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Western Carolinian Volume 70 Number 06

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  • 28 WCnewsmagazine By Andy Gambill * WCnewsmagazine As Homecoming weekend came to an end for Western Carolina, Catamount alumni were celebrating with current Catamount fans and students as WCU pulled out a Homecoming victory over Elon University, 31-26. The game was a blowout in the first half as WCU was up 24-10, but Elon came back in the second half and almost won the game. Luckily, the Catamount defense stood strong and repelled the Phoenix for the win. As the game started, it was easy to sense the excitement of the crowd, as 10,137 people showed up to watch Western garner a Homecoming victory. The crowd exploded at the opening of the game as Mike Fastest man in the SoCon Malone busted loose for an 80-yard kickoff return to put the ball on the Elon 20-yard line. Justin Clark connected with J.C. Brown for 9 yards before Darius Fudge picked up 3 yards and the first down on the ground. The drive stalled from there, though, as Fudge carried for one yard before Clark threw two straight incompletions. Freshman Jonathan Parson's field goal from 25 was good and gave the Cats a quick 3-0 lead. Elon went three plays and out on the next drive before punting the ball to the Western 34-yard line. On the first play after the punt, Darius Fudge broke loose for a 66-yard touchdown run through the middle of the defense. The run gave Western a 10-0 lead, only four minutes into the game. Elon went three plays and out again, but on Westerns next drive, quarterback Justin Clark fumbled the snap on 3-and-one to give the ball back to the Phoenix. Starting from the Western 43-yard line, the Phoenix had a short field to work with but still went three plays and out. After a touchback on the punt, Western came out looking to avenge the turnover. The Catamounts did just that as Clark connected with Michael Hines for an 8-yard gain on first down. Darius Fudge followed that up with a 7-yard run, but an illegal formation penalty pushed the ball back to the 25-yard line to make it 2"-and-5. Clark connected with University of Tennessee-transfer Jomo Fagan for a 6-yard gain on the next play to get the first down. Fudge picked up three yards on the ground before Justin Clark threw an incompletion to set up 3"-and-7. Clark = connected with Hines again for 8 yards and picked up another first down. After * another Clark incompletion, Darius Fudge rushed for 6 yards to set up 3- Mike Malone returns this kick-off ninety yards for.a Western Carolina touchdown. Photos by Mark Haskett. WCU survives Homecoming game against Elon Michael Hines fights off Elon defender. and-4. On 3"-and-4, Clark was under heavy pressure and rolled to his right, but at the last second he flipped the ball to tailback Nicholas Wishart for a 33-yard gain. With 1*-and-10 on the Elon 19, Clark found fullback John Bush in the end zone for a touchdown to push Western ahead 17-0. Western continued its defensive dominance as they held Elon to three plays and out once again, but Francis Brown fumbled the punt to give Elon the ball back on their 46-yard line. After a 5-yard carry by Reggie Hall to end the first quarter, Elon threw an incompletion to start the second quarter. Facing 3- and-5, Catamount fans expected another stop but Hall busted loose for a 22-yard run to give Elon hope of scoring. After two Jarrett Meadors runs for 7 yards, the Phoenix faced 3"-and-2 but Hall was stuffed for only a one-yard gain. Andrew Wilcox nailed the 36-yard field goal, putting Elon on the board, 17-3. Western subbed in senior Josh Lee at quarterback for the next drive and could not get anything going. After a false start, the ball was pushed back to the WCU 20, and Lamont Reid gained 34 yards on the ground. Another WCU penalty pushed the ball back five yards to their 49-yard line. After a 2-yard gain by Fudge, Lee threw an incompletion to set up 3"-and-13. Lamont Reid gained 11 yards on 3% down, but the ball was still two yards short from first down. WCU went for it on 4" down, as they tried a play-action pass, but Lee was pressured and threw the ball away as he was going down. Elon took the field with some more momentum and scored a touchdown this time. After two runs for 8 yards, the Phoenix went to the air on 3". and-2 as Kye Hamilton connected with Bo Williamson for a 17-yard gain. After a 5-yard run by Meadors set up 2"%-and-5, Elon once again went to the air, and this time Hamilton found Michael Mayers for a 32- yard touchdown to pull Elon within seven at 17-10. WCU struck right back, as Mike Malone ran the kickoff back 90 yards for a touchdown to push Western back up by fourteen at 24-10. After the halftime show, when Lauren Riggan and Ricky Rainey were crowned Homecoming Queen and King, many WCU students left the game. They missed quite a second half though as Elon came back and almost won the game. The second half started out much like the first,
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