Nov. 6, 2009

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina returns to the home gridiron this Saturday, Nov. 7, as it plays host to No. 6 Elon for the final home game of the 2009 season at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. WCU will honor its 16 football seniors and support staff in a special pre-game ceremony, while also pausing to honor its five newest Athletics Hall of Fame inductees.

Saturday's game will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network. Fans can hear the game, beginning with a 90-minute pregame at 12:30 pm, on five stations across Western North Carolina including locally on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee and 680 AM WRGC in Sylva; 920 AM WPTL in Canton; 1480 AM WPFJ in Franklin; and 1600 AM WTZQ in Hendersonville.

Fans can also catch all of the play-by-play action online with streaming audio through Stretch Internet at www.CatamountSports.com.

WCU's Hall of Fame Weekend 2009 begins on Friday evening with the annual Hall of Fame reception in the Ramsey Center and continues with the induction ceremony on Saturday morning beginning at 9:00 am in the Hospitality Room. WCU will induct five into its athletics hall of fame; Dr. Bob Ray (Basketball, 1951-57; Assistant Basketball Coach, 1962-69), Steve Spradling (Football, 1967-70), Laura Echols Wellmon (Women's Basketball, 1999-2003), Johnny Wike (Assistant Football Coach, 1964-73, 1984-94; Men's Golf Coach 1969-73; 1984-2004) and Steve Yates (Football, 1971-74).

Following the football game, which kicks at 1:00 pm, the Western Carolina women's basketball team and first-year head coach Karen Middleton will host Tusculum in exhibition action in the Ramsey Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm. Fans who come to the game with their football ticket from the Western Carolina game against Elon AND are wearing purple will be admitted free.

The Catamount football team (1-7, 1-5 SoCon) is coming off a tough road loss last week at Chattanooga as the Mocs scored the game's final 15 points to erase an 11-point fourth quarter deficit. Elon (7-1, 5-0) has won five-straight since its lone loss of the season at Wake Forest, 35-7, back in September. The Phoenix are keeping pace with Appalachian State - who hosts Chattanooga on Saturday - for first in the SoCon, vying for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs.

Western Carolina trails Elon in the head-to-head series, 16-20-2, as the Phoenix has won three-straight overall including last season's 33-14 home victory. Elon's three-straight victories in the series come on the heels of WCU winning four-straight from 1998 through 2005 with the two teams having met every year consecutively since 2003. Despite Elon claiming the most recent meeting at Whitmire Stadium, 38-36, back in 2007, WCU holds a 13-7-1 advantage in games played in Cullowhee.

Elon represents the first nationally ranked team WCU has faced this season entering the game sixth in both polls. Since 1983, Western Carolina is just 11-61-3 all-time against nationally-ranked, Football Championship Subdivision teams. Eight of Western's 11 wins have come at home including the Catamounts' last win over a ranked opponent in 2006 - a 20-17 upset victory over then No. 19 Eastern Kentucky in Cullowhee.

Elon is looking for its first-ever 6-0 start to league play and its first 8-1 overall record since 1986. Also, receiver Terrell Hudgins is just 35 yards shy of breaking Jerry Rice's NCAA record for career receiving yards.

For the Catamounts, senior linebacker senior enters Saturday's game ranked tied for fourth in all of NCAA FCS football with a 12.5 tackles-per-game average which also ranks him second in the SoCon. He leads the Catamounts with 100 tackles, just 45 shy of a WCU single-season record of 145 set by Marcus Bradley (1996-97) back in 1997. Classmate Chris Collins ranks third in the SoCon in tackles at 10.2 per game.

McLeod and Collins are among 16 senior players that will be honored before the game. They will be joined by OL Victor Aquilina, WR Christian Bethune, DL Justin Collins, DB Antoine George, LB Chaz Jackson, DL Quincy Marshall, QB Colby McCoy, DB Robert Peele, OL Steven Ray, K Mark Sides, DL Gene Singletary and RB Jayson Williams, with Harrison Fort and Wes Lancaster also being recognized for their off-the-field contributions to the WCU program.

Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm.

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Quotes from WCU Head Coach Dennis Wagner:

Opening Statement:
"I thought our defense played great the entire game at Chattanooga other than that last 16-play drive where they couldn't get off the field. For the most part, they played a great game. In the second half, our offense just couldn't move the football. We didn't do anything differently and I don't think Chattanooga did anything differently. They just played hard. Their defense kept us out of the end zone which kept their offense in the game."

"You've got to give (UTC's) quarterback credit. He was able to find an open guy here and there and keep the driving going. I think the big turning point of the game was when they punted to us and we fumbled the ball and they recovered. We held them out of the end zone, but they got a field goal and it seemed to change the whole momentum of the game. We went back out on the field. It was five plays and a punt. They drove the ball the length of the field to score to win. It's very frustrating. I know our team was frustrated. We continue to play hard, but we continue to make mistakes that will not allow you to win games."

On the difficulty of bouncing back after a tough loss at Chattanooga:
"With this group, it doesn't make it any more difficult because we haven't experienced a lot of success, so it's the same every week for us right now. We've just continue to challenge our players to fight hard, play for four quarters and limit turnovers. The interception didn't really hurt us as much as the punt did. You keep giving them reasons for why we need to play hard and what we need to do. We are at home and we are playing against a great football team. It's our last home game. We've got 10 seniors on this team that will be their last game. It's also Hall of Fame Weekend. We have a lot of activities, so it hopefully it will create an atmosphere with our students and provide the boost we need for a victory."

On playing Elon on Saturday:
"Obviously, the statistics speak for themselves. As we started the film preparation last Sunday, the players can see this is an excellent football team. (Elon) is the kind of team that if you make a mistake, they take advantage of it. They have performed well all season long. Furman gave them a good football game and had their chances. Again, if you turn the ball over they are going to make you pay for it. They just have too many skilled players. Defensively, they are really a special group. They fly to the football and they don't make mistakes. They platoon their defensive line so they are always fresh. They have done a great job. We are going to have to play our best game of the season, no question."

On where Elon ranks as toughest opponents faced this season:
"There is no question that they are probably the best football team we have played to this point. Vanderbilt is a good football team, but obviously their record doesn't indicate that they are as good in their league as Elon is good in this league. I'm telling you that Elon is a very talented football team. They've got two running backs you can go to, three receivers that are really good and a solid tight end. Their quarterback is a fantastic player. They have an experienced offensive line. I believe they have four guys that played together since they were freshmen. There is great experience up front. If you flip on the defensive side, they don't blitz every down, but when they do blitz, they are very effective. They can get to the quarterback with a four-man rush."

"They've a great job on both sides of the ball. Special teams have made big plays for them as well. That's what championships teams do. Their team is certainly on a mission to fight for the title with Appalachian State. We want to be the bump in the road, that's what we keep telling our guys about. All we can do now is to try to affect what happens with Elon and Appalachian State. If you steal a win from both of these teams then all of a sudden you make some noise in our conference."

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