Cullowhee, N.C. – Consecutive scores out of the halftime locker room handed Western Carolina its first lead on Saturday afternoon, 28-23, over regional rival Elon in the annual "White Out Whitmire" game. However, the visiting Phoenix scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard scamper by QB Landen Clark inside the game's final five minutes as Elon escaped with a 37-31 victory at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.
 
Wide receivers James Tyre and Dominic Dutton combined to score all four of Western Carolina's touchdowns in three different ways in Saturday's close home defeat. Both found the endzone the conventional way with TD receptions of four and seven yards, respectively, in the first half. But after intermission, the tandem found other ways to hit paydirt.
 
Trailing 23-14 at the break, the speedy Dutton ignited the crowd by taking the second-half kickoff 97 yards untouched for WCU's first kickoff return for a score since 2021 to make it a two-point game, 23-21. On their next offensive possession, the Catamounts benefited from a fortuitous bounce as Tyre corralled an offensive fumble, spun, and raced 62 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, 28-23.
 
A pair of Luke Barnes field goals from 38 and 42 yards out pushed the visitors back in front, 29-28, with true freshman Marcus Trout splitting the uprights on his first collegiate field goal early in the fourth quarter as WCU teetered back in front, 31-29, early in the fourth quarter.
 
However, Elon found the go-ahead score on Clark's 10-yard TD run, and eventually sealed it with a replay-overturned interception along the Phoenix sideline that squelched any chance of a last-second rally.
 
Entering the game amidst a late second-quarter scoring drive, redshirt freshman QB Isaac Lee finished 19-of-31 for 132 yards with a touchdown, but tossed a pair of interceptions, one coming in the endzone on a would-be late first-half scoring drive. Lee also rushed for 23 yards. Bennett Judy started the game, but gave way to Lee after an injury, finishing 17-of-24 for 114  yards with a score.
 
Tyre caught a career-best eight passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, adding the 62-yard scramble on the fumble recovery and 23 yards in punt returns for 172 all-purpose yards. In addition to the 97-yard kickoff return, Dutton caught six passes for  46 yards and a score, posting 152 all-purpose yards in the loss.
 
WR Malik Knight and tailback Markel Townsend both caught five passes apiece in the loss, producing 28  and 23 yards, respectively.
 
The Catamounts rushed for 179 yards officially, though 62 came on the fumble return for a score. Patrick Boyd Jr. ran 10 times for 58 yards to lead WCU otherwise, adding a trio of catches for 19 yards.
 
For Elon, Landen Clark accounted for 377 total yards, passing for 305 on just 11 completions (11-of-28), countering a pair of interceptions with two TD strikes. He also rushed for a pair of 10-yard scores. Isaiah Fuhrmann finished with five catches for 105 yards to lead all players, with Landyn Backey and Zimere Winston both catching touchdown passes.
 
Western Carolina (0-3) rallied from a 20-7 deficit in the first half with Tyre and Dutton posting scoring receptions. Down by just six and with the Catamounts driving late in the opening half, Lee forced a throw into zone coverage in the red zone, with the interception thwarting a would-be scoring drive. Elon capitalized on the late-half takeaway, moving into field goal range where Barnes nailed a 48-yard attempt in an overall 10-point swing heading into the locker room down 23-14.
 
Dutton's kick return for a score that used up just 12 seconds of the second half clock opened the back-and-forth second half between the two squads.
 
Defensively for WCU, transfer LB Jordan Thompson had a monster game, amassing a career-best 11 total tackles, including six solo and one for loss, while also being credited with a pair of quarterback hurries. Hasaan Sykes finished with nine total tackles with eight unassisted, followed by Ken Moore Jr. with eight tackles and two pass breakups.
 
The Catamounts saw a pair of players record their first career interceptions as Jeno Junius Jr. and Jhamari Pierre-Louis both picked off Clark. Transfer defensive lineman sacked Clark twice as part of his four-tackle performance, while Kenyon Partridge tallied a trio of hurries.
 
Elon's Tony Hart III and DJ James-Hamilton finished with double-digit tackles with 11 and 10, respectively, with James-Hamilton forcing a fumble. Asher Cunningham and Ishmel Atkins both recorded interceptions in the win.
 
Western Carolina remains at home next weekend, opening its Southern Conference schedule by welcoming the Samford Bulldogs to E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field for the annual Family Weekend game on Saturday, Sept. 20. Kickoff of the league-opener is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
 
Fifth-year head coach Kerwin Bell will be live on location at Catamount Jaxe in Cullowhee on Monday (Sept. 15) for "Catamount Football Weekly," presented by Stanberry Insurance. The weekly coaches show airs at 6 p.m. on the Catamount Athletics YouTube Channel and official Facebook page.

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