BLUE HOSE HEAD to the MOUNTAINS - with game article.
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Fresh off the team’s first victory of the 2022 season a week ago at Bailey Memorial Stadium over Virginia University of Lynchburg, the Presbyterian College football squad turns to the road once more this weekend to renew a long-time series with Western Carolina in the third and final non-conference bout of the fall.
Opponents every year from 1965-1976 in a series that dates all the way back to 1950, the two Carolina foes will meet on Sept. 17 both touting a 1-1 record after the Catamounts fell to ACC representative Georgia Tech last weekend. Kickoff in Cullowhee at E.J. Whitmire Stadium is slotted for 3:30 p.m., broadcasted live via ESPN+.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Presbyterian (1-1, 0-0 PFL) at Western Carolina (1-1, 0-0 SOCON)
WHERE: E.J. Whitmire Stadium (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: 3:30 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: Sidearm
RADIO: WSPG (Ryan Clary & Tyler Shuggart)
TWITTER: @BlueHoseFtball
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | Western Carolina Notes | PFL Notes
Opponent Profile
• Western Carolina will open up their 2022 home schedule versus the Blue Hose on Saturday, having progressed to a 1-1 record thus far in back-to-back road matchups with Charleston Southern and ACC foe Georgia Tech.
• After starting off their campaign in impressive fashion with a 52-38 triumph over the Buccaneers, WCU closed the opening quarter holding a 14-14 tie with GT before the Yellow Jackets ultimately pulled away for a 35-17 final difference on the scoreboard in Atlanta.
• Catamount quarterback Carlos Davis, completing nearly 70% of his pass attempts in the Power 5 matchup, went for 233 yards through the air last weekend with a pair of TD's in the aforementioned opening frame. He added 38 rushing yards in the Peach State to bring his two-game all-purpose total to 732 yards.
• Terrence Horne and Toler Keigley made the most of their two snags against Georgia Tech, each of them landing in the end zone for 71 total yards to back up Desmond Reid's individual 65-yard evening on four catches.
• Through two games, Western Carolina has put together 503 yards of total offense per contest, converting 46% of their third-down scenarios while scoring a touchdown in five out of six chances inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
Last Time Out
• Bouncing back from an opening-weekend loss to Austin Peay with an eight-point W over Virginia University of Lynchburg last Saturday, the Blue Hose opened up their home slate with a gritty performance amidst consistent precipitation by scoring a TD in the final three quarters.
• Redshirt-junior QB Nate Hayden and rookie receiver Dominic Kibby proved to be a combo that the Dragons couldn't stop, as the former tossed for 253 passing yards on 110 of them to PC's leading catcher through two appearances.
• Gathering 24 first downs on 443 yards of total offense, PC was lifted to their first victory of the Englehart era behind another career-high 55 receiving yards from freshman Shawn Lodge and the first two touchdown catches in tight end Worth Warner's Presbyterian tenure during the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
PFL Outlook
• Tomorrow’s trip to Cullowhee will serve as the last contest outside of Pioneer Football League action for the rest of the way involving coach Englehart’s group, with the remaining eight games against league opponents. The first of those meetings will take place at Bailey Memorial on Sept. 24 in the annual Battle for the 1919 Cup between the Blue Hose and rival Davidson.
• Four other PFL programs picked up a victory alongside PC last Saturday as Englehart grabbed his first W in Clinton over the Dragons. Kibby ended the weekend as one of only three receivers in the conference to tally a 100-yard day in receptions, beginning the 20th season of play at Bailey Memorial with Presbyterian’s 54th win at the venue since its opening in 2002.
Series History
• Originally a yearly event between the Blue Hose and the Catamounts, PC dominated the first decade of the series with a victory in eight of the first nine meetings through the 1969 season. Altogether, the blue and white outscored WCU by the lofty margin of 204-92 approaching the 1970’s, where Western Carolina began to assume control of the series from there.
• Awaiting Saturday’s kickoff, either side has taken down the other nine times since that first meeting 72 years ago. After a long hiatus, the two programs returned to competition amongst themselves in 2007 when the Blue Hose climbed to the NCAA’s Division I ranks. Outlasting the Catamounts in 2014 by a 19-14 clip at home, Presbyterian was bested by WCU in their last trip the following year, 33-21.
