Oct. 8, 2001
THE SERIES Western Carolina and Wofford will be meeting for the 24th time in a series which dates back to 1952. The Terriers won that initial meeting, 20-13 in Spartanburg, and claimed victories in each of the first seven games of the series.
Western was able to break into the win column with back-to-back victories in 1971 (31-13) and 1974 (21-9). Wofford then won consecutive games in 1975 and 1976 before the Catamounts reeled off eight consecutive wins spanning from 1977-96.
Since Wofford began Southern Conference play in 1997, the Terriers have won each of the four league meetings between the two schools. However, Western owns a 7-4 record versus Wofford in Cullowhee.
WCU ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Brett Miller
WCU's first All-Southern Conference golfer in 1984 and the first Catamount to earn all-conference honors in three consecutive seasons- 1984, 1985, and 1986. One of only seven Southern Conference golfers to gain all-conference honors in three seasons in the league's 80 year history. Captain, MVP and team medalist for the '86 WCU team that finished second in the Southern Conference Tournament, the school's best finish to date. He set a school record for the lowest 54-hole total in the conference tournament and was a top five finisher in two conference championship tournaments. He won a dozen amateur tournaments while a WCU undergraduate. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from WCU. He is widely known for his restoration of western North Carolina golf courses, active involvement and development of WCU junior golf, and unparalleled support of WCU's golf program.
Bruce Peterson
One of the most versatile athletes in WCU history as he lettered and started in three sports followed by a hall of fame high school coaching career. He started at three positions - quarterback, halfback and defensive back - for the 1959-61 football team. He was a frequent starting guard on the 1960-63 basketball teams and helped lead the '63 Catamounts to the NAIA National Championship game. He was the No. 1 singles player on the '62 and '63 tennis team. In addition, he was two-time football team captain, two-time tennis team captain, captain of the '63 basketball team and was player-coach of the '63 tennis team. As a high school coach, he won eight conference championships at Asheville High, was selected to coach in the East-West All-Star and Shrine Bowl games, was named North Carolina High School Football Coach of the Year twice, and elected to the North Carolina High School Athletics Association Hall of Fame. He retired after 30 years as a coach, teacher and public school administrator.
Karen Sanders Peterson
The only female to compete on a men's varsity team and earn a varsity letter in the history of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). She made the WCU men's varsity tennis team as a sophomore and played on No. 6 singles. As a junior, she moved up to No. 3 singles competition and played on the No. 2 doubles team. She saw action as the No. 1 singles player as a senior, while playing mainly No. 2 singles and was a member of the No. 1 doubles team. To date, she is the only female to be awarded a varsity letter for participation on a WCU men's team. Her unique accomplishments were recognized nationally by Sports Illustrated "Faces In the Crowd" section in a 1964 edition. This Native American finished second in North Carolina's first women's intercollegiate championship tournament in Chapel Hill in 1964. She is a retired Georgia public school teacher.
Jack Leggett
The winningest baseball coach in WCU history upon induction with 302 wins in nine seasons. He served as head baseball coach from the 1983 through the 1991 seasons before leaving for Clemson University. He guided WCU to five consecutive Southern Conference Tournament championships followed by five trips to the NCAA Championship Tournament, 1985-89. Only one of his nine teams finished lower than second place in the Southern Conference standings with five regular season championships. His teams posted a 23-7 record in conference tournament play. Five of his teams were nationally ranked during regular season play and two finished in the top 30 nationally. He was named NCAA Division I Atlantic Region Baseball Coach of the Year in 1987 and was appointed to the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee in 1989. 35 of his players were named first team All-Southern Conference, six were named conference player of the year, six were All-America selections, and 25 signed professional contracts.
JESSUP SETS SoCon RECORD Cornerback B.J. Jessup established a Southern Conference and Western Carolina record for longest fumble return when he scooped up a fumble - caused by Catamount linebacker Rod Dunlap - and sprinted 85 yards for a touchdown versus top-ranked Georgia Southern. The previous SoCon mark was held by VMI's Richard Holland, who returned a fumble 73 yards versus The Citadel in 1999. Jessup currently has 12 tackles on the year and one interception, which he returned 45 yards to help WCU preserve a win over Mars Hill.
