This week is homecoming and the Catamounts football team is going against Mercer. The Cats are coming off an impressive 35-28 win against the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Mocks. After the win, the Cats are 6-3 overall and 5-0 in Southern Conference play. Tied for first in the SOCON with the Mercer Bears.
This game will showcase some of the best talent in the conference. Both teams’ quarterbacks are top three in the conference in passing yards, completion percentage, passing touchdowns, interceptions and rating.
Mercer’s running back, CJ Miller, is second in the conference in rushing yards with 632 and 8 touchdowns. Mercer has one receiver in the top 10 with Adjatay Dabbs with 602 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. Western has 2 receivers in the top 10 in receiving yards. Malik Knight at seven. Knight has 539 yards and 4 touchdowns. At number 2, James Tyre with 614 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“James Tyre has stepped up this year with AJ Columbo out for the season,” says head Coach Kerwin Bell.
This is one of the biggest games in Head Coach Kerwin Bell’s tenure at WCU. It is the battle of the SOCON unbeatens and the winner of this game goes on and will most likely win the SOCON and host a FCS playoff game.
“We missed out last year on the playoffs and we were trying our hardest to win our first conference championship,” Bell says.
The Catamounts have never won a SOCON football championship and would be the first time since 1983 that the team made it to the playoffs.
E.J. Whitmire Stadium holds just shy of 14,000 fans and is expected to be sold out. As of 10:00 on November 7, there are fewer than 500 tickets left. Students have been told in several university emails to get to the stadium a little earlier to make sure they get a spot in the student section.
With a win on Saturday, it would give the Catamounts sole possession of first place in the SOCON and would clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Watch the game live on ESPN+ or listen live on the Catamount Sports Network. Listen Stray Cats commentary on WWCU 95.3 FM starting at 2 p.m.
