• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1988-11-03_Vol54_No12_12

orts The Western Carolinian Page 12 Thursday, November 3, 1988 Larry Gray Gripes based on emotion rather than fact Last week in my editorial A Few Gripes From The Sports Desk, I said some things that I am not very proud of and feel that they were written in poor taste. So, before I go c i, I would like to extend a cor- ( al apology to the WCU Ath- 1< tic Program and Western's football team. My only explanation for last week's editorial was frustration. When frustration sets in during a losing season, emotions run high and last week's column was written more on emotion than on fact. Last week, I stated that the football team had not been competitive at all among the leaders in the Southern Conference since the 1983 and '84 campaigns. But, in reality the Cats have been one of the top programs since entering the 67- year old conference in 1977. Their winning percentage of .543 ranks them third best among the current eight member league. In addition to this impressive record, Western has also been ranked in the I-AAtop 20 in part of each season from 1983 through 1987. I further stated that the WCU Athletic Program was a highly supported institution when it came to the Cats athletic teams. In fact, Western operates on by far the lowest athletic budget than any other member of the Southern Conference. Many officials throughout the conference have offered nothing but good things to say about Western in respect to their athletic accomplishments with the limited resources that they have. According to public records, six of the current eight Southern Conference programs offered 70 scholarships to football players in 1988. Furman presented 60, but Western Carolina was only able to finance 53 scholarships for their football program. Other factors that I failed to consider and report were the financial well-being of some of the other universities in the Southern Conference. East Tennessee State, Tennessee- Chattanooga, Marshall, The Citadel, and the Virginia Military Institution, all receive financial appropriations from their home state. WCU and ASU do not. While WCU's athletic budget consist primarily of student fees, football and basketball revenues, and private contributions; they are force financially to play at least two money games a year to balance the budget. This year's money games against N.C. State and South Carolina generated $250,000 or approximately 25% of the total revenue needed to cover their budget. For this very reason, Western usually starts the season off 0-2 every year against Division-I programs in contrast to the other programs in the conference that can afford not to. Although Appalachian State is in the same situation when it comes to lack of state fundings, their total enrollment of 11,000 compared to only 6,000 at Western, allows them to reach their budget through student fees much easier than WCU. Furthermore, in last week's editorial, I stated that Recruiting was one area that Western has not improved on in the last five seasons. That See EMOTION, page 13 # Powerhouse Paladins shut-down Cats, 31-0 by Larry Gray Carolinian Sport. Editor In the midst of a disappointing season, Western's back was against the wall coming into Saturday's game with the Furman Paladins. The Catamounts were coming off a 32-14 homecoming loss to nationally-ranked Eastern Kentucky the week before and it was quite evident that their mental and physical status were hurting. Consequently, Furman had two weeks two prepare for this contest, and after their emotional 24-9 victory at Appalachian State on October 15, were right back into the conference championship hunt. In front of a homecoming crowd of 13,014 at Paladin Stadium, 10th ranked Furman took a businesslike approach in handing Western its second shutout of the season in a 31-0 loss. The shutout marks the first time in 25 years that the Catamounts have been held scoreless twice in a season. Furman's defense, ranked 6th in the nation and 1st in the conference, held the Western offense in check most of the afternoon. The Cats did not record a first down until the last four minutes of the first half, and by that time the Paladins were on top 21-0. Sophomore quarterback Mark Smith took over for struggling starter Todd Cottrell on the last series in the first half and completed 15 of 34 passes for 239 yards. However, the Catamounts managed to gain only 40 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Furman rolled up 481 yards on 83 offensive plays and controlled the