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Visiting E.J. Whitmire Stadium for the first time since 2015 to renew a once-annual nonconference series, the Presbyterian College football team was bested by the Catamounts of Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon by a final clip of 77-21.
Hanging tough with WCU for the majority of the opening half before the home side began to pull away, the Blue Hose duplicated their efforts from the previous weekend’s win over Virginia University of Lynchburg in that they managed one touchdown in the final three stanzas. The Catamounts effectively broke what was a 9-9 all-time record between the two programs in what served as the first meeting in the series in the last seven years.
FINAL SCORE: Western Carolina, 77 – Presbyterian, 21
RECORDS: Presbyterian (1-2), Western Carolina (2-1)
LOCATION: E.J. Whitmire Stadium (Cullowhee, N.C.)
OPENING KICK:
- After slinging for 253 yards one week ago in the W over the Dragons, redshirt-junior quarterback Nate Hayden progressed through the entire first quarter in Cullowhee without an incomplete pass in six attempts as PC found the end zone on the third play of the 2nd with a QB scramble.
- Hayden closed the evening with 215 yards of total offense (188 of which came from his right arm), finding classmate Jalen Jones for 49 yards and Dominic Kibby for 42 more. As a whole, the Blue Hose gathered 288 yards on 14 first down movements, eclipsing the 100-yard mark on the ground for the second straight time.
- Possessing the football for 33 minutes of total game-time, Presbyterian never once turned the ball over to Western Carolina, producing three sacks and four tackles for a loss on the defensive side of the field.
- Tossing his fourth touchdown of the fall after running for his first in two separate frames, Hayden’s 14 points both passing and rushing opened the door for true freshman QB Tyler Wesley to take over late in the contest, promptly rushing for 36 yards on nine attempts with his first collegiate score to boot.
- Both Alex Herriott and Braydin Samuels accumulated eight tackles, the latter doing so in his first game action of the young season. Next to Herriott’s second sack of the semester, Bradley Russ-Martin and Joshua Sheppard joined the sophomore by stopping the WCU quarterback behind the line of scrimmage for a total loss of nine yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Hayden loudly made his presence felt against the Catamounts by completing his first two throws to Jones for a total of 35 yards before PC’s opening drive was suddenly stopped in its tracks by an errant snap on 3rd down. Once WCU drew the first TD midway through the 1st, Hayden immediately found Jordan Irizarry for a 24-yard connection on the next snap. This would be the start of an eight-play, 72-yard advance towards the end zone that was punctuated by Hayden’s first rushing touchdown of the year on 3rd and goal from the four-yard line.
- 57 yards were carried out by either Hayden’s arm or legs in that scoring series that bled into the 2nd quarter. Unfortunately for the visitors, Western Carolina would finish the opening half on a 21-0 run to approach the locker room ahead by three touchdowns.
- Prior to Kibby’s second TD catch in as many weeks at the 2:46 stamp in the 3rd (this one from 39 yards away), redshirt-junior Delvecchio Powell II posted his longest gain through the air of 2022 on a 29-yard catch-and-run, one of five plays from head coach Steve Englehart’s club that surged past 20 yards.
- Another Blue Hose personal-best was set midway through the 4th when Quante Jennings bounced outside for a 27-yard sprint to pave the way for the team’s third and final touchdown of the afternoon by Wesley. All three of PC’s scoring drives distanced at least 65 yards, as the team has put together 950 yards of total offense prior to PFL play beginning next weekend.
NEXT UP:
- The first of eight consecutive matchups inside of conference territory, the Blue Hose will head back to Clinton on Sept. 24 for their lone kickoff at home to take place in the evening, hosting the Davidson Wildcats at 7:00.
- Continuing the Battle for the 1919 Cup in the 33rd all-time meeting between the two Carolina rivals, Presbyterian will hope for a repeat result to that of the last time Davidson visited Bailey Memorial Stadium, a 29-24 triumph for the blue and white in the abbreviated spring 2021 campaign.
- Next weekend’s duel in Clinton will be broadcasted live via ESPN+.
