Western Carolina will battle non-conference foe Saturday

The Catamounts have won three straight games and will bring a 5-3 record into the contest. The Flames are 2-5.

WCU and Liberty have split their two previous meetings. The Flames won the only time they played in Cullowhee, 17-10 in 1997.

Liberty has a strong passing attack led by quarterback Biff Parson. He completed 30 of 46 losses for 321 yards in Saturday's 68-37 loss to South Florida. For the season, he has connected on 58.6 percent of his attempts for 1,274 yards.

The Flames' top rusher, Verondre Barnes, has missed most of the past three games with an ankle injury. He has been replaced by Eugene Goodman, who is averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

Liberty's top receivers are Daniel Thomas and Josh Stofle, who have 29 and 20 catches, respectively.

Middle linebacker Kendrick Howard heads the defense. He has 66 tackles, including seven for losses. Tackle Matt Mays has broken up nine passes and blocked a kick.

Western's offense was in high gear Saturday against Virginia Military in a 44-17 romp. The same thing could happen this week as Liberty is yielding 36.6 points per game.

Back to Sports: 11/01/01.