Sept. 17, 2001
The Series
Western Carolina and East Tennessee State are meeting for the 43rd time in the schools' history. On the strength on last year's 39-27 victory, the Cats took 21-20-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Buccaneers.
The teams have had three runs within the series. Western played East Tennessee State in consecutive seasons from 1932-37 with the Bucs winning all six contests. The second run between the two schools occurred from 1948-57 with ETSU holding a 5-4-1 mark over the time span. Now, WCU and East Tennessee will be meeting for the 27th consecutive season, dating back to 1975. The Catamounts have held the upper hand in the most recent run, posting a 17-9 mark. However, the Bucs have won six of the last eight versus the Cats and own an overall mark of 11-9-1 in games played in Johnson City.
With the cancellation of last weekend's games across the Southern Conference, this meeting will additionally mark the opening of SoCon action for both teams. Western has an impressive 18-7 record in league openers since joining the Southern Conference in the 1976 season.
CATS GET NATIONAL CONSIDERATION
After a 15-6 victory over Mars Hill in the season opener, Western Carolina earned points in the poll released by The Sports Network, one of the two major polls in I-AA football. Following a solid outing in Louisville, the Cats earned more votes by the nation's voters. (continued on page 3)
In addition to the three SoCon teams ranked among the nation's elite (Georgia Southern-1st, Furman-4th and Appalachian State-5th), Western joins Wofford and East Tennessee in "others receiving votes." To make the list, a team must have a minimum of five points. Western did not receive votes in the first two polls released by The Sports Network.
Scouting The East Tennessee State
East Tennessee State enters this game with an 1-1 record, falling, 31-0, at Pittsburgh in the season opener and beating Gardner-Webb, 30-17, two weeks ago. The Bucs were scheduled to play at VMI last weekend, but the game was postponed due to the recent national tragedy.
East Tennessee State possesses a potent passing attack, led by combination of quarterback Matt Wilhjelm and receiver Cecil Moore. Wilhjelm ranks third in the SoCon with his 164.5 yards per game average, while Moore leads the league with his 87.0 receiving yards per game average. Moore has accounted for 11 of ETSU's 24 pass completions (45.8 percent) and 52.8 percent of the team's passing yards (174 of ETSU's 329).
Defensively, the Bucs are lead by Marco Bryant, who has 20 tackles in two games. Tony Tiller, who has 13 stops, leads the SoCon with two interceptions. Below are East Tennessee State's statistical leaders:
RUSHING G Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Scott Carter 2 28 100 1 99 3.5 2 15 49.5 Terry Copeland 2 21 101 7 94 4.5 0 19 47.0 Andrew Nuckolls 2 9 37 7 30 3.3 0 14 15.0PASSING G Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Long Avg/G Matt Wilhjelm 2 118.46 43- 24- 2 55.8 329 1 49 164.5
RECEIVING G No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G Cecil Moore 2 11 174 15.8 1 49 87.0 Charvin Clark 2 4 52 13.0 0 23 26.0 Nick Hendrickson 2 3 50 16.7 0 30 25.0
PUNTING No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd Aaron Bass 11 427 38.8 56 0 1 3 0
Tackles Leaders Sacks Leaders Ints Leaders Marco Bryant 20 Justin Reinier 1 Tony Tiller 2 Tony Tiller 13 Mike Cornegay 1 Andrew Foerster 13 Brandon Calton 1 Justin Reiner 12 Scott Brumet 11
Quarterback Update
As has been the case the in the first two games, Western Carolina will play both Brian Gaither and Pat Cilento at quarterback versus East Tennessee State. Head Coach Bill Bleil has indicated that Cilento, a junior-college transfer, will get the first snap versus the Bucs.
Coach Bleil is pleased with their progress, saying, "Both quarterbacks have made great strides and are getting better each week."
