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Western Carolina defeats Chattanooga in SC action
Western Carolina received scoring from its offense, defense and special teams en route to a 38-20 Southern Conference football victory Saturday at Chattanooga.
Lamont Reid and Darius Fudge both carried 18 times for 108 and 95 yards, respectively, for the Catamounts (2-2, 3-3).
Justin Clark completed 13 of 18 passes for 144 yards.
Eldra Buckley led the Chattanooga ground game with 85 yards in 20 attempts.
Matt Lopez completed 11 of 28 passes for 98 yards, and Antonio Miller connected on 10 of 18 passes for 112 yards.
Michael Gilmore’s seven receptions totaled 120 yards.
The Cats broke the game open by scoring on a pair of blocked punts just over a minute apart early in the second half.
The first block of a Jonathan Wright punt was by Nicholas Wishart with Marcus Nelums recovering for a touchdown. Jonathan Parsons, who was five of five on extra points, made it 24-7 with 12:49 remaining in the third period.
After forcing a three-and-out, Michael Hines broke through to block Wright’s punt. Hines scooped up the ball at the 9 and scored building the margin to 31-7 with 11:35 to go in the third quarter.
Aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the Moccasins needed just five plays to move 66 yards following the kickoff. Matt Lopez completed a 16-yard pass to Gilmore then hit Brian Arnold on a 15-yard scoring strike. Esteban Lopez added the extra point cutting the gap to 31-14 with 9:53 left in the third stanza.
WCU responded by marching 73 yards in nine plays. A roughing the passer penalty sparked the drive, which included consecutive runs of 19 yards by Reid and 14 yards by Fudge. Reid scored from the 3 on fourth-and-1 for a 38-14 advantage with 6:36 to go in the third quarter.
After an exchange of punts, the Mocs concluded the scoring with a 54-yard drive in seven plays. Gilmore caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Matt Lopez, but Esteban Lopez missed his first PAT of the season leaving the margin 38-20 with a minute to play in the third period.
Western lost a pair of fumbles in the fourth quarter, but the Mocs were unable to take advantage.
Quintez Smith recovered Fudge’s fumble at the Chattanooga 19, but the Mocs had to punt.
Troy Blackwell recovered Reid’s fumble at the WCU 45 late in the game, but Chattanooga yielded possession on downs at midfield.
Western opened the scoring on its initial possession as Parsons’ 38-yard field goal made it 3-0 with 8:25 to play in the first quarter. Reid’s 11-yard run and a 15-yard pass from Jason Clark to Josh Bush helped set up the kick.
The Cats drove deep into Chattanooga territory following a punt but came up empty when Larry White recovered Fudge’s fumble at the 21.
WCU again forced a punt, but this time disaster struck as Francis Brown fumbled with Terry Lindley recovering and returning the ball 48 yards to the 2. Levonte Barner scored from the 1, and Esteban Lopez kicked the extra point for a 7-3 edge with 14:40 to play in the half.
Three plays after Tim Mayse got off a career-long 63-yard punt, Carlton Bailey intercepted Miller’s pass and brought it back 28 yards for a TD putting his team up 10-7 at the 12:55 mark.
Bailey, who was in on 10 tackles, was named the league’s defensive player of the week.
Reid turned Clark’s screen pass into a 63-yard TD giving WCU a 17-7 lead with 58 seconds on the clock. The score came one play after Fudge’s 24-yard run.
Jeff Phillips was Chattanooga’s top tackler with nine.
Western will continue conference action Saturday with a 2 p.m. homecoming game against Elon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field.
WCU Chat.
17 First Downs 19
44-205 Rushes-Yds. 35-111
13-20-0 Passing 21-46-2
144 Passing Yds. 210
6-46.7 Punts-Avg. 9-27.7
6-4 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
8-65 Penalties-Yds. 5-40
WCU 3 14 21 0 38
Chat. 0 7 13 0 20
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