2023 Western Carolina Catamounts football team

2023 Western Carolina Catamounts football
2023 Western Carolina Catamounts football
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 23
Record	7–4 (5–3 SoCon)
Head coach	Kerwin Bell (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Kade Bell (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Chaz Scales (3rd season)
Home stadium	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium

2023 Southern Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 Furman $^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 14 Chattanooga ^	6	–	2	8	–	5
No. 17 Mercer ^	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 23 Western Carolina	5	–	3	7	–	4
Samford	4	–	4	6	–	5
VMI	4	–	4	5	–	6
East Tennessee State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Wofford	2	–	6	2	–	9
The Citadel	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Western Carolina Catamounts football team represented Western Carolina University as a member of the Southern Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Catamounts were led by third-year head coach Kerwin Bell and played home games at Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	1:00 p.m.	at Arkansas*		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	SECN+/ESPN+	L 13–56	44,397
September 9	2:30 p.m.	No. 8 Samford		Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	W 30–7	12,410
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at Eastern Kentucky*		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 27–24	13,596
September 23	2:30 p.m.	Charleston Southern*	No. 23	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	W 77–21	13,357
September 30	2:00 p.m.	at The Citadel	No. 17	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN+	W 49–14	12,317
October 7	4:00 p.m.	at No. 24 Chattanooga	No. 11	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	W 52–50	8,978
October 21	2:30 p.m.	No. 4 Furman	No. 8	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	L 17–29	10,736
October 28	2:30 p.m.	Mercer	No. 10	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	L 38–45	12,154
November 4	3:00 p.m.	at Wofford	No. 16	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN+	W 28–25	4,996
November 11	1:00 p.m.	East Tennessee State	No. 17	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	W 58–7	11,019
November 18	12:00 p.m.	at VMI	No. 14	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+	L 24–27	5,297
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[1]^[2]

Game summaries

at Arkansas

Game One – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs (FBS) Arkansas Razorbacks (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Carolina	3	0	7	14	24
(FBS) Arkansas	21	14	7	14	56

at War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, Arkansas

Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 82 °F (28 °C) • Wind: northeast 4 mph (6.4 km/h)
Game attendance: 44,397
Referee: Ken Williamson
TV announcers (SEC Network+/ESPN+): Eric Frede (play-by-play), Jordan Reid (analyst)
Pregame line: Arkansas by 38 • Odds to win: Arkansas 99.0% • Game summary: ESPN, NCAA

Game information

First quarter

(13:03) Arkansas – Jaedon Wilson 65-yard pass from KJ Jefferson, Cam Little kick (Drive: 2 plays, 79 yards, 0:36; Arkansas 7–0)
(8:40) Arkansas – Raheim Sanders 3-yard rush, Cam Little kick (Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 3:26; Arkansas 14–0)
(3:03) Arkansas – Isaac TeSlaa 31-yard pass from KJ Jefferson, Cam Little kick (Drive: 1 play, 31 yards, 0:07; Arkansas 21–0)
(0:15) Western Carolina – Richard McCollum 34-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 59 yards, 2:41; Arkansas 21–3)

Second quarter

(2:56) Arkansas – KJ Jefferson 17-yard rush, Cam Little kick (Drive: 5 plays, 32 yards, 2:18; Arkansas 28–3)
(0:00) Arkansas – Raheim Sanders 1-yard rush, Cam Little kick (Drive: 8 plays, 47 yards, 2:44; Arkansas 35–3)

Third quarter

(10:59) Western Carolina – Desmond Reid 2-yard rush, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 6 plays, 53 yards, 2:12; Arkansas 35–10)
(6:13) Arkansas – Andrew Armstrong 16-yard pass from KJ Jefferson, Cam Little kick (Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 4:39; Arkansas 42–10)

Fourth quarter

(7:55) Arkansas – Davion Dozier 14-yard pass from Jacolby Criswell, Cam Little kick (Drive: 7 plays, 48 yards, 3:51; Arkansas 49–10)
(4:19) Brad Spence 85-yard interception return (Arkansas 56–10)
(0:00) Richard McCollum 33-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 60 yards, 4:19; Arkansas 56–13)

Statistics	WCU	ARK
First downs	18	21
Plays–yards	70–291	61–379
Rushes–yards	30–64	36–105
Passing yards	227	274
Passing: comp–att–int	25–40–4	20–25–0
Time of possession	30:43	29:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Carolina	Passing	Cole Gonzales	9–14, 118 yards, INT
	Rushing	Branson Adams	4 carries, 38 yards
	Receiving	Censere Lee	3 receptions, 41 yards
Arkansas	Passing	KJ Jefferson	18–23, 246 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Raheim Sanders	15 carries, 42 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jaedon Wilson	3 receptions, 83 yards, TD

No. 8 Samford

Game Two – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs No. 8 Samford Bulldogs (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Samford			0
Western Carolina			0

at E.J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, North Carolina

Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	SAM	WCU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
No. 8 Samford	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Eastern Kentucky

