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Western Carolina crushes Chowan in football opener
Western Carolina scored on four straight possessions in the first half as the Catamounts opened the football season last Thursday with a 42-0 rout of Division II Chowan at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field.
“It was a good victory for us,” Coach Kent Briggs said. “Anytime you shut somebody out and score 42 points, you have to do something right. We had a lot of rain in the first half and scored 28 points without a turnover. Chowan ran a wishbone which we hadn’t practiced against in preseason .”
Western Carolina’s Michael Hines hauls in a 26-yard pass from Bennett Swygert for the first touchdown of the season in last Thursday’s 42-0 rout of Chowan. – Photo by Mark Haskett
A crowd of 3,014 saw Darius Fudge gain 93 yards in 17 carries and Mike Malone pick up 91 yards in 14 attempts on a rainy night.
Bennett Swygert completed eight of 16 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Eddie Cohen had four receptions totaling 84 yards.
Swygert missed the entire 2005 season due to an injury.
“He had a very solid game and handled the offense very well,” Briggs said. “He took control of the offense and threw the ball effectively.”
Sam Williams completed eight of 17 passes for 55 yards for the Hawks, who until this year were in the non-scholarship Division III. On the ground, he netted 50 yards in 16 carries.
After Jonathan Parsons missed a 43-yard field goal on the Cats’ first possession, they got the ball back at the Hawk 42 when Kadeem Morgan recovered Williams’ fumble. Fudge had a 10-yard run before Swygert connected with Michael Hines on a 26-yard scoring strike. Parsons kicked the first of his six extra points for a 7-0 lead with 7:16 to go in the first quarter.
Western forced a punt and drove 63 yards in eight plays to go up 14-0 on an 8-yard run by Fudge with 1:22 to play in the opening period. The march included a 13-yard run by Fudge and Swygert passes of 27 yards to Eddie Cohen and 17 yards to Chris Jefferson.
Carlton Bailey’s interception of Williams’ pass and a 44-yard return gave WCU the ball at the Chowan 46. Swygert completed a 29-yard pass to Cohen then found Cohen again for a 15-yard TD pass making it 21-0 with 12:18 left in the half.
Western completed its string of scoring on four straight possessions when Fudge went over from 3 yards out upping the margin to 28-0 at the 6:35 mark. The 50-yard drive took eight plays and was aided by a pass interference penalty. Highlights included runs of 10 and 16 yards by Fudge and a 14-yard pass from Swygert to Cohen.
The Hawks threatened late in the half by driving to the WCU 22 before Bruce Lee intercepted Williams’ pass at the 12.
Mitchell Dukes picked off Williams’ pass early in the second half and returned it 18 yards for a score and a 35-0 lead with 12:03 remaining in the third stanza.
Following an exchange of punts, Shelton Gaffney came up with the Cats’ fourth interception of the night at the Chowan 43.
Western gave the ball back a few plays later when Kyshawn Randall recovered Todd Spitzer’s fumble at the 8.
WCU concluded the scoring by moving 32 yards in four plays, all runs by Malone. His 6-yard TD run came with 10:15 to play in the game.
The Cats compiled 381 yards of total offense while holding the Hawks to 176.
Western’s Travis Hill and Chowan’s Ronnie Fields both had seven tackles.
The Cats have this weekend off. They will return to action Saturday, Sept. 16, with a 6 p.m. home game against Eastern Kentucky.
“This week will be almost like preseason again for us,” Briggs said.
Chowan WCU
12 First Downs 20
42-121 Rushes-Yds. 40-225
8-17-4 Passing 8-16-0
55 Passing Yds. 156
5-33.0 Punts-Avg. 2-34.5
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-1
4-37 Penalties-Yds. 9-73
Chowan 0 0 0 0 0
WCU 14 14 7 7 42
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