The last time a Catamount returned a fumble for a score was when current junior linebacker Mitch Miller returned a fumble 37 yards for a TD in the 1999 season opener versus Mars Hill.
SCOUTING WOFFORD After facing two of the nation's top four teams in Furman and Georgia Southern on consecutive weeks, Western Carolina faces another stiff test as it hosts Wofford. The Terriers have hung around the nation's top 25 all season, ranking as high as 24th nationally in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll. Wofford (2-2) enters the game with wins over Charleston Southern (35-10) and VMI (59-14), while falling at nationally-ranked Clemson (38-14) and at Chattanooga (29-26).
Like the previous two weeks, the Terriers feature one of nation's top rushing offenses, averaging 288.8 yards on the ground. Wofford's has three back to average over 50 yards per game, led by Melvin Jones's 76.5. Travis Wilson, who ranks second on the team in rushing, has proved to be an efficient quarterback, completing 55.6 percent of his passes for 486 yards. He has three passing TDs with no interceptions in 45 attempts. No Terrier receiver has more than 10 catches, but Isaac Goodpaster ranks second in the SoCon with his 63.2 receiving yards per game average, catching eight passes for 253 yards and two of the team's three passing scores.
Defensively, Wofford is led by All-SoCon nose guard Nathan Fuqua, who ranked among the league leaders last season with 18 tackles for losses. Linebacker Robert Mathis paces the team with 36 tackles and four sacks, while ranking second with one interception. Roland Harris, a four-year starter at defensive back, lead the team with two interceptions. Below are Wofford's statistical leaders:
RUSHING G Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Melvin Jones 4 65 317 11 306 4.7 2 27 76.5 Travis Wilson 4 53 296 78 218 4.1 1 26 54.5 J.R. McNair 4 39 212 87 204 5.2 4 24 51.0
PASSING G Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Long Avg/G Travis Wilson 4 168.3 45- 25- 0 55.6 486 3 52 121.5 Nick Haughey 3 128.4 6- 5- 1 83.3 56 0 18 18.7
RECEIVING G No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G Isaac Goodpaster 4 8 253 31.6 2 52 63.2 Marcus Gilmore 4 6 72 12.0 0 26 18.0 Jesse McCoy 4 5 76 15.2 0 43 19.0
PUNTING No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd Jimmy Miner 18 744 41.3 50 2 0 6 0
Tackles Leaders Sacks Leaders Ints Leaders Robert Mathis 36 Robert Mathis 4 Roland Harris 2 Matt Nelson 32 Anthony Jones 4 Robert Mathis 1 Roland Harris 23 Hondre McNeil 3 Fred Washington 1 Al Clark 20 Nathan Fuqua 3 Brandon Ladd 1 Hondre McNeil 20 John Pressley 2
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE SoCon After facing fourth-ranked Furman and top-ranked Georgia Southern on consecutive weeks and playing a I-A Louisville team that was ranked as high as 25th nationally, Western Carolina has the Southern Conference's toughest rated schedule to date according to the most recent Sagarin Ratings. The Catamounts schedule additionally ranks as the fifth toughest in I-AA and the 106th toughest among the I-A and I-AA's 242 schools. Only Massachusetts (51) Richmond (60),
Northeastern (69) and Brown (105) have tougher rated I-AA schedules than the Catamounts to this point in the season.
JEFF CHAMBERS NAMED TO 2001 AFCA GOOD WORKS TEAM Jeff Chambers, a senior defensive tackle at Western Carolina, has been named to the 2001 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team.
Chambers is one of 22 players across the country to be honored for his dedication and commitment to community service. Honorees are additionally selected based on their sincere concern and reliability, while also having made a favorable impression on the organizations with which they are involved.
The AFCA named 11 student-athletes to the NCAA I-A team and 11 players to a combined team from Divisions I-AA, II, III and NAIA. Chambers' selection additionally marks the second consecutive season a Catamount has been honored, as former running back Tracy Biggs was selected to the 2000 AFCA Good Works Team for starting a Big Brother mentor program.
