• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1984-10-18_Vol49_No11_10

10 Sports Western Carolinian/October 18, 1984 Bulldogs Upset Cats Linebacker Kendall caught the Bulldogs Rycroft throws Citadel quarterback Robert Hill for a loss. The Cats behind the line of scrimmage a school record of 14 times. Photo by Mark Haskett by Billy Graham Sports Writter Western Carolina Univer- sitys' football program has a well documented history of casting aside adversity, of recovering from enormous setbacks. Example after example might be cited, but one need only to refer to last year to find the prime illustration. In the second opener for both teams, Clemson beat the Catamounts by thirty-four points in a rainy Death Valley. Wake Forest followed suit with a twenty point shut out of Western in Winston-Salem. And, with three and a half minutes remaining in the home opener against East Tennessee, Western trailed again, by ten points this time. The stadium was half empty. Willie Perkins stepped back to pass on fourth and long, and slung the ball deep. An ETSU defender tipped the ball and another intercepted it, only to drop it. The ball hit his knee, popped back up and was caught by Eric Rasheed in the end zone. Jeff Gilbert threw to Melvin Dorsey for the two point conversion. Western recovered the ensuing on-side kick, and kept the ball for six plays before Dean Biasucci came on to kick a 43 yard field goal. The Cats won 17-16. It happened again during the division IAA plyoffs. Western trailed Colgate 23-0 just prior to halftime, before storming back to win 24-23. People left that game early. Western has fans, and good ones, but too many are of the fair- weather variety. The area press is the same way, quick to tout the Catamounts highly, and consequently demand almost superhuman feats and quicker to hop on the bandwagon pronouncing failure and asking the proverbial 'what's next"? There must be some lack of fortitude, perhaps ever intergrity w hen a supporter leaves his team just past the mid-season mark with a conference title still a wide open possibility. The same applies to those that choose to leave at half-time of a game, for it is those very people that climb quickly upon the soapbox to harp on the ineptitude of the team. The stands were beginning to empty Saturday when the Cats began their comeback. Trailing 31-13 Western drove deep to the Bulldogs ten yard line, but Jeff Gilbert was intercepted by Citadel defensive back Stanford Glenn. The Citadel returned the ball promptly, thanks to Cat bandit Raymond Sanders' interception. Eddie Maddox scored on a two- yard run four plays thereafter. Milton Becks' halfback option pass to Jeff Gilbert for the two point conversion was overthrown, leaving the score 31-19. The Bulldogs were forced to punt after three plays on their ensuing possession. Gilbert marched the Catamounts downfield with Maddox capping off the 7 play, 64 yard touchdown run. Gilbert threw to fullback Billy Ray Jones for the tow point play and Western closed the score to 31-27. 6:58 remained when the Citadel retook possession, but once again there was no moving the ball against the Catamount defense. Diaster struck as soon as Western regained the ball, however, as Jeff Gilbert fumbled on the first play of the possession and the Bulldogs recovered on Westerns' 27. A field goal followed, increasing the Citadels' lead to 34-27. Western roared back down the field to pull within reach of victory as Gilbert hit Rasheed with a fourteen yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, Gilberts' two point converstion pass attempt to Eddiw West was picked off by Bulldog linebacker Joel Thompson. Western finished the contest with 4.74 yards of total offense. The Citadel tallied 405 yards. Gilbert completed 30 of 43 passes for 385 yards and ont TD. Bulldogs QB Robert Hill threw 18 of 27 for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns. Eric Rasheed was Westerns' leading receiver, he cought 10 passes for 166 yards and a single touchdown. Eddie Maddox lead the Cats' rushing category with 14 carries for 32 yards. Kirk Roach kicked a school record 53 yard field goal in the first quarter. by Billy Graham Sports Writter In 1984-85 Western Carolina basketball team began workouts Monday with an intrasquad scrimmage in Reid gymnasium. The game served very well to showcase the Cats incoming talent, a group which consists of five highly touted freshman and two iunior college transfers. Western will return only two starters from last year's squad, the lowest total of any Southern Conference schook, which makes predictions of how the Cats might fare during the upcoming seson ipearly impossible. Much depends on the performances of the new players. The newcomers will have to become accustomed to Western's fast, aggressive style of play very quickly. This should be little problem, as many of the new players were recruited for their Catamount Basketball Season Is Underway their apparent adaptability to thc Catamount stratagies. Chris Brown, for instance, a 5'-10", 175 lb. transfer from Jacksonville (TX) Junior College impressed Westerns' coaching Staff with his leaders-hip abilities, his quickness and his basic court sense. Brown's skills were evident Monday night as he dealt out 10 assists. Another transfer, a 6'-7" 185 lb. forward named Scott Wood has made a good impression since his arrival from Vincennes (IN) University. He scored 15 points Monday and played an all around "sharp game" according to Cottrell. His inside play is strong and should be very beneficial. The impressive freshman recruits are also likely to see plenty of playing time. Andre Gault is representative of the kind of players that Cottrell and staff sought this year. A 6'-8" 220 pounder from Cincinnati, the coach calls Gault a 'tremendoud paint player' who will match up well in the Southern Conference. Gault scored 15 points in an ampressive showing during the scrimmage. Freshmen Roy Young and Jim Yates, 6'-71/2" and 6'-8" are likely to see considerable playing time at the forward positions. Both are solid rebounders who will provide more bulk on the posts. Leroy Gasque, a 6'-6" 185 pounder from Andrews, South Carolina has proven to be an exceptional offensive player and leaper where he will fit in to the scheme of things is still in question, however, as he is talented enough to execute either the forward or quard position effectively. Elgie Green, the 6'-9" 215 pounder from Kentucky will provide good size at the center position. Green did not take part in the scrimage due to illness. Returners Cedric Cokely and Clifford Waddy provided