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Western Carolina rallies to win over 19th-ranked EKU
Western Carolina rallied from a 17-7 halftime deficit to defeat 19th-ranked Eastern Kentucky 20-17 Saturday before 8.247 fans at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field.
The Catamounts (2-0) were held without a first down in the first half before coming to life after intermission.
The victory propelled Western into the 22nd position in the latest I-AA poll.
Darius Fudge gained 104 yards in 26 carries to pace the WCU ground game.
Western Carolina’s Darius Fudge gained 104 yards in Saturday’s 20-17 victory over Eastern Kentucky. – WCU photo by Mark Haskett
Bennett Swygert completed 12 of 18 passes for 129 yards. Eddie Cohen had four receptions totaling 68 yards.
Bobby Washington led the Colonels with 68 yards in 17 carries.
Josh Greco connected on 18 of 30 passes for 240 yards. Patrick Bugg had five receptions for 118 yards.
Western began its comeback on the first possession of the second half. A 29-yard pass from Swygert to Cohen and Fudge’s 10-yard run led to Jonathan Parsons’ 30-yard field goal cutting the gap to 17-10 with 10:59 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cats got the ball back moments later when Brandon Breeden picked off Greco’s pass and returned it 14 yards to the EKU 38. Fudge ran for 13 yards before Swygert hit Chris Jefferson on a 20-yard scoring strike. Parsons’ PAT produced a 17-17 tie with 6:35 to play in the third period.
Western was poised to take the lead following a drive from its 29 to the Colonel 1. Fudge had a run of 27 yards to highlight the march, but he was twice stopped for no gain at the 1 giving EKU the ball on downs.
Kadeem Morgan picked off Greco’s pass moments later at the 14. The defense held, but Parsons booted a 25-yard field goal giving the Cats a 20-17 edge with 11:43 to go in the game.
After an exchange of punts, the Colonels moved in position for Taylor Long’s 43-yard field goal, but the kick sailed wide right.
Western picked up a first down to run the remaining two minutes off the clock.
Although the offense struggled early, the Cats did score first when Mordy Oznguze blocked Benton Kuszmaul’s punt and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown. Parsons’ point after gave his team a 7-0 edge with 11:48 to go in the opening stanza.
Oznguze was named national I-AA special teams player of the week by The Sporting News.
EKU answered with a 79-yard drive in nine plays. Washington picked up 12 yards, and Greco completed a 10-yard pass to Matt Schoborg before Greco found Bugg for 33 yards and a score. Long booted the PAT making it 7-7 with 7:08 left in the first quarter.
The Colonels went up 10-7 on Long’s 36-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the period. A 17-yard pass from Greco to Mark Dunn set up the kick.
A personal foul penalty on a punt set EKU up at the WCU 44. Greco and Washington both ran for 11 yards, and Greco hit Bugg for 18 yards and a score. Long kicked the PAT for a 17-7 advantage with 11:14 to go in the half.
Carlton Bailey stopped a Colonel drive when he picked off a long Greco pass at the 11.
The Colonels had another chance to score, but Long missed a 36-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Shelton Gaffney was WCU’s leading tackler with six. Brandon Rosser paced EKU with eight.
EKU WCU
18 First Downs 10
34-152 Rushes-Yds. 31-109
18-30-3 Passing 12-18-0
240 Passing Yds. 129
3-24.3 Punts-Avg. 5-48.4
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
10-84 Penalties-Yds. 7-57
EKU 10 7 0 0 17
WCU 7 0 10 3 20
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