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WCU to meet Furman in conference opener
Coming off a victory over 19th-ranked Eastern Kentucky, Western Carolina will travel to Furman on Saturday for a 6 p.m. game against the third-ranked Paladins in the Southern Conference opener.
The Paladins are 3-0 and gave North Carolina fits in Saturday’s 45-42 loss. They opened the year with wins over Jacksonville State (17-13) and West Georgia (24-7).
“I’m amazed at how strong and consistent they are every year,” WCU Coach Kent Briggs said. “The Furman tradition is still there. It’s a tremendous challenge to go down there and play them, but it’s a good challenge.
The Paladins had relied primarily on the running of Cedric Gipson and Jerome Felton in their first two games. Saturday at UNC, they opened up the attack with quarterback Renaldo Gray becoming a passing threat.
“We’re at our peak as far as being healthy,” Briggs said. “We’ve still got some injuries, but they’re nagging ones.”
WCU snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series with a 41-21 win last year.
“Last year was last year, and we caught them at the right time,” Briggs said.
Western’s 20-17 win over Eastern Kentucky put the Catamounts at 2-0 and moved them into the national I-AA rankings at number 22.
“It’s always nice to be ranked, but rankings at the end of the season are a lot more important,” Briggs said.
WCU struggled in the first half after not playing since its season opener Aug. 31.
“That was a satisfying win,” Briggs said. “We didn’t play well in the first half, but in the second half we got those 17 off days out of our system.”
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