• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1987-10-01_Vol53_No08_08

Sports The Western Carolinian Page - 8 Thursday, October 1, 1987 Cats Bottle Veer, Derail ETSU Scotty Rrant Defensive End Arant Mingles With the Buc Backfield Gats Establish Thorough Attack, Clobber No.8 Team By CHRIS GEIS Sports Editor JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - There were a little more than 10 minutes left in Saturday night's football game between Western Carolina and East Tennessee State, and most of the 9.475 fans on hand in the Memorial Center mini-dome were making an awful lot of noise for their homestanding Buccaners. They had just watched their Bucs, undefeated and ranked eighth in the country among Division l-AA teams, take advantage of a Western Carolina mistake to cut Western's lead to 27-20, and now it appeared that the Bucs were on their way to tying things up. Western had just lost 14 yards on a three-plays-and-out series, and it appeared the Bucs had the Catamounts just where they wanted them. That's when Western's big Scotty Arant stepped in and took control. The 6-foot-3-inch, 270- pound junior defensive end had recover the ball at the 17 with 9:58 left in the game. The Catamount offense took over and. using freshman tailbacks Darryl Jackson and Carlton Terry, moved to the one-yard line, where sophomore quarterback Todd Cottrell snuck in for the touchdown that put the game away. With 7:31 left in the game, Western led, 34-20, and the Buccaneer partisans started heading for the exits. Not only was it an upset victory for the Catamounts, who had entered the game unranked and with a 1-2 record, but it put them all alone in first place in the Southern Conference. That's where the Cats (2-0 league) will stay for a while, as well, because their next confernce game won't be until Halloween. But Western coach Bob Waters, while happy about the way his team played, was nevertheless restrained while his team cele- brated. *l thought we made things happen to win ti-.s football game," he said. "We showed a lot of poise, and our defense overall played very well. But we're looking forward to the open date (this weekend) to get healed up and rested." The type of offensive game plan the Catamounts used was shown on their first drive. Terry went off the right guard on the Cats' first play of the game and gained six yards. Cottrell hit Reed over the middle for 17 yards on the next play, finding a soft spot between the Bucs' linemen and defensive backs. Terry and Jackson, bolstered by an offensive line that was blowing the Bucs off the ball, followed with sweeps and off-tackle plays, until Jackson scored from one yard out with 9:32 showing on the see ETSU next page PHOTO BY DANN Arant (71) and a number of other Catamounts swarm a Gamecock Ballcarrier three weeks ago at USC. The horrendous early season schedule seems to have paid off for Western, as they're generally Kicking around their smaller Southern Conference bretheren. Western Improving Game by Game By CHRIS GEIS Sports Editor Southern Conference UPDATE Standings Western Carolina 2-0 2-2 Appalachians). 1-0 2-2 The Citadel 0-0 2-2 Marshall 0-0 2-2 East Tenn. St. 1-1 3-1 UT-Chattanooga 1-1 2-1 VMI 0-1 2-1 Furman 0-2 2-2 Last Saturday WCU 37 ETSU 20 UT Chattanooga 16 Furman 14 Marshall 38 Youngstown St. 13 VMI 27 Wofford 11 Wake Forest 16 App. State 12 Army 48 The Citadel 6 This Saturday Marshall at Furman VMI at Virginia Louisiana Tech at UT-Chattanooga NCAA l-AA Poll From the Southern Conference, ETSU Is ranked 19th, and UT-Chattanooga Is 20th. WCU has yet to make the poll. played havoc with the Buccaneers' backfield all night. He would end up with four tackles for losses and three caused fumbles on the night, and he had constantly stiffled Buc quarterback Jeff Morgan and his backfield mates as they tried to turn the corners on their veer-option plays. But this was his biggest play. As Morgan tried to turn the corner on a bootleg, Arant caused him to fumble at the East Tennessee 33- yard line, and then he was able to Just who were the stars of Western Carolina's 37-20 victory Saturday night over East Tennessee State? Truthfully, the Catamounts had enough of them to put together their best offensive- defensive-special teams effort since they defeated East Tennessee by 43-16 last year in Cullowhee. The defense completely shut down the Buccaneers' offensive weaponry. East Tennessee, running the veer attack, had entered the game averaging 433 yards of total offense per game. The Cats shut the Bucs down and allowed them only 233 yards. Fullback Roosevelt Way was averaging almost 100 yards per game for the Bucs, but he was held to 45 by Western. Western's offense wasn't too bad, either. The Catamounts' offensive line got off the ball well enough to allow the Cats to gain 173 yards on the ground, and they protected quarterback Todd Cottrell well enough to give him time to throw for 201 yards. Finally, the special teams play was excellent. The Cats didn't allow any big returns on kickoffs and punts, and kicker Kirk Roach and punter Anthony Bare had something to do with that. Roach boomed most of his kicks into the end zone and half of them weren't returned; Bare, despite one blocked punt, had four punts for a 41.8 average. Roach also had three field goals and broke the Southern Conference mark of 57 career field M.mt *(&*%. Chris Geis Sports Editor "An Early Analysis" When Western Carolina opened the season by getting blown out on back-to- back weekends by Clemson and South Carolina, it did not seem as though the Catamounts' schedule was favoring them. Going into their first conference game, Sept. 