Cullowhee, N.C. – On the strength of 35 unanswered first-half points, No. 19 Western Carolina bolted out to a 35-7 lead midway through the second quarter in its season opener on Saturday evening at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.
 
However, the Runnin' Bulldogs lived up to their moniker as Gardner-Webb found its ground game behind graduate transfer QB Nate Hampton, posting a 24-point fourth quarter to stun the homestanding Catamounts 52-45 and overshadow an otherwise tremendous opening day atmosphere. Hampton ran for 132 yards and four scores, while tossing a pair of TD passes in guiding GWU to the road victory.
 
Saturday's matchup featured two teams with quarterbacks making their first starts for their respective squads, as the regional rivals delivered fireworks on the field ahead of the postgame extravaganza. The two combined for 97 total points and 1,087 combined yards, with GWU outgaining the potent Catamount offense, 627-to-454, in a game that lasted nearly four and a half hours before 11,889 fans.
 
Tied at 42 in the fourth quarter following Hampton's third rushing score of the game, Gardner-Webb drove into scoring position in looking for the go-ahead tally before missing on a Charles Viorel 41-yard field goal attempt. Just three plays later, though, the Runnin' Bulldog defense forced a fumble that gave the visitors prime field position to try again to regain the lead. With GWU grinding into scoring position, aided by a tough roughing the passer penalty, the Catamount defense stiffened to limit the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 22-yard Viorel field goal for their first lead since 7-0.
 
Gardner-Webb seemingly put the game out of reach over the next succession of plays, converting an interception into Hampton's fourth rushing score of the day and a 10-point cushion inside the final two minutes. However, the Catamounts would not go quietly into the night, using an aerial attack to move into scoring position before settling for a 29-yard Christian Lowery field goal for the first of a needed two scores.
 
On the ensuing onside kick attempt, WCU's kickoff team powered GWU's hands return team off the line to gain, and Lowery dribbled the ball the allotted 10 yards where he fell on it for an apparent successful attempt. However, it was ruled that the ball slightly careened off the leg of a Catamount for an inadvertent touch before traveling 10 yards, and Gardner-Webb was able to kneel out the remaining clock for the upset victory.
 
Redshirt sophomore Bennett Judy tossed a pair of touchdown passes on a career-best 15 completions in his first collegiate start, finishing with 151 yards through the air to lead the two WCU quarterbacks. The Simpsonville, S.C., product hit redshirt freshman James Tyre and true freshman Trey Walker for the scoring strikes, the first TDs for both. Tyre led nine Catamounts with receptions, with a career-best five catches for 66 yards
 
Redshirt freshman Isaac Lee made his collegiate debut to the tune of 3-for-9 through the air for 82 yards, 69 of which came on a scoring strike to a streaking Malik Knight for his lone reception despite six targets. Lee, however, tossed an interception and lost a fumble late in his time in the backfield.
 
Patrick Boyd Jr. led Western Carolina's offensive attack, averaging nearly nine and a half yards per touch with a career-high 142 rushing yards and a score. Boyd's efforts gave the Catamounts their first 100-yard rusher since Branson Adams eclipsed the century mark against ETSU back in November of 2023. Boyd accounted for 194 all-purpose yards, adding 21 receiving yards and 31 on an early kickoff return. Adams, meanwhile, added 66 yards on the ground on Saturday, while the combined efforts guided WCU to 221 total rushing yards – just the third time eclipsing 200 yards on the ground for the squad over the past two years.
 
In his return to the Catamount lineup, redshirt junior and Gastonia, N.C., native Camury Reid hit paydirt twice with a pair of touchdown carries of three and one yards on the day, his first two career scores.
 
For Gardner-Webb, Hampton accounted for six touchdowns in the improbable upset victory for the Runnin' Bulldogs, amassing 132 rushing yards and four scores, while passing for 263 yards and a pair of TDs on 12 completions. Quasean Holmes rushed for 116 yards, including a season-opening 65-yard touchdown romp early in the first quarter. Chris Lofton caught three passes for a team-best 102 yards through the air, while Anthony Lowe compiled 202 all-purpose yards before exiting the game with a lower-body injury. Lowe caught five passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns, adding 113 yards on special teams between kickoff and punt returns.
 
Defensively, senior linebacker Hayward McQueen Jr. was credited with a career-high 15 tackles, his fourth career double-digit stop effort, with one tackle for loss coming on a sack with a forced fumble. Safety Samaurie Dukes finished with eight stops, with linebackers Jordan Thompson and Blue Monroe both credited with six tackles apiece, including a tackle for loss with Thompson registering WCU's second sack.
 
Jamari Young paced the Gardner-Webb defense with 11 stops, including one for loss on a sack, and he forced a fumble. Sabin McLaughlin had eight tackles, with Josiah Harris recording the late interception that ultimately set up Hampton's fourth rushing score that provided the final tally.
 
Trailing 7-0 after Quasean Holmes sprinted for a 65-yard first-quarter touchdown, Western Carolina took control of Saturday's affair by posting the game's next five scores to build the 35-7 advantage. Boyd Jr. scampered 28 yards for a touchdown in converting a short field provided by a defensive takeaway for the equalizing score, before Camury Reid tallied his first of two scores by plowing in from three yards out for WCU's first lead. Judy connected with James Tyre and Trey Walker for their first aerial scores before Lee dropped a dime to Malik Knight for the 69-yard run-capping score.
 
Gardner-Webb started its march back with consecutive scores to send the teams to the halftime locker room at 35-21, and then started the second half with its third-straight tally to make it a one-possession game at the 12:20 mark of the third quarter. WCU capped the frame with its longest drive of the day at 83 yards, capped by Reid's one-yard plunge and a 42-28 lead. However, GWU scored 24 of the game's last 27 points, including 17 straight to pull ahead 45-42 in recording the win, its third straight over WCU to mark its longest run in the 12-game series.
 
Western Carolina (0-1) travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., next Saturday, Sept. 6, to face the ACC's Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1-0) at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Field with kickoff set for 2 p.m.

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