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 Senior Eddie Cohen is 30 yards shy of tying former Catamount standout, Gerald Harp, for the single-season receiving record. |
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Nov. 13, 2007
Western Carolina Game Notes vs. #38 Furman
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina head football coach Kent Briggs today spoke with members of the media on the Southern Conference Football Coaches' Weekly Teleconference. He talked about Saturday's season finale against the Furman Paladins, as well as the emotions surrounding Senior Day for the Catamount football team.
Western Carolina trails in the all-time series, 10-22-2, including a 5-10-1 record all-time in Cullowhee, the site of WCU's last two victories in the series. The Catamounts dropped last year's meeting between the two nationally-ranked teams in Greenville, 42-7, preventing WCU from winning back-to-back games in the series. Western dominated the last time the two teams squared off in Cullowhee, winning 41-21, back in 2005.
Senior Eddie Cohen enters his final home game a mere 30 yards shy of tying former Catamount great, Gerald Harp (1977-80) - who will be at Saturday's game in Cullowhee - for the single-season receiving yard record of 1,145 yards back in 1978. Currently with 62 catches for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns, the Hilton Head, S.C., native has posted six-straight, 100-yard receiving games catching touchdown passes in five of those six.
Cohen's first catch on Saturday will tie him for 10th-place on Western's all-time career receptions chart with 138.
Also tracking a single-season record is senior Mike Malone who is just 196 all-purpose yards shy of former Catamount standout, Otis Washington (1985-88), for a season. Washington amassed 2,014 yards in 1988 with Malone entering Saturday with 1,888 yards this season thanks to his second 300-yard plus outing at Appalachian State. Malone has already eclipsed Washingon's single-season kickoff return benchmarks of 1,113 return yards on 48 returns in `88 with 1,154 on 51 entering the season finale.
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Kickoff is set for Noon as WCU will celebrate both Senior Day and Hall of Fame Day with the 1949 Catamount Football team, Dave Bristol and Jim Garrison all inducted into the Hall on Saturday morning at 9:00 am in the first floor Hospitality Room of the Ramsey Center (the event is open to the public).
Saturday's game will be televised by CSS (check local listings for availability) and also broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network. Fans can listen to the game on six radio stations in Western North Carolina including 680 AM WRGC in Sylva; 920 WPTL in Canton; 1480 AM WPFJ "The Dove" in Franklin; 1590 AM WBHN in Bryson City; 1600 AM WTZQ in Hendersonville; and on the flagship station, WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee. Fans can also listen online by logging on to www.CatamountSports.com, www.WWCUFM.com and www.WRGC.com.
Here is an excerpt of Western Carolina head coach Kent Briggs' teleconference:
On Saturday's opponent, the Furman Paladins:
"(Furman) is playing their best football right now. Saturday will be a tremendous challenge for our football team. At the same time, Furman is a great program and it will be a great opportunity for us to finish with something big, with a victory for us. The seniors will be playing their last game and we will play very hard for them, and also the rest of the football team that wants to go out there and turn this program around. They've fought all season to do that.
On Furman's offense:
"Renaldo Gray is an outstanding football player - he is what makes them go. He is playing extremely well, especially these past two weeks. Also, Jerome Felton, he dominated us last year with six touchdowns. I think he is one of the best running backs in the league, him and (Appalachian State's Kevin) Richardson. And of course, we didn't stop Richardson last weekend, and we didn't stop (Felton) last year, so we have got a challenge to stop them from knocking holes in our defense, and that's what he did to us last year."
On Furman's defense:
"Defensively, they're playing very hard. Wallace Artis is great player this year. They have a good defense, but the big thing I've been impressed with Furman is how well, how hard they are playing right now. Just from watching them on film, it looks like they are playing for the playoffs or for a conference championship, and that can be attributed to Coach (Bobby) Lamb and his staff, and their tradition, and their seniors. They are doing a great job of finishing strong and they're playing the best they've played all season."
On playing the last game at home:
"For a senior to finish out his career at home is always big, and it'll be very emotional for them. It will be very emotional for me and for our staff because we have been four and five years with these seniors, and you give as much to a program as these seniors have done, to be at home in front of the home crowd will be very big for them. I am excited for those guys that they get to wear those purple jerseys one more time, I think they'll give us an outstanding performance and I'm excited to coach this game."
On the emotions of the game Saturday:
"It will definitely be emotional. I love this program; and I love the Catamounts; and just seeing our seniors finish strong and our program having one more opportunity to turn it around as far as this season, it will be a very emotional game for us to get it done. Whatever happens, I appreciate the kind of support that our players have given us and how hard our staff has worked."
"Catamount Football is a family and it will be a family deal on Saturday. That's why It'll be very emotional for us. Again, I love this university and I look forward to this program moving in the right direction and great things happening to it over the next several years, which will happen."