19 against Furman, the Cats were 0-2 and in a back-to-the-wall- fype of situation. Now, however, it seems that the Catamounts' schedule is designed perfectly for their needs. They defeated Furman and then won at East Tennessee State, and now, after a week off from play, the Cats are looking at three straight games with nonconfer- ence teams. That will give them time to jell while the rest of the Southern Conference teams knock each other around trying to get where Western Is now — In first place. "It doesn't appear that the schedule has backfired," Western coach Bob Waters said Saturday night after the Cats defeated East Tennessee State. "Playing those teams seems to have helped us. It certainly v-ould have gone either way, I think." It could have. An 0-3 start would have been devastating to any team that aspired to a national ranking or to being a factor in a conference race. By playing Clemson and South Carolina oh back-to-back weekends, the Catamounts not only were giving themselves a good chance to win football games, but they might have also been slowing the progress of a young quarterback, redshirt sophomore Todd Cottrell. Cottrell had never played a college game before he stepped on to Frank Howard Field a month ago to play Clemson. The quarterback Is the crucial position in the Western Carolina scheme of things. The Catamounts under Waters have always been an offensive — and a passing — team that has revolved around the player behind the center. It seems now, however, that the schedule has worked. Cottrell improved markedly from the Clemson debacle (43-0) to the game at South Carolina (31- 6). Along with him, the rest of goals. Western coach Bob Waters singled out freshman tailback Darryl Jackson and Cottrell on offense, and added that on defense, ends Scott Arant and Geno Segers and cornerback Touissant Kennedy looked impressive as well. Jackson, playing on a bad ankle, gave the Cats a rushing game by picking up 126 see GAME next page •-- - Western Carolina's defense defused East Tennessee's offense last Saturday night en route to a 37-20 upset victory in Johnson City, Tenn. Several Catamounts took turns with big defensive plays, but one individual performance caught the eye of everyone in Memorial Center, and earned him Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. Scott Arant, a Catamount defensive end, played havoc with ETSU's game plan as he made four tackles in the Buc's backfield, caused three fumbles, recovered one other fumble, and made four other stops. His : fumvle recovery mid way through the fourth quarter at the ETSU 16 set up a WCU touchdown that iced the game for the Cats. Arant and the Catamounts held ETSU's conference leading ground game to just 91 yards and only 233 total offensive yards, 200 less than the Buccaneer's average. "Scotty came up with a big defensive play time after time. He had to play well for us to stop their veer offense, and he responded with a great game." Coach Bob Waters Western Turns Down ESPN Proposition By Billy Graham Sports Design When it recently came to pass that ESPN was interested in nationally televising Western's homecoming game, few involved with the Catamount football program were surprised. After all, the game is a premiere match up. Georgia Southern Is the two time defending IAA champion, and Western is always a contender, with a coach in the national spotlight. It may surprise some to know, however, that Western flat refused the offer. Why? Because the cable sports network wanted the game moved to Monday . Homecoming on Monday night wouldn't sit well with the alumni. And, the low five digit payment proposed by ESPN didn't Impress Athletic Director Terry Wanless. "It's not really a decision we had to worry about," Wanless said. "You don't change homecoming. We're flattered that ESPN was interested in the game, but they understand our position." "It's my opinion that you don't mess with the spirit of homecoming. There Is too much energy spent orienting to a date. People have made hotel reservations and other arrangements. When you lose sight of these priorities, something Is wrong." ESPN has constructed a contingency plan to televise Divi sion l-AA games on Monday nights, should ABC choose not to broadcast NFL "scab" contests scheduled on those nights. ESPN would not schedule the games if ABC was broadcasting football in the\same time slot. At one point, ABC had announced a decision not to schedule 'strike' games, but has since reversed it's decision. Western's football program has appeared on network TV four times,most recently in 1983. From a recent issue of the Technician, N.C. State's Student Newspaper POWER HOUSE REPLACES ECU Now that tempers have cooled regarding the East Carolina game and the resulting riot, it's time to sit back and look at what's been done. A one-year moratorium is now In effect on the ECU series. Leaders on both sides are negotiating to see if this will be extended or ended. Of note here, though, Is who will replace the Pirates on next year's football schedule, Athletics Director Jim Valvano announced over the weekend that the Catamounts of Western Carolina will be replacement.. Oooooooh - Technician Is Impressed) So many NCSU students called fora big football opponent to replace those uppity ECU Pi rates. "We need to play a big name-school rather than just (be) the only state rivalry ECU can muster, inter-Fraternity Council President James Jones said in the September 11, issue of Technician, Well, Technician hopes Western Carolina, a division I- AA team, Is enough to satisfy all those demands. This game should certainly prove to be just as