Chambers spent this past summer as Residence Life Coordinator for WCU's Upward Bound Math & Science Program, supervising each high school student's dorm life while staying on campus. He has maintained the Big Brother mentor program started by Biggs, while being a volunteer with the Special Olympics. Chambers participated in the "Get on the Bus" campaign to rally support for a state bond, which would benefit residence halls in the University of North Carolina system. He prepared and served food at the Community Table of Sylva, which provides free meals to people of need in Jackson County, as well as reading to students at "Dr. Seuss Day" at Cullowhee Valley Elementary School and speaking to students at Cherokee Middle School students who are interested in pursuing athletics.
"If ever a young man is deserving of this honor, Jeff Chambers is," WCU head coach Bill Bleil said. "He personifies what a student-athlete should be. He is a great leader that positively affects everyone around him."
THE CITADEL 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 will be played at 2:00 p.m.
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). Western Carolina won the rescheduled game, 24-17.
QUARTERBACK SHUFFLE As has been the case the in the first five games, Western Carolina will play both Brian Gaither and Pat Cilento at quarterback versus Wofford. Head Coach Bill Bleil has yet to indicate a starter, but will probably stick to the formula of the early going. Each quarterback will log approximately three series at the helm. After that time, if the team is playing well under one, that quarterback will remain under center until the end of the game.
Gaither started each of the first two contests and again versus Furman. 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.
At ETSU, Cilento took the reigns first, completing 6-of-11 passes. Gaither relieved Cilento midway through the second quarter and led the Cats to a field goal in the closing seconds prior to halftime. Gaither completed his series in the third quarter, leading WCU to a touchdown to start the second half. The Catamount offense began to click, holding the ball for 14 minutes longer than ETSU in the second half, which led Coach Bleil to stay with Gaither.
Versus Furman, both quarterbacks had bright spots. On Cilento's first series at the helm, he led the team to a 20-play, 80-yard scoring drive that consumed just over 10 minutes on the game clock. Later in the contest, Gaither led the Cats to a four-play, 77-yard scoring drive. He was 4-of-4 passing during the drive and hit Brenden Roy on a 32-yard scoring strike. It marked the first passing TD in Gaither's career and the first by a WCU QB this season.
Cilento earned his second start of the season when WCU visited top-ranked Georgia Southern. The junior had one of his most productive days, rushing for 43 yards on 11 attempts to rank second on the team and reaching triple digits for the first time with 108 passing yards. Cilento additionally threw his first TD while in a WCU uniform, hitting Walter Gary on a 12-yard rollout to give the Cats an early 7-0 lead.
Statistically, the two quarterbacks have similar numbers. Cilento has completed 52.5 percent of his passes (31-of-59) for 383 yards and a TD, while Gaither has completed 49.1 percent of his passes (27-of-55) for 310 yards and a TD.
TIME IS ON OUR SIDE Thanks to its solid rushing attack, which ranks 37th in the nation and fourth in the Southern Conference, Western Carolina leads the Southern Conference in time of possession, holding the ball for 33:50. The only game Western did not win the time of possession battle was at Georgia Southern, as the Eagles held the ball for 30:05 to WCU's 29:55.
On the strength on a 20-play, 10-minute scoring drive, WCU held a nearly 10-minute advantage over Furman (34:52 to 25:08). Western had seen its dominance in the second half, most notably the third quarter. However, versus Furman, the Paladins only had the ball for eight of the game's first 30 minutes.
At ETSU, the Catamounts held a 13 minute advantage in time of possession. While the Bucs held a one minute advantage through the first half , Western dominated the third quarter, holding the ball for all but 2:02 of the 15-minute period. During the third quarter, WCU did most of its damage in the opening drive, marching 80 yards in 11 plays (5:25) for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, the Cats used 5:49 off the clock in a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive.
At Louisville, Western Carolina held a nearly 12-minute advantage in time of possession (35:57 to 24:03) over the Cardinals. 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 began the season holding a nearly six-minute advantage over Mars Hill in time of possession. Again, the third period marked WCU's dominance, holding the ball for 9:05 to the Lions' 5:55.