Gaither started each of the first two contests. The sophomore played the first quarter versus Mars Hill, while Cilento worked most of the second. Gaither returned in the third and remained the entire second half because Bleil liked the way he handled himself and the way the led the team.
At Louisville, Gaither only played three plays before leaving the contest with an injury. He had the wind knocked out of him when he completed a 12-yard pass to Lamont Seward for a first down. Cilento, who was scheduled to come in near the start of the second quarter, effectively moved the team in his early stages and remained at the helm in order to keep continuity.
The Citadel Game Postponed Until Nov. 17
Due to the recent national tragedy, the Southern Conference decided to postpone all league competitions for the weekend of Sept. 14-16. With that, the Western Carolina-Citadel football game that was scheduled for Sept. 15 in Cullowhee was postponed until November 17. The game will still be played at E.J. Whitmire Stadium and the Catamount Club will move its activities to that weekend as well.
The time for the game has yet to be determined. Also, there has been no announcement concerning other WCU athletic competitions scheduled for Sept. 14-16. The volleyball team was to play a pair of SoCon matches on the road (Davidson and UNCG), the soccer team was set to play at Howard and the men's golf team was to play at a tournament hosted by Elon.
In a strange twist of fate, the 1999 Western-Citadel game was postponed due to Hurricane Floyd. The game was to be played in Cullowhee, was to be Western's third game of the season and was to be the teams' SoCon season opener. Like this year, the game was played at the end of the season (Nov. 20). WCU won the game 24-17.
Fryer Leads Defense
Junior Justin Fryer has been a key in WCU's defensive improvement during the early going, leading the team with 20 tackles and has added an interception, three pass break-ups and a fumble recovery to date.
Fryer was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Catamounts to a 15-6 victory over Mars Hill in the season opener.
Fryer recorded seven tackles, recovered a fumble and had two pass break-ups against the Lions. Also, with the Cats clinging to a 15-6 lead late in the fourth quarter, Fryer picked off a pass at the one-yard line to help preserve the victory.
At Louisville, Fryer once again posted impressive numbers, leading the team with 13 tackles. He helped the Cats hold one of the nation's top quarterbacks, Dave Ragone, to only 218 passing yards - 100 yards less than his season average - and did not allow the Cardinals to have a passing TD, marking only the second time in the four-year era of Louisville head coach John L. Smith.
Fryer is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign, ranking 13th (tied) nationally and leading the SoCon with seven interceptions. He additionally earned second team All-Southern Conference honors.
Fryer's seven picks in 2000 was the most since Miles Nicholson came away with eight (in four more games) in helping WCU reach the finals of the 1983 NCAA I-AA championship game.
Fryer has nine interceptions for his career and only needs three more to enter the school's all-time top 10. David Rathburn (1971-74) is Western's career leader in interceptions with 23.
Bryant Matches TD Total
Senior tailback Donnie Bryant has been responsible for all three of WCU's touchdowns this season. Bryant additionally leads the Cats with 168 rushing yards on 35 attempts this season. Amazingly, Bryant has already equalled his TD production of last season, getting three rushing scores on 89 attempts in 2000.
At Louisville, he tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter with a seven-yard rush. In the season opener, he had TD rushes of 13 and 5 yards, compiling 116 yards in the contest.
Bryant Hits 100
Senior tailback Donnie Bryant rushed for 116 yards and the only two touchdowns scored in the contest to lead Western Carolina to 15-6 victory over Mars Hill.
Bryant carried the ball 22 times and averaged an 5.3 yards per rush. It marked the second time he has broken the 100-yard plateau in his two-year career as running back, gaining 120 yards on 23 carries last season versus East Tennessee.
Not only did he score the only two TDs in the game, he was the key factor in the scoring drives. Western put together a seven-play, 61-yard drive to take an 8-0 advantage at the break. The scoring drive was capped by a 13-yard run by Bryant, who had four rushes for 38 yards in the possession. The Catamounts extended their lead to 15-0 late in the third quarter, using 7:24 on the clock during a 12-play, 77-yard scoring drive. Once again the drive was capped by a Bryant score, a five-yard rush on an option to the left side. Bryant shouldered most of the workload leading the score with eight rushes for 42 yards, including five consecutive rushes at the end of the drive.