football for nearly 40 minutes. Sophomore quarterback Frankie DeBusk completed 15 of 23 passes for 258 yards in route to tossing three touchdown strikes. Paladin tailback Dwight Sterling led the rushing attack with 67 yards on 13 carries. Western defensive line, led by Scottie Arant and Geno Segers, used some new twists and stunts in route to sacking Debusk five times. But when the Paladins got past Western's powerful defensive line, big chunks of yardage were to be made. "Defensively, our tackles and ends did a good job." Coach Waters added, "We stopped them pretty consistently on first and second downs, but let them have too many big plays on third downs. Once they go past our defensive front, we were in trouble." Scottie Arant celebrates after sacking Furman quarterback Muk Hukctt photo Although WCU did not suffer a turnover, its quarterbacks were able to convert only one third down situation through the first three quarters. "About the only thing we did well offensively was to not turn the ball over." Stated Coach Waters after the game, "We were able to move the ball at times on first and second downs, but couldn't convert the third down plays and never came up with the big play." The bright spots for WCU were the punting of Anthony Bare (44.3 average), Otis Washington's 194 all- purpose yards, and the play of the defensive front of tackles See CATS, page 14 + WCU vs. ASU: Throw out records in Mountain Rivalry by Herb Pickard Carolinian Assistant Sports Editor The scene is set. "Sports Illustrated calls it "the best rivalry no one has heard about" Throw away the statistics, forget the records, and prepare for anything, because in an archrivalry it's anyone's game. And that's exactly what the Catamounts are counting on this weekend as they travel to Boone, North Carolina, to take on the Mountaineers of Appalachian State. There is more at stake than just a number in the win column, as Western will fight for the right to bring the coveted "Old Mountain Jug" back to Cullowhee. The Jug has served as the trophy in this rivalry since 1977. Although Western is out of contention for the Southern Conference title they still have the opportunity to serve as spoiler when they face App this week and Marshall next week. Appalachian State (5- 3-0,3-2-0) is coming off of a disappointing loss to top ranked Marshall, as they lost the lead late in the fourth quarter and fell victim to the Thundering Herd. The Mountaineers only other two losses have come at the hands of Furman and South Carolina. Injury plagued Western (2-6-0,1-3-0) raised their losing streak to two last week as they fell prey to a red hot Furman team. Western, however did see a few bright spots in the way of punter, Anthony Bare, who averaged 44.3 yards per punt. Scottie Arant and Geno Segers also provided some exciting play as they combined for 23 tackles, including 3 for losses and three sacks. In order to see exactly how big a part emotions play in this fifty-two game rivalry all one would have to do is look into the pages of history. On November 15,1975 Western was in the midst of a five game losing streak with a record of 2-7. A week earlier the Cats suffered a 34-0 thrashing at the hands of the Furman Paladins. Appalachian State was 7-2 with the November 5,1988 1:30 p.m. Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC nations top rated offense and had just beaten South Carolina, East Carolina, and Wake Forest. This game was surely to be a slaughter. Western, however, was not to be denied. The Catamounts intercepted three passes, sacked the quarterback six times, and blocked a punt in route to a 20-11 victory over their oldest rival. According to Coach Bob Waters it was " the greatest emotional effort I have ever witnessed." The situation this year will be much the same and the Catamounts will have to rise to the occasion. "We are really banged up physically and down psychologically," says coach Waters, "There is nothing we can do about the injuries, but we can get ourselves emotionally ready to play. If you play football for Western Carolina University and you can't get fired up about playing Appalachian State, you need psychiatric help!" Not only would a win end the Mountaineer's three game winning streak in the series, it would also improve coach Waters' record against App to 12-8. Despite the Cats' record, bringing the Jug back home where it belongs would make a great number of people very proud. The Carolinian picks Western to be the spoiler: Western 23, Appalachian 20 SERTJES NOTES: •Appalachian State owns a 35-16-1 