Oct. 12, 2008

Final Stats |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 

Greenville, S.C. - Red-shirt freshman quarterback Zack Jaynes threw for a career-high 302 yards on a career-best 33 completions, distributing the ball to 10 different Catamounts, but it wasn't enough to overcome an early 21-0 deficit as Western Carolina fell on the road Saturday afternoon, 28-21, to No. 21/20 Furman Paladins in Southern Conference action.

After falling behind by three scores midway through the second quarter, Western twice cut Furman's lead to seven points in the second half. Jaynes drove the Catamounts from their own 26 yard line to the Paladin 18 on its final possession before a fourth down pass fell incomplete at the goal line with 24 seconds remaining.

WCU (2-5, 0-2 SoCon) saw its conference losing skid hit 18 games with the third-straight defeat at the hands of Furman in the all-time series. The victory marked the Paladins' 10th straight homecoming victory.

"I'd be a fool to sit here and say it's O.K.," said first-year head coach Dennis Wagner during post-game comments with the media. "We played good at times, but we had opportunities to win this game like we have in some other situations. But until our team learns to close the window, I'm not going to be satisfied."

Jaynes completed 33-of-48 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for another score for the Catamounts, who managed only 24 yards in the first quarter before finishing the contest with a 398-316 advantage in total offense. Of his 10 targets on the day, sophomore tight end Andrew Rogers was his favorite as the Alpharetta, Ga., native pulled in a career-best eight catches for a career-high 40 yards on the day.

Down 7-0 after surrendering a touchdown on the game's opening drive, WCU created the game's first turnover on a muffed punt at the Furman six-yard line, recovered by freshman Jarmarcus Douglas. However, WCU could not turn it into any points as it missed 26-yard field goal wide left.

A pair of second quarter scores gave the Paladins a comfortable, 21-0, lead before the Catamount offense found its spark. Jayes went 6-of-7 for 58 yards on an 11-play, 80-yard drive which was capped by the first receiving touchdown for freshman Andrerius Thomas. Jaynes found the Stone Mountain, Ga., native alone over the middle of the fiend in the end zone for the score, trimming the deficit to two scores, 21-7.

Join WCU Head Coach Dennis Wagner for the Catamount Coaches' Luncheon on Monday, Oct. 13th at 11:45 am at the Ramsey Center Hospitality Room.

The two teams traded punts in the waning moments of the first half. Then, capitalizing on a defensive stop, the Catamounts drove down the field inside the final 1:15 of the opening half, but Jaynes had a pass sail on the breezy afternoon and was intercepted by Furman's Max Lerner to end the threat and sending the teams to the locker room separated by two scores.

Western opened the second half with a scoring drive to cut the Paladin edge to seven, moving 75 yards in nine plays including a perfect 5-for-5 passing for Jaynes including a 12-yard, pass-and-run to junior Kyle Garland for his first career receiving touchdown.

Garland finished with five catches for a game and career-high 60 yards.

Again, trailing by 14, the Catamounts methodically moved down the field with red-shirt sophomore Adam Hearns making a tight-rope catch for 14 yards down the near sideline to set up Jaynes from the four-yard line. The QB then called his own number on a scramble up the middle, diving for the goal line for the third score of the game - and the first rushing TD in his career - to pull within seven, 28-21.

Furman missed a field goal and were unable to capitalize on a Catamount fumble as Western's defense held strong to give the offense one last chance inside the final five and a half minutes of regulation.

WCU moved from its own 26 yard line into the red zone before the Paladin defense, which entered the game leading the SoCon in sacks on the season, broke through for its first and only sack of the game, dropping Jaynes back at the 26-yard line. An offensive pass interference penalty moved WCU back to near midfield before freshman Nate Harris pulled down an 18-yard completion to set up the Cats from the 23.

However, back-to-back incompletions on third and fourth down ended the drive and allowed the Paladins to run out the remaining seconds off the game clock.

Defensively for WCU, junior Antoine George tallied a career-best 11 tackles, including 10 solo stops, while classmate Adrian McLeod finished with eight tackles, seven of which were solos. Sophomore Mitchell Bell was credited with two pass break-ups to lead the Catamounts, nearly coming away with a couple of interceptions.

Furman sophomore tailback Mike Brown rushed for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win, while quarterback Jordan Sorrells completed 15-of-25 passes for 135 yards and a score in the winning effort.

"Today was a game of missed opportunities for both teams," said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. "We didn't capitalize on some chances in the first half, somehow missed blocking a punt that went right through our hands, and didn't hit some open receivers in the fourth quarter. That said, you have to give Western Carolina credit. They had a nice scheme against us and executed very well, especially in the second half. We're glad to win the football game, but clearly we had some work to do."

Western Carolina visits ninth-ranked Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C., and Gibbs Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff is set for 1:30 pm.