Boateng Breaks 1,000
Tailback Fred Boateng, who had 67 yards on 18 attempts versus Mars Hill, eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for his career.
Boateng led WCU with 80 rushing yards on 25 attempts at Louisville to give the sophomore 1,081 for his career and an impressive 5.1 yards per rush average for his 212 career attempts.
Boateng needs 131 yards to move into the WCU all-time career rushing leaders list, which would move him ahead of Ken Morgan (1,211 yards from 1959-61) for 13th.
Banks Reaches Century Mark
With his six-yard reception at Louisville, junior Michael Banks now has 100 receptions for 1,493 yards in his brief career.
Banks only has four catches for 45 yards through two games this season. However, his slow start should not be a point of concern. Through two games, he only had three receptions for 22 yards as a freshman and, last season, he only had four receptions for 49 yards. Both seasons he went on to lead the team in receptions, receiving yards and TD receptions.
Banks needs 82 receptions and 386 yards to pass Eagle Moss for 10th on both the WCU career receptions and receiving yards lists.
Ball Control
Thanks to its strong rushing attack, Western Carolina held a nearly 12-minute advantage in time of possession (35:57 to 24:03) over Louisville. Western had three drives of over 12 plays, including an 18-play drive on its last possession of the third quarter. The Cats additionally had five drives lasting over four minutes. WCU held the ball over eight minutes in each quarter and had the ball for 10:01 in the third period alone.
Western leads the Southern Conference in time of possession, holding the ball for an average 34:01 per contest.
Defense Among The Best
The Western Carolina defense held one of the NCAA I-A's top passers to only 218 yards through he air and no passing TDs. Dave Ragone entered the game seventh in I-A in total offense and averaged 320 yards per game with six TD passes. Also, the game marked only the second time in four-year John L. Smith era that Louisville did not have a passing TD.
After a dominating performance versus Mars Hill to go along with its efforts at Louisville, the Catamount defense ranks among the SoCon's best in several categories, including:
Category No. NCAA SoCon Total Defense 277.5 33rd 2nd Pass Efficiency Defense 95.7 33rd 2nd Rushing Defense 108.5 40th-t 2nd Scoring Defense 18.5 42nd 3rd Passing Defense 169.0 45th 3rdTRUE TO FORM
Three true freshmen-Tyler Norman, Caleb Reel and Teddy Burgis- have seen action in each of Western's first two game.
Norman, the starting will linebacker, is fifth on the team with 10 tackles. Reel is the team's long snapper and has worked his way to number two on the depth chart at defensive tackle. Burgis, who was slowed in the first contest after suffering an eye injury prior to the game, saw his playing time increase as a back-up free safety and nickel back.
While not true freshmen, several other Catamounts are getting their first taste of collegiate action in the early season. Included in the list is sophomore quarterback Brian Gaither, sophomore mike linebacker Rod Dunlap, sophomore defensive back/kick returner Randy Thompson, sophomore tailback Manny DeShauteurs, redshirt freshman kicker Shon Rowser, redshirt freshman will linebacker Brent Silver and redshirt freshman offensive guard Morris Sanders.
Also, quarterback Pat Cilento is seeing his first action in the NCAA ranks, playing his freshman and sophomore years at Montgomery Junior College.
Fourth is Fine
Western Carolina may be at its best when faced with a fourth-down situation. The Catamounts converted 3-of-5 fourth down situations at Louisville, twice on WCU's scoring drive. Western leads the league in fourth-down efficiency, converting 60 percent of its chances. When forced to punt, Stanton Horne has proved to be an effective weapon with a 40.2 average.
