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  • Western Carolina University
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  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2017-11-16_Vol86_No03_05

The Western Carolinian SPORTS : November 16, 2017 A5 Furman crashes Homecoming weekend Dillon Jeffrey Sports Editor On Saturday, Oct. 28, Western Carolina Univer- sity football lost its home- coming game to Furman University, 28-6. Western Carolina has remained in the national Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) top 25 rankings even after the loss, although the | Catamounts fell to 24. This marks the fifth straight week Western Carolina has been in the top 25. Western Carolina cel- ebrated homecoming with a comedy show, a fair and a concert, but the Furman Paladins ended the week with a celebration of their own. In the cold, heavy rain Furman defeated Western Carolina in front of nearly 10,000 fans who braved the weather to support the Catamounts. Furman entered the game with a strict plan: dedicat- ing to the run. The Paladins only attempted five passes in the entire game, completing just two of them. Furman executed their game plan and hounded the Western Carolina defense for 363 rushing yards, averaging up- wards of six yards per carry. Both Paladin running backs recorded more than 100 rushing yards, On a rainy, windy day, Furmans simple formula saw them clinch a sixth consecutive victory. Western Carolina con- trolled the first quarter but could not capitalize. With 10 minutes of possession, the Catamount offense railed against the Paladin defense, but Furman held strong and kept the Catamounts off the scoreboard. The game carried into the second quarter score- less, but Furman changed that with an intelligent play call. Having run the ball so regularly, Furman lulled Western Carolinas defense into a pattern. Then, Fur- man dialed up one of only two successful passing plays. The Catamount defense was unprepared, and Furman _> apie PJ Blazejowski ew a 44-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. At the half, homecoming king and queen announce- ments were well-received boosts in spirits. The drenched crowd released some of its tension from the game when the celebrations began and Jacob French was crowned king and Briana McManus was crowned queen. Some fans took this opportunity to stand and cheer, an opportunity the first half had not presented the Catamount supporters with. The crowning had a posi- tive effect on the morale of the crowd and as the time ticked by, fans grew anxious to see their prolific Cata- mount offense kick into gear. Furman had other ideas. Furman had possession for over 10 minutes and scored half of their points in the third quarter, while still holding the Catamount offense scoreless. Less than a minute in, Furman capped off a three-play, 78-yard drive with a rushing touch- down from running back Kealand Dirks. Later in the quarter, Dirks repeated the feat with a 53-yard rushing touchdown. The start of the fourth quarter saw the Catamounts down 21-0. Furman would go on to score a fourth touchdown before the Cata- mounts put their first points on the board. With under two minutes remaining in the game, Junior running back Corey Holloway rushed for a touchdown to help Western Carolina avoid being held scoreless in a game for the first time since 2014. The game ended 28-6, but the biggest loss of the evening was the injury to Western Carolinas starting quarterback, redshirt sopho- more Tyrie Adams. Adams went down in the second quarter with a lower body _ injury and did not return. Junior quarterback Ray Smith, from Cherokee, stepped in for the Cata- mounts. Smith completed 7 of 15 passes and made the Catamounts longest play of the day: a 23-yard rush. The Catamounts had trouble outside of missing their quarterback. Western Carolina committed 10 penalties for 75 yards, setting back several promising of- fensive drives. They also had problems sustaining drives, going 3 for 14 on third down Photo credit: Mark Haskett, WCU Public Relations Redshirt senior Steffon Hill, a wide receiver, facing Furman during the 2017 Homecoming game. conversions. The positive takeaway from the game was the re- turn of two-time All-Amer- ican senior running back Detrez Newsome. Newsome had been sidelined with an injury for most of October. " Western Carolina had won its last two games comfort- ably without Newsome, with a group of backs rotating to take his place. Yet, with the absence of Adams, the senior presence of Newsome was beneficial to the team. Newsome had a solid return, gaining 110 rushing yards. While this was an unfortunate loss at a key moment in the season, the Catamounts are still in third place in the Southern Conference. Additionally, Adams returned in the next game against The Citadel on Saturday, Nov. 4. He showed no signs of a residual injury, completing 14 of his 21 pass- es for 133 yards and rushing seven times for 50 yards as