competitive and emotion-Inspiring as an ECU game, A big time football power like N.C.: State should still be able to regularly set hew attendance records for the state with a draw like WCU. And the actualgridiron struggles should. keep our fans on the edge; of their seatsineagerahticipatioh. Yes sir, Western Carolina is a name right up there with Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Southern Cat for big-time football tradition. \ Technician can: only hope our student body and fans can handle the emotions this new rival will surely stir, Sports Editorial Let's be Realistic, Technician, Shall We? field — freshman tailbacks Carlton Terry and Darryl Jackson, sophomore fullback Roy Johnson and converted first-year fullback Kevin Sowell — gained experience against bigger and better teams, and that experience has shown in the Catamounts' victories over Furman and East Tennessee State. Now that they have won the two games they truly needed to win, the Catamounts are in control of their own destiny, and their schedule favors them. They are in first place In the Southern Conference with a 2-0 record. After relaxing this weekend and nursing their injuries back to health, the Catamounts will play three straight home games against non-league competition. To the Cats' benefit, those games will gradually get more difficult as well. Western ooens with Mars Hill, a good NAIA team that"will be fired" up because of the mountain rivalry factor involved. Then, unfortunately on the weekend WCU students are home on fall break, the Cats take on North Carolina A&T, which made the NCAA Division l-AA playoffs last year but still was whipped, 55-9, by Southern Conference champion Appalachian In Its last regular season game. Then comes the biggie, a game of national signifigance in l-AA circles. Georgia Southern, the two- time defending national l-AA champion, plays In Cullowhee on Oct. 24 in the Catamounts' homecoming game. The Cats probably won't be the favorite, but If they win, they certainly will be ranked in the top 20; they currently are not. nee Geis next page My, how the partisans at North Carolina State University, our sister institution in Raleigh, have all of a sudden become — well, become downright uppity, to steal a word from the Technicians editorial. Really, where do those people get off saying such things about themselves? Who do they think they are in major college football circles? It all started, we guess, last year, when Dick Sheridan left the Southern Conference and went to Raleigh to restore some dignity to the football program. After all, nobody In Raleigh really paid as much attention to the football program, instead concentrating on the highly successful basketball program of Jim Valvano (there's where you should be uppity, Wolfpackers). The result was that the football program went to waste. But last year Sheridan came in from Furman — after his Furman teams whipped the pants off State two years in a row — and took the Wolfpack to a spot in the national top 20, a Peach Bowl bid, and an 8-3-1 record. That record included a 31-18 victory over the Western Carolina football team in Raleigh — a 6-5 Western Carolina team, no less. We don't quarrel with some of what Technician editorialists say in their column. We fully realize that a rivalry with East Carolina is more important to N.C. State than a game with Western Carolina, a team the Wolfpack has only played once. We understand that East Carolina-N.C. State series has an established history, that the schools' proximity to each other makes the other rival quite intense, and the East Carolina's Division l-A status makes an ECU-State game more challenging for the Wolfpack. We do, however, take exception to The Technician calling its school "a big time football power." Since when? Thelasttime State was ranked in the top 20, prior to last year, was in 1979; the last time it went to a bowl game, prior to last year, was 1978. Top 20 rankings and bowl games are surely the hallmarks of "a big time football power." In fact, the Wolfpack plays in the notoriously weak (for Division l-A) Atlantic Coast Conference, whose only real "power" on a national scale is Clemson. State hasn't even won Its own league since '79. We suggest that folks at the Technician get their heads screwed on straight. O.K., so you can't play East Carolina anymore because the folks from Greenville get a little rowdy when they beat you, as they have the last three years. But why in the world would you want to schedule, as you suggest, "Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Southern Cal," or teams on that level? So you can get whipped, 28-0, as your fellow ACC brethren North Carolina did at Oklahoma a few weeks ago? Really, let's get serious, folks. Until you can get a few seasons of "big time" tradition under your belt (and a winless season thus far in 1987 doesn't help), why don't you welcome the opportunity to play a school like Western Carolina, which, although a Division l-AA school, you are more likely to beat? Plus, the added service you are doing for us football poor folks over here in the western part of the state should make you feel good for the rest of the season after you play us. Just try to make it a little less close that last year, O.K.? We don't want to embarrass you. We're too humble in Cullowhee.

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: 1987-10-01
  • Date digitized: 2019-04-11
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 15"
  • Pages: 12 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_1987-10-01_Vol53_No08
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library