advantage in the series that began in 1932. *HofWCU'sl6winsin the series have come under the guidance of Bob Waters. *Since the schools began playing as fellow members of the Southern Conference in 1977, ASU holds a slight 6-5 edge in the series. •Western Carolina is 7- 5 in games played in Kidd Brewer Stadium which was known as Conrad Stadium from the 1963 through 1987 seasons. *The series has been marked by a series of winning and losing streaks during the Waters Era (1969 forward). Western won five in a row from 1971 thru 1975. Appalachian State came back to win three in a row from 1978 thru 1980. WCU took four in a row from 1981 thru 1984. ASU has a current three game winning streak (1985-1987). fjriiiii^^ii»$ii^i^£(tiii^i6iMC^^ia& STANDINGS (NOV. 03) Southern Football R< Wmtp iaftSfiigiKKtiSS&Sraw Marshall Citadel Furman App. State Tn.- Chatt. W. Carolina E. Tenn. St. VMI Conference W-L-T OFF DEF 5-0-0 166 78 112 96 159 76 68 97 63 3-1-0 3-1-0 3-2-0 2-2-0 1-3-0 1-5-0 0-4-0 97 46 91 85 100 225 115 Overall W-L-T OFF DEF 8-0-0 261 141 230 200 224 178 133 135 101 8-2-0 6-2-0 5-3-0 3-6-0 2-6-0 2-7-0 1-7-0 195 6%; 150 186 215 304 213 LAST SATURDAY'S GAMES Citadel 48, E. Tennessee St. 21 Furman 31, W. Carolina 0 Marshall 30, Appalachian St. 27 VMI 18, Wofford 17 W. Kentucky 31, Tn.-Chattanooga 29 THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES Davidson at East Tennessee ST. Furman at Tn.-Chattanooga Marshall at The Citadel VMI at Georgia Tech Western Carolina at Appalachian Cross Country reaches part of its goal at conference meet Sports Information Release Western Carolina's men's and women's cross country teams travelled to Saturday's Southern Conference Championship Meets in Greenville, SC with one thing in mind: to finish higher than last place. The women's team proved successful in their quest, as WCU placed fourth (115 pts.) on the five-kilometer course, behind Appalachian State (28), Marshall (44) and UT-Chattanooga (58), and ahead of East Tennessee State (130) and Furman, which failed to score. It marked the first time ever that a WCU women's cross country team finished out of the cellar in the annual league meet since the team first began intercollegiate competition in 1985. Cheryl Roberts was Western's top finisher, placing 22nd with a time of 21:31. Also placing in the top 30 for WCU were Kim Johnson (24th, 21:52) and Brenda Bercher (28th 22:24). "We were somewhat pleased with our women's squad, in that we finished in front of two schools," commented WCU's head coach Danny Williamson. "We may have had the opportunity to finish third but we let it slip See GOAL, page 14 + UT-Chattanooga voted by conference media to capture f88 basketball crown Southern Conference Media Release Twenty six media attending the Southern Conference Tipoff today voted Tennessee-Chattanooga the favorite to win the 1988-89 Southern Conference round-robin title chase. In balloting conducted by the league office, the media voted UTC as the conference preseason favorite, followed by East Tennessee State, Marshall, Appalachian State, Furman, VMI, The Citadel and Western Carolina. Receiving 14 first place votes, UTC accumulated 195 points in the balloting, while East Tennessee State totaled 189, Marshall had 150, Appalachian State had 132, Fur man had 100, VMI had 83, The Citadel had 53 and Western Carolina had 34. UTC won last year's southern Conference Tournament, after a tie for fourth place in the round-robin title chase. Here is a complete listing of today's balloting in which points were awarded on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis: TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA — 195 points (14 firsts, 11 seconds and one third); EAST TENNESSEE STATE — 189 points (12 firsts, nine second and five thirds); MARSHALL - 150 points — (three seconds, 15 thirds, seven fourths, one fifth); APPALACHIAN STATE - 132 points (three seconds, four thirds, 13 fourths, four fifths, two sixths); FURMAN — 100 points (one third, three fourths, 14 fifths, seven sixths, one seventh);^ML—83 points (two fourths, seven fifths, 12 sixths, four sevenths, and one eighth); THE CITADEL — 53 points (one fourth, five sixths, 13 sevenths, seven eighths); WESTERN CAROLINA _ 34 points (eight sevenths, 18 eighths).

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: 1988-11-03
  • Date digitized: 2019-09-05
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 14.25"
  • 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_1988-11-03_Vol54_No12
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library