he led the Catamounts to a 31-19 victory. The Catamounts quickly put the disappointment of Homecoming behind them and grabbed another conference victory. The Catamounts aim to close out the conference season strong and look forward to the postseason. For more information on Catamount football, go to www.catamountsports.com. Basketball looks to start the season with confidence Dillon Jeffrey Sports Editor Western Carolina Univer- sity basketball tipped off on Nov. 10. The women opened their season with a home game against Davidson Col- lege in the Ramsey Center while the men travelled to Clemson University. Both programs exited the conference playoffs in the _ first round last season, but after inspiring offseasons, both look to start the year with confidence. Head Coach Stephanie McCormick spoke about the ga offseason the team She commended the teams growth together and said, The biggest offseason improvement is our teams- manship and our chemistry and our bond. You cant get to the next part without de- veloping that in a program. The Catamounts have the talent, but McCormick em- phasized the importance of bringing together a group of talented individuals to play together as a unit. McCor- mick attributed this to junior and senior leadership. This year, the Catamounts have five seniors and four juniors. McCormick spoke on the impact of having such a large group of upperclass- men. She explained that the consistency that they bring, and definitely the maturity that they bring on and off the court are important factors of having them on the team. These seniors include stars Kyia Hough and Sherae Bonner. Hough finished last season with team highs in assists (80) and steals (48). Bonner led the team and finished second in the conference in blocks (41) as well as in rebounds per game (8.8). These two have played together for three years, and it is exciting to see what they will do with their final year. To the returning players, the Catamounts added four new players: two redshirt freshmen and two juniors. The redshirt freshmen were with the team last year, so they are experienced and ready to work their way into the team. The juniors have made a larger impact, spe- cifically Kennedy Rushin, who stands 6 foot 6, McCormick spoke about the addition of Rushin in practice, saying how she impacted the confidence of the players around her. She said, To actually have that height in practice - every day has done great things not only for our post players but even our guards And thats just practice. McCormick is hopeful after the offseason, and she spoke on the main points to take away from the opening stretch of the season. The focus there is defense and rebounding and letting our offense come to us and blossom, she said. Allowing the talented of- fense to flourish unpressured is a big point for the team. McCormick believes this be- gins by taking control of the game with strong defensive play. She emphasized proac- tive defense, describing this as, not always being on the defense when were on defense. With this focus on defense to allow more productive. offense, the Catamounts aim for a positive season. McCormick talked about the positive environment she has built in comparison to last season. T think they are enjoy- ing themselves a little bit more; Im definitely enjoying myself coaching them. Hope- fully that will turn over into wins on the court. But right now, its a win for us, she said. With plenty of returning talent, a few additional play- ers and a brighter outlook, the Catamounts are set to have a stellar season. The men opened their season with two away games before playing Hiwassee College on Nov. 15 in the Ramsey Center. Head Coach Larry Hunter also had a few comments about the offseason. We had two goals at the end of last season: to im- prove our returning players physically and skill-wise, he said. Added to that, Hunter said the coaches focused on chemistry, leadership, and mental toughness. The players responded to these challenges, according to Hunter, including the new players. The program added three freshmen. Speaking about the fresh- men on the team, Hunter said, We felt we needed scoring potential, and all three players have a history of being quality scorers. Specifically, Hunter was excited about Matt Halvorsen whom he believes 4s a premium shooter in the state. Another exciting addition - to the team is Mike Amius, a junior forward from North Platte Community College. Hunter spoke highly of Amius, saying, Mike is an exceptional athlete with good hands. Hes been an extremely efficient scorer. With these new addi- tions and six seniors, the Catamounts aim to begin the season well. In the first four games of the season, the Catamounts play significant- ly larger universities. Hunter plans the schedule this way intentionally. We have a tremendously challenging schedule, which we've had since Ive been here. It identifies our weak- nesses and prepares us for conference play, he said. Hunter