a good deal of the offensive spark Monday as they sank a combined 18 of 24 shots from the field. Waddy scored 22 points on the evening and Cokely added 20. Quinton Lytle, last years'star and this years' all-America candidate played in his usual explosive manner, canning several twenty-two foot jumpers and driving layups. He cooled off somewhat during the second half in route to an 18 point game. Lytle and Sophmore Brian Brunson will be expected to share duties at the second guard position. Bruson, said Cottrell is a heady player who can fill in as a 'third guard' as well. Spotlight Walker will share with Brown the point-guard duties. Spotlight showed his soft shooting touch often and added eight assists Monday night. Richard Rogers, a 6'-7" sophmore forward, played seldom due to a recent knee injury. The injury, which had been expected to require surgery, is apparently on the mend and Rogers has begun practice with the team. Chris Tipton, the 6'-9" 220 pound sophmore center from Burnsville was called by Cottrell "one of the most mobile big men I've had in a while." Tipton hauled in 8 rebounds and played solidly on the posts. Cottrell called the scrimmage the best in his eight coaching years at Western. "We were a little ragged," he said, "we had a few too many turnovers and fouls, but I was impressed with the hustle and effort." On the obvious increase in depth since last year, the coach noted that the pressure put on starters by newcomers can be very beneficial to a team. Cottrell added that for the "first time in quite a while I can do what I want to do defensively." Explosive fast-break offenses and tenacious defenses will highlight Catamount basketball once again this fall and the walls of tiny Reid Gym will undoubtedly be rocking. I adv Cats Defeat Furman Western Carolina Umvesity defeated Furman University in four games Tuesday night in Reid Gymnasium to up their conference record to 5-2 and keep a solid hold on second place in the Southern Conference. 'This game was a confidence builder for us," commented Coach Trish Howell. Emily Holliday led the team with 20 kills as Crystal Sullivan and Michelle Barrett had ten a piece. Appalachian State leads the Southern Conference with a (4-1) record, followed by WCU (5-2), Marshall (3-2), East Tennessee State (2-2), UT—Chattanooga (2-3), and Furman University (0-6). The conference finish during the regular season will determine seeding for the Southern Conference Championship Tournament, which will be held at WCU, November 9 and 10. The Lady Cats lost a match to Appalachian State on Monday evening by the scores of 16-14, 15-7, 8-15, 15-2. Over the past two weeks the Lady Cats have defeated Furman twice, U.T. Chattanooga once, split two matches with Appalachian State, and lost to a powerful Georgia squad. The Lady Cats have two conference matches left before the tournament. "The team is very determined to win the Southern Conference tournament again," says Coach Howell. Western Carolina will travel to Charlotte this Thursday night for a match with the Lady 49ers of UNC Charlotte. The Lady Cats next home match will be Friday, October 26, against conference opponet UT-Chattanooga, Saturday, October 27, WCU will face one of the South's leading teams, the Georgia bulldogs, at home in Reid Gymnasium. WCU Canoe Team Places First On October 6th the WCU Intercollegiate Conaoe Team won its first team victory in the annual South Eastern Intercollegiate Canoe Race. The event in its 12th season, is held every Fall on the Catawaba River near Morganton, N.C. By far one of the most popular canoe races of the year; this year over 7 different University teams entered the competition. WCU paddlers had the satisfaction of dethroning the reigning champions of the event, the University of the South from Sewanee, Tennessee. The University of the South had won the championship for the past eleven years. But WCU victories in 6 different classes and high scores in others assured them the victory. The WCU team scored a total 330 team points to Sewanee's second place total of 248. WCU had 13 students who earned one or more medals throughout the day. Participants are allowed to compete in up to four different events. Medal winners from Cullowhee included Jeff Nelson, Mary Ragsdale, Dawn Plater, Mark Melrose, Dirk Helder. George Plater. Jill Toolev, Ken Lauber, Tim Dixon, Madison Crum. Sharon Ken Lauber and Wendy Meyer Saunderson, Wendy Mayer, and Cathy Ionata. These paddlers were competing in some cases against 20 different competitors. Special recognition was given to Dawn Plater who won the Most Outstanding Woman Paddler with 4 separate first place victories. Other outstanding individual performances were made by Mark Melrose (4 medals). Dirk Helder (3 medals). George Plater (3 medals) and Jill Tooley (3 medals). WCU had a total of 24 students who traveled to the race. Sponsored by the A.K. Hinds University Center/Last Minute Productions and the WCU Outing Club, the racers and their 19 canoes spent the night near the river the morning prior to the race. Western Piedmont Community College sponsored this race and provided a traditional barbecue after the race and the final awards ceremony. The day's competition included both slalom and downriver events. In slalom the racers move through a predetermined sequence fo gates hung just above the river. Penalties fo 5 seconds are added to the overall time for each gate touched and 50 seconds for each gate missed completely. Competition is fierce and one single pole touched can mean the difference between 1st and 3rd place. The downriver race is held on a 2 1/2 mile stretch of Catawba river, through Class I -11 Whitewater. The time is merely based upon the total time from top to bottom of the river. WCU dominated the downriver events by sweeping all the medals in the men's tandem downriver and mixed downriver. These victories along with several other individual efforts sewed up the team trophy for WCU. And perphapa this year's success will be the beginning of a WCU championship reign for the next 10 years while the University of South tries to figure out what went wrong. Michelle Barrett blocks shot against Furmar. la«t ue ^jy evening in Reid Gymnasium. Photo by Mark Haskett

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University’s student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1984-10-18
  • Date digitized: 2019-02-19
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 15"
  • Pages: 14 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1984-10-18_Vol49_No11
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library