THIRD BECOMES FIRST Western Carolina turned a third down situation into a new set of downs 10 of its 16 times at ETSU. Of the six failed attempts, Western would end up converting a subsequent fourth down situation twice, made two field goals and only punted once. Western's other failed attempt also resulted in a subsequent failed fourth down attempt.
The Catamounts currently rank third in the Southern Conference in the category with a 39.2 percent success rate (29-of-74). Wofford leads the league (43.1) and Georgia Southern in second (40.4).
FOURTH IS FINE Western Carolina may be at its best when faced with a fourth-down situation. The Catamounts converted 3-of-4 fourth down situations at Georgia Southern. Against Furman, the Cats were 3-of-5 on fourth down, one of which kept alive a 20-play scoring drive. The Cats additionally converted 3-of-5 times at Louisville - twice on WCU's scoring drive - and was successful on 2-of-3 attempts at ETSU - once on each scoring drive.
Western leads the league with 11 successful fourth down conversions. Its 64.7 percent ranks third in the SoCon behind Georgia Southern (5-of-7, 71.4) and Wofford (6-of-9, 66.7).
FYRER CONTINUES TO LEAD DEFENSE Junior Justin Fryer once again is putting together an all-conference type season. A second team selection last season after leading the SoCon with seven interceptions, he leads the team and ranks among the league leaders with 52 tackles. The free safety has added two interceptions, 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.
His solid play continued at East Tennessee State, recording eight tackles and an interception. Versus fourth-ranked Furman, Fryer logged 12 stops, one shy of his season high. The following week, versus top-ranked Georgia Southern, he once again posted 12 stops, including a season-high 10 solo tackles. His performance versus the Eagles was "perhaps his best overall game in defending the run," according to defensive backs coach Brent Pry.
Fryer's seven picks in 2000, which ranked 13th (tied) nationally, 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 10 interceptions for his career and only needs two more to enter the school's all-time top 10. David Rathburn (1971-74) is Western's career leader in interceptions with 23.
LEACH ALSO A LEADER In addition to Justin Fryer's outstanding play, strong safety Pat Leach has been one of WCU's defensive leaders.
At Georgia Southern, he tallied seven tackles and recovered a fumble. With that, he became the first Catamount to record a fumble recovery and a caused fumble this season, forcing a Mars Hill turnover in the season opener.
Leach ranks fourth on the team with 36 stops, while leading the team with five tackles for losses and five pass break-ups. In his first two seasons combined, Leach only had four tackles losses and four PBUs.
Leach had his best overall game to date in helping WCU defeat East Tennessee on the road with nine tackles, including one for a loss of 11 yards, and three pass break-ups. Leach's success should not come as a surprise as he ranked third on the team in tackles last season, playing mostly at will linebacker.
YOUTH MOVEMENT AT LINEBACKER Western Carolina does not have one senior linebacker listed on its two deep and features two starters with no previous college experience. However, the corps is performing like tested veterans.
The "grey beard" of the group is junior Seth Hanssen. The starting sam linebacker ranks second on the team with 38 tackles. He has tallied six tackles in each of his last two games, while having his best game to date at ETSU, recording a season-high 12 stops versus the Bucs. Of the 12, 10 were solo tackles to tie a career high.
True freshman Tyler Norman is coming off a nine-tackle effort at Georgia Southern, while getting a career-high eight solo stops. The previous week, he logged a career-high 10 total hits versus Furman. Norman ranks fifth on the team with 34 stops.
Sophomore middle linebacker Rod Dunlap, who sat out last season, has just missed reaching double-digits three times. He began the season with eight tackles versus Mars Hill, while tallying a season-high nine this past week versus Furman. He additionally had eight stops at ETSU. At Georgia Southern he was credited with seven tackles, including one for a loss, and causing fumble which led directly to a WCU touchdown. Dunlap has 37 tackles on the season to rank third on the team, with three TFLs, one PBU, one quarterback pressure and one caused fumble.
Rounding out WCU's linebacking corps is junior Mitch Miller, junior Mitch Hall and redshirt freshman Brent Silver. Also, junior Antonio Ponder is starting to see playing time after missing most of the early season with an injury.