Game Three – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Western Carolina			0
Eastern Kentucky			0

at Roy Kidd Stadium • Richmond, Kentucky

Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WCU	EKU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Eastern Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Charleston Southern

Game Four – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs Charleston Southern Buccaneers (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Charleston Southern			0
Western Carolina			0

at E.J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, North Carolina

Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	CHSO	WCU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Charleston Southern	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at The Citadel

Game Five – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs The Citadel Bulldogs (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Western Carolina			0
The Citadel			0

at Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, South Carolina

Date: Saturday, September 30, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WCU	CIT
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Chattanooga

Game Six – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs Chattanooga Mocs (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Western Carolina			0
Chattanooga			0

at Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, Tennessee

Date: Saturday, October 7, 2023
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WCU	UTC
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Chattanooga	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Furman

Game Seven – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs Furman Paladins (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Furman			0
Western Carolina			0

at E.J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, North Carolina

Date: Saturday, October 21, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	FUR	WCU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Furman	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Mercer

Game Eight – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs Mercer Bears (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Mercer			0
Western Carolina			0

at E.J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, North Carolina

Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	MER	WCU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Wofford

Game Nine – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs Wofford Terriers (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Western Carolina			0
Wofford			0

at Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, South Carolina

Date: Saturday, November 4, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WCU	WOF
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Wofford	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

East Tennessee State

Game Ten – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs East Tennessee State Buccaneers (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
East Tennessee State			0
Western Carolina			0

at E.J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, North Carolina

Date: Saturday, November 11, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ETSU	WCU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Tennessee State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at VMI

Game Eleven – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–0) vs VMI Keydets (0–0)

Period	1	2	Total
Western Carolina			0
VMI			0

at Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, Virginia

Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023
Game time: TBA EST

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WCU	VMI
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
VMI	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Roster

2023 Western Carolina Catamounts football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`0`	AJ Colombo	So
RB	`1`	Desmond Reid	So
WR	`2`	Corey Washington	Fr
WR	`3`	Calvin Jones	So
WR	`4`	De'Andre Tamarez	Fr
RB	`5`	Jalynn Williams	Sr
WR	`6`	Terrence Horne	Sr
WR	`7`	David White Jr.	Sr
QB	`8`	Taron Dickens	Fr
QB	`9`	Cole Gonzales	So
WR	`10`	Censere Lee	So
TE	`11`	Ajay Belanger	Sr
QB	`12`	Brody Palhegyi	So
QB	`13`	Charlie Dean	Jr
WR	`14`	Santana Fleming	Fr
WR	`15`	Jai Boyd	Fr
WR	`16`	James Tyre	Fr
QB	`17`	Bennett Judy	Fr
WR	`18`	Malik Knight	Fr
WR	`19`	Zion Booker	Fr
RB	`20`	Corey Reddick Jr.	Fr
RB	`22`	Branson Adams	So
RB	`25`	Marlin Cochran	Fr
RB	`28`	Markel Townsend	Fr
RB	`34`	Quenten Zanders	Sr
TE	`39`	Brayden Blackmon	Jr
RB	`41`	Camury Reid	Fr
OL	`51`	Aaron Sanez	Fr
OL	`52`	Antwann Fann	Jr
OL	`53`	Zach Watson	Fr
OL	`60`	Therion Cannon	So
OL	`61`	Hudson Jones	Fr
OL	`62`	Peyton Davis	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL	`0`	Bryce Wilson	Sr
S	`1`	Mateo Sudipo	Jr
CB	`2`	Rod Gattison	Sr
CB	`3`	Samaurie Dukes	So
CB	`4`	CJ Williams	Jr
LB	`5`	Hayward McQueen Jr.	So
DL	`6`	Curtis Fann Jr.	Jr
LB	`7`	Ed Jones IV	Jr
LB	`8`	Va Lealaimatafao	Sr
DE	`9`	Micah Nelson	Jr
DL	`10`	Tahjae Mullix	So
DL	`11`	Caleb Fisher	So
CB	`12`	Ken Moore Jr.	Fr
CB	`13`	Darian Anderson Jr.	Fr
S	`14`	Nick Louis	Sr
LB	`15`	Antoine Williams	Jr
CB	`16`	Jordy Lowery	Fr
DE	`17`	Malik Richardson	Jr
LB	`18`	Antarron Turner	Fr
LB	`19`	Jayelin Davis	Sr
S	`21`	Andreas Keaton	Jr
DB	`24`	Zayveon Wells	Fr
DB	`26`	Bo Simpson	Fr
LB	`27`	Skylin Thomas	Jr
DB	`29`	Devuntray Hampton	GS
DE	`30`	Kenyon Partridge	Fr
LB	`31`	Tyler Matheny	GS
DB	`32`	Trevaughn Martinez	Fr
S	`33`	Lee Campbell	So
LB	`35`	Christian Murphy	Fr
S	`36`	Ja'Morri Downing	Fr
S	`37`	Marquis Lymon	Fr
S	`38`	Jhamari Pierre-Louis	Fr
S	`40`	Cory Hennings	So
S	`42`	Jayion McMillan	Fr
DB	`43`	Walter Gibson	Jr
LB	`44`	Caleb Scott	Jr
DL	`45`	Justin Wallace	Fr
LB	`47`	Blue Monroe	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`46`	Paxton Robertson	Jr
LS	`48`	Colby Cross	Jr
K	`49`	Corbin Shirley	Fr