does not believe in highlighting crucial games and focusing onthem. _ He said, I dont do that. Its a coaching clich, but its about us, not them. Focusing on themselves and not their opponents, Western Carolina looks forward to the challenge of a new season. T really like this team. The staff are having a lot of fun training them. We have more quality leadership, and these guys are very hungry to win, said Hunter. Keep up to date with wom- ens and mens basketball at www.catamountsports.com. Sayres McKenna (junior) takes the ball down the field. Photo by Gabraella Writter/STAFF Dillon Jeffrey Sports Editor On Sunday, Oct. 29, West- ern Carolina Universitys womens soccer team defeated Virginia Military Institute 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Play- Offs. 7 Western Carolina reached playoffs after defeating East Tennessee State University to earn a number four ranking. This rank is the highest the Catamounts have held in the playoffs since 2008, the year the team won the tourna- ment. The Catamounts finished the regular season with a conference record of four wins, four losses, and one tie, yet they ended the season on a hot streak. The final four. games for the Catamounts held three wins and only one defeat. Western Carolina hosted this playoff game on a cold, wet day, looking to continue their great form against Vir- ginia Military Institute. The Catamounts had defeated the Keydets 1-0 in late September. The teams have met five times in total and Virginia Military Institute has failed to score in each of the games. Western Carolina has now outscored them 11-0. Only four minutes into the ame, the Catamounts struck irst. Meghan McCallister supplied the pass for Sopho- more Emily Threatt, who scored the goal that pushed Western Carolina into the semifinals. Although this was to be the only goal in the game, both teams recorded double-digit shots. Western Carolina had the edge, taking 15 shots to Virginia Military Institutes 10. The Keydets were more accurate, putting 9 of their 10 shots on target as opposed to the Catamounts 7 of 15. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jacquelyn Gnassi kept the Catamounts alive with nine saves. Gnassis stellar playoff performance was proof of Head Coach Chad Millers wisdom to start her. Throughout the regular season, Gnassi had battled for her starting position with freshman Natalia Icen. Coach Miller simultaneously proved that Western Carolina has a bright future and also . provided the motivation for the present goalkeeper. With this performance, Western Carolina traveled to Furman University on Friday, Nov. 3 for the conference semifinals. The Catamounts lost in overtime to the Pala- dins earlier in the season, but were the only team to score on Furman all year. Western Carolina shocked number one seed Furman 2-0. This was only the second loss of the season for Furman, and the first time in nine games that they had lost to Western Carolina. Threatt scored an early goal for the second game in a row, putting the Catamounts ahead in the semifinals after just eight minutes. Redshirt senior Deyana Walker scored to seal the a with only 16 minutes left. This game brought out another excellent game from Catamount goalkeeper Gnassi. Furman attempted 19 shots but Gnassi posted 10 saves for her second shutout of the playoffs. Following Gnassis performance and an offense that had produced 12 goals in the last six games, the Catamounts won a semi- final game for the first time since 2008. This victory advanced the Catamounts to the Southern Conference championshi game against the University of North Carolina at Greens- boro on Nov. 5. Western Carolina fell 1-0 to the Spartans, ending the season and a memorable run in the playoffs. The Catamounts sent 20 shots at the Spartans, but only put eight of them on target. The Spartans played a defensive game, only posting seven shots, but they scored the crucial on early in the second half. Even though the Cata- mounts did not win, they pro- duced their best playoff run in nearly ten years. Addition- ally, three Catamounts were selected for the Southern Conference All-Tournament Team: Sayres McKenna, Jacquelyn Gnassi and Emily Threatt. This season ends without a championship but with plenty to be proud of, as well as plenty to build upon. This team, which went to the conference final, is only losing four seniors. All three of the players named to the All-Tournament team will be returning next season, when the Catamounts look to trans- late this late-season form into a dominant regular season. To stay updated on Cata- mount soccer, visit www. catamountsports.com.

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)
  • Text
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2017-11-16
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.5" x 11.25"
  • Pages: 12
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2017-11-16_Vol86_No03
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library