THE SPICE OF LIFE Michale Spicer had his coming out party in the victory at East Tennessee. The sophomore defensive end was credited with a pair of sacks for losses of 18 yards to mark his first two sacks of the season. Spicer additionally registered a sack versus Furman to give him three for the season.
Last week, the NCAA released it first defensive statistics report, which saw Spicer ranked 22nd (tied) nationally with an average of one sack per game. In limited time last season, Spicer led the Cats with six sacks. While he only tallied 20 tackles on the season, nine stops were for losses.
BOATENG NEEDS 84 YARDS TO BREAK 1,500 Tailback Fred Boateng, who had 67 yards on 18 attempts versus Mars Hill, eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for his career. Four games later, he only needs 84 yards to reach 1,500 for his career.
Boateng has been WCU's leading rusher in each of the last four games, getting 80 yards on 25 attempts at Louisville, 186 yards on 33 attempts at East Tennessee State, 52 yards on 16 attempts versus Furman and 97 yards on 22 attempts at Georgia Southern. Also versus the Eagles, he reeled off a 43-yard run to help the Cats take an early 7-0 lead.
The sophomore now has 1,416 in his brief 16-game career to rank 12th on the schools' all-time rushing list. He sports an impressive 5.0 yards per rush average for his 283 career attempts. He has two of the school's top 15 single-game rushing efforts, collecting 213 yards versus Georgia Southern in 2000 for sixth. This season, he had the 15th-best single-game performance as he was tabbed SoCon Offensive Player of the Week after his 186 yards and two touchdowns at East Tennessee State.
Boateng needs 205 yards to move into 11th on the WCU all-time career rushing leaders list and pass Herb Cole (1,620 yards from 1972-75).
BANKS REACHES CENTURY MARK With his six-yard reception at Louisville, junior Michael Banks accomplished a milestone in getting his 100th career reception.
After a slow start in 2001, entering the ETSU game with only four catches for 45 yards, Banks showed his all-conference form in the past three games, hauling in 14 passes for 213 yards (and average of 71 yards per game and 15.2 yards per catch). Versus the Bucs he caught six passes for 70 yards. More important than the quantity of receptions, his quality was equally impressive. In the final seconds of the first half, he caught a key 29-yard pass to set up a field goal prior to halftime. Also, on WCU's first touchdown drive, he had a 16-yard reception on third and 10 to keep the drive alive.
He also sparked a scoring drive versus Furman, catching a pass for 11 yards on WCU's four-play scoring drive late in the contest. At Georgia Southern, he had three receptions for 94 yards, marking the seventh time in his 26-game career he has tallied more than 90 yards.
Banks has 18 catches for 258 yards to lead the team this season after leading the Cats in receptions, receiving yards and TD receptions the previous two seasons.
Banks, with 114 career catches for 1,706 yards, needs 18 receptions and 173 yards to pass Eagle Moss for 10th on both the WCU career receptions and receiving yards lists.
WONDERFUL WALTER Senior captain Walter Gary is one of, if not the, most versatile athletes on the Catamount offense. The fullback ranks third on the team in rushing (11 carries for 57 yards) and third on the team in receiving (nine catches for 64 yards).
At Georgia Southern, Gary capped an 80-yard scoring drive on Western's first possession with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Pat Cilento. In addition to his versatility, he showed his athleticism by leaping over an Eagle defender to score his first receiving TD since his sophomore season.
In addition to clearing the way for current backs Boateng and Bryant, as well as current NFL running back Brad Hoover, Gary sports a career rushing average of 4.5 yards per rush (362 yards on 81 attempts).
BRYANT MATCHES TD TOTAL Senior tailback Donnie Bryant has been responsible for four of Western Carolina's nine touchdowns this season. Bryant, with 24 points and an average of 4.8 points per game, ranks seventh (tied) in the SoCon for scoring TDs. Amazingly, with those four scores, Bryant has already passed his TD production of last season, getting three rushing scores on 89 attempts in 2000. This season, Bryant has 61 attempts for 290 yards.
Bryant capped WCU's longest scoring drive of the season with a two-yard plunge versus Furman. 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.
