Cullowhee, N.C. – Josh Perry rushed for a career-high 142 yards and three touchdowns, while Western Carolina's defense turned in a dominant second-half performance, limiting Presbyterian to just 23 yards of offense and one first down after halftime as the Catamounts rolled to a 58-14 nonconference victory Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.
Western Carolina totaled a season-best 659 yards of offense, including 325 rushing yards and 334 through the air, while piling up 32 first downs in a complete team effort. Meanwhile, the Catamount defense limited Presbyterian to two second-quarter touchdowns and 243 yards of offense, including just 72 yards rushing.
Lex Thomas completed 24-of-33 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, connecting with 12 different receivers.
Jai Boyd led the group with a career-high 103 receiving yards on three catches, including a 36-yard touchdown reception on WCU's opening drive.
AJ Colombo added a game-high seven receptions for 64 yards. Reserve quarterback
Isaac Lee closed the scoring with a 36-yard touchdown pass to
Kale Woodburn.
Perry accounted for 162 yards of total offense, adding three catches for 20 receiving yards. The Orlando, Fla., product scored on runs of three, a career-long 62, and 14 yards in the winning effort.
Marlin Cochran ran for 43 yards and a five-yard touchdown, while Derrick Davis scored from a yard out on one of his four touches.
Adding to WCU's complete team effort,
Bryan McCollum accounted for 16 points in the victory with seven PATs and three field goals. The Sanford, N.C., product split the uprights from 39, a career-long 45, and 27 yards on Saturday.
Western Carolina recorded four sacks and eight tackles for loss while frustrating Presbyterian throughout the second half.
Nassor Ashenafi collected four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and half a sack, while
Joshua Collins posted four tackles and recorded the first interception of his career.
Ken Moore Jr.,
Braylon Jones,
Chase Kerns, and
Hank Bodine all contributed to the Catamounts' four-sack effort.
Gallery: (9-19-2026) Catamount Football - vs. Presbyterian
Western Carolina (2-2) capitalized on a missed field goal on the game's opening drive, marching 79 yards in 10 plays with Thomas connecting with Boyd to pull in front 7-0. Perry's first of three rushing scores and McCollum's first of three field goals gave the Catamounts a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Scotsmen cut the deficit to 10 points twice in the second quarter at 17-7 and again at 24-14 inside the final minute of the first half, the latter coming on the heels of Perry's career-long scoring romp of 62 yards. But WCU capped scoring in the opening stanza, moving into field goal range with McCollum's second boot pushing the Catamounts in front 27-14 at halftime.
Any thoughts of a Presbyterian comeback were erased after halftime as the Catamount defense slammed the door shut and the offense continued to pile on. WCU outgained the Blue Hose 341-23 over the final 30 minutes and scored 31 unanswered points.
Perry tacked on his third rushing score out of the locker room with McCollum hitting a 27-yarder to make it 37-14 midway through the third. Cochran pushed WCU over the 40-point plateau with his five-yard score, with Davis Jr. and Woodburn providing the final tally with four quarter TDs.
Presbyterian (1-2) quarterback Landon Sharpe finished 19-of-27 passing for 162 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted once by Collins. Sharpe added 24 rushing yards, while Damion Moate rushed for 43 yards and a six-yard TD. Jalen Patrick led eight players with five receptions for 33 yards for PC, with Caleb Johnson catching a five-yard TD pass in the loss.
Saturday's game endured a pair of weather delays, one before the opening kickoff and a second just before the end of the first quarter.
The victory sends Western Carolina into Southern Conference play with momentum as the Catamounts travel to Johnson City, Tenn., next Saturday for the annual "Blue Ridge Border Battle" against ETSU. WCU will look to reclaim "The Rock" traveling trophy and snap a two-game skid in the rivalry when kickoff from Greene Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m.
Head coach
Kerwin Bell will be live on location Monday (Sept. 21) at Catamount Jaxe (114 Market Street) in Cullowhee for "Catamount Football Weekly," presented by Stanberry Insurance. The show airs weekly at 6 p.m. on the Catamount Athletics Facebook page and YouTube channel.
For the latest news, scores, highlights, and behind-the-scenes content, follow Catamount football and WCU Athletics on Facebook (
FB.com/CatamountSports;
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