begins in-season practice schedule – 4:30 pm
Mon., Aug. 25 – First Catamount Football Weekly Coaches Show at Catamount Jaxe – 6 p.m.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports, FB.com/WesternCarolinaFootball), Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountsfb).
 
Important Dates in Catamount Athletics & Catamount Football:
Sun., Aug. 17 – Catamount Soccer vs. High Point – 1 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 22 – Catamount Volleyball vs. UNC Pembroke (Exhibition) – 6 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 30 – Catamount Football vs. Gardner-Webb – 6 p.m. (Postgame Fireworks)
Sun., Aug. 31 – Catamount Soccer vs. Tennessee (First Bank Beach Night) – 6 p.m.
Tues., Sept. 9 – Catamount Volleyball vs. UNC Asheville (First Bank Beach Night) – 6 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 12 – The Bob Waters Memorial Golf Tournament – Sequoyah National in Cherokee, N.C.
Sat., Sept. 13 – Catamount Football vs. Elon – 2:30 p.m. (White Out Whitmire! Wear White!)