Head coach

Kerwin Bell

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Kade Bell – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
Chazmon Scales – Defensive coordinator/safeties
Chris Norris – Special teams coordinator
Rudi Small – Running backs
JJ Laster – Wide receivers
Rylan Wells – Tight ends/fullbacks
Jeremy Darveau – Offensive line
Brian Cochran – Defensive line
Cody Edwards – Linebackers
Larry Murphy – Cornerbacks

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 24, 2023

Statistics

Team

	Western Carolina	Opp
Scoring
Points per Game
Points per Turnovers
First Downs
Rushing
Passing
Penalty
Rushing yards
Avg per play
Avg per game
Rushing touchdowns
Passing yards
Att-Comp-Int
Avg per pass
Avg per catch
Avg per game
Passing touchdowns
Total Offense
Plays
Avg per play
Avg per game
Fumbles-Lost
Penalties-Yards
Avg per game

	Western Carolina	Opp
Punt-Yards
Avg per play
Avg per punt net
Punt Return-Yards
Avg per punt return
Kickoffs-Yards
Avg per play
Avg per kick net
Kickoff Return-Yards
Avg per kickoff return
Interceptions-Yards
Avg per play
Time of possession / game
3rd Down Conversions (Pct%)	(0%)	(0%)
4th Down Conversions (Pct%)	(0%)	(0%)
Touchdowns Scored
Field Goals-Attempts
PAT-Attempts
2 point conversion-attempts
Sack by Yards
Misc Yards
Safeties
Onside kicks
Red zone scores	(0%)	(0%)
Red zone touchdowns	(0%)	(0%)
Attendance
Date/Avg per date
Neutral Site

Individual leaders

Passing statistics
#	NAME	POS	RAT	CMP-ATT-INT	YDS	AVG/G	CMP%	TD	LONG
		QB	0.0	0-0-0	0 yrds		0.0%	0 TDs	0
	TOTALS		0.0	0-0-0	0 yrds	0.0	0.0%	0 TDs	0

Rushing statistics
#	NAME	POS	ATT	GAIN	AVG	TD	LONG	AVG/G
		RB	0	0 yrds	0.0	0 TDs	0	0.0
	TOTALS		0	0 yrds	0.0	0 TDs	0	0.0

Receiving statistics
#	NAME	POS	CTH	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	AVG/G
		WR	0	0 yrds	0.0	0 TDs	0	0.0
	TOTALS		0	0 yrds	0.0	0 TDs	0	0.0

Defense

Defense statistics
#	NAME	POS	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL-YDS	SACK-YDS	INT-YDS-TD	BU	QBH	RCV-YDS	FF	BLK	SAF
			0	0	0	0-0 yrds	0-0 yrds	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	TOTAL		0	0	0	0-0 yrds	0-0 yrds	0-0 yrds- 0 TDs	0	0	-	0	0	-

Key: POS: Position, SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, PD: Passes Defended, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FR: Fumbles Recovered, FF: Forced Fumbles, BLK: Kicks or Punts Blocked, SAF: Safeties, TD : Touchdown

Special teams

Kicking/off statistics
#	NAME	POS	XPM-XPA (XP%)	FGM-FGA (FG%)	1–19	20–29	30–39	40–49	50+	PTS	LNG	KICKS	YDS	AVG	TB	OB
		PK	0-0 (0.0%)	0-0 (0.0%)	-/-	-/-	-/-	-/-	-/-	0 pts	0	0	0 yrds	0.0	0	-
	TOTALS		0-0 (0.0%)	0-0 (0.0%)	-/-	-/-	-/-	-/-	-/-	0	0	0	0 yrds	0.0	0	-

Punting statistics
#	NAME	POS	PUNTS	YDS	AVG	LONG	TB	FC	I–20	50+	BLK
		P	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Team	--	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
	TOTALS		0	0 yrds	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Kick return statistics
#	NAME	POS	RTNS	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG
			-	-	-	-	-
	TOTALS		0	0 yrds	0.0	0 TD's	0

Punt return statistics
#	NAME	POS	RTNS	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
			-	-	-	-	-
	TOTALS		0	0 yrds	0.0	0 TD's	0

References

↑ "2023 Catamount Football Schedule". catamountsports.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
↑ "2023 Football Schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved March 25, 2023.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "2023 Catamount Football Schedule". catamountsports.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.

[2] "2023 Football Schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved March 25, 2023.

[1]

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Western Carolina Catamounts football
Venues	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium (1974–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Appalachian State: Battle for the Old Mountain Jug
Culture & lore	Paws "Fight on! You Catamounts" Pride of the Mountains Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023