CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina rolled up 633 yards of total offense and forced four Citadel turnovers as the Catamounts continued their best start in nearly four decades with a 29-15 victory on Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
The Catamounts are 6-2 and remained tied with Chattanooga for first place in the Southern Conference with a 4-0 league record. The Bulldogs dropped to 2-6 and 0-3 in the SoCon after only its third loss to Western in the past 11 meetings.
The game was played in front of 13,323 on Western's homecoming, the 10th-largest crowd in Whitmire Stadium history.
Citadel freshman B-back
Isiaha Smith turned in the first 100-yard game of his young career with 111 yards on 14 carries.
Aaron Miller followed with 104 yards and both Citadel touchdowns as the Bulldogs put two runners over the century mark for the third time this season.
The Citadel finished with 360 rushing yards and 443 yards of total offense, while the balanced Catamount attack gained 342 yards on the ground and 291 passing yards on 21 of 29 accuracy by Troy Mitchell. Mitchell also rushed for a game-high 131 yards, and Detrez Newsome carried 11 times for 124 yards and scored twice.
The Bulldogs led 8-7 after a wild first half that saw the teams combine for 592 yards but waste several scoring opportunities, largely due to five turnovers.
Western took little time jumping out in front at the start of the third quarter, driving 70 yards on only five plays. A 31-yard reception by Terryon Robinson set up a 24-yard scoring run by Newsome to give the Catamounts a 14-8 lead with just 2:29 expired in the period.
The Citadel appeared poised to go back ahead, but
Cam Jackson was stripped of the ball at the Catamount 26 by Trey Morgan. Western took advantage of the miscue in short order, covering the 74 yards in four plays with Newsome scoring for the second time in the quarter from 38 yards out to make it 21-8 with 1:19 on the clock.
The Bulldogs quickly got back within one score on two big plays by Miller. First he hit
Alex Glover on a 28-yard pass to the Western 26 on the final play of the third quarter, then ran a perfectly executed quarterback draw on 3rd and 11 for a 27-yard score that cut the deficit to 21-15 with still 13:41 to play.
The two touchdowns give Miller 18 in his career and moved him into sole possession of 13th place in school history. He entered the game as the second-leading rusher in the SoCon with an average of 91.3 yards per contest.
The Bulldogs forced a punt and drove to the Western 37 where they faced a 4th and 3. The offense remained on the field to try to extend the drive, but a false start forced The Citadel into a punting situation. The Catamounts got the ball at their own 15 and went the distance, with the final two runs of 36 and 20 yards by Darius Ramsey sealing the Western victory.
The teams traded turnovers to start the game with redshirt freshman
DeVonta Delaney picking off a pass deep in Citadel territory.
Malik Diggs added another interception later in the half for the Bulldogs while Morgan grabbed an interception for Western.
The three interceptions came after there had not been one – for or against The Citadel – in any of its first seven games this year.
Western got on the scoreboard on its second possession on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Sexton. The Citadel answered with a 68-yard drive that ended with Miller's first score of the game from five yards out. The Bulldogs lined up in a fake formation on the extra point, and
Dane Anderson took the snap and found Glover for the two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead with 47 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Citadel's second turnover of the half was probably its costliest of the game. Smith broke free up the middle and raced 53 yards to the Western one, but Morgan knocked the ball out from behind and the Catamounts recovered in the end zone.
Western then drove to The Citadel 15, but Mitchell missed a wide open Sexton in the end zone and Richard Sigmon missed a 32-yard field goal. The Catamounts reached Bulldog territory twice more in the half, but Diggs ended one drive with his interception, and a pass to Robinson from The Citadel one was ruled incomplete in the back of the end zone as the clock ran out.
The Bulldogs stay on the road next Saturday for a 4 p.m. game at Mercer in the first meeting between the teams since 1931. Western hosts Chattanooga in the battle for first place in the SoCon at 2 p.m.
