JOHNSON CITY, TENN. – East Tennessee State jumped on Western Carolina early and never let the Catamounts fully recover, rolling to a 58-31 victory Saturday, Sept. 27, in the Blue Ridge Border Battle. The Rock will stay with the Buccaneers for at least one more year.
The Buccaneers led 14-0 after the first quarter, 34-7 at halftime, and 44-17 after three quarters before both sides traded touchdowns in a high-scoring fourth. Western Carolina (2-3) showed signs of life in the final stages, finishing with 368 total yards, but the deficit and inability to slow ETSU’s offense proved decisive.
ETSU (3-2) piled up 542 yards, including 233 on the ground and six rushing touchdowns. The Buccaneers scored on their first two drives and kept Western Carolina’s defense on its heels all game.
Western Carolina managed only a 37-yard touchdown run by quarterback Lex Thomas late in the second quarter to avoid a shutout at the half. Thomas added a 5-yard scoring run in the third and a 10-yarder in the fourth, finishing with 52 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 11 rushes. The NC State transfer completed 16 of 32 passes for 163 yards. Freshman quarterback Patrick Harding came on late and threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Santana Carlos with 19 seconds remaining. The young quarterback put on an impressive performance in the limited action that came his way.
Bryan McCollum connected on a 26-yard field goal early in the fourth that made the score 17-44, and the Catamounts’ two late scores left the final margin. A.J. Colombo led the receivers with five catches for 60 yards. Michael Rossin added five for 40, and Carlos finished with four receptions for 37 yards and the late score. The Catamounts rushed for 181 yards as a team, with Josh Perry adding 50 yards on 12 carries. Marlin Cochran rushed for 28 yards on 7 carries.
Defensively, Braylon Jones led Western Carolina with eight tackles. Jayden Cornelius, Marco Patierno and Nakuma Simpson-Nealy each recorded six stops. The unit forced no turnovers and struggled to contain ETSU’s high-powered offense throughout the afternoon. The Catammounts’ defense seemed to allow big play after big play.
ETSU quarterback Mason Mims completed 20 of 27 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown. Running back T.J. Peyton rushed for 102 yards and a score on 16 carries, while Jason Albritton added 41 yards and three touchdowns. The Buccaneers’ defense limited WCU to one first-half score and shut down offensive coordinator Rylan Wells’s game plan.
Head coach Kerwin Bell did not mince words afterward, placing the responsibility on himself for the slow start.
“We preached all week physicality… They just got a wake-up call, and we got behind early… We just didn’t have any answers. Played too soft, and like I told our team, I’m gonna take the blame. It’s my fault; I’m the head coach,” Bell said after the game.
Bell said the early softness on defense and an inability to match ETSU’s physicality up front were the difference.
“This is the worst performance of the year. Just being very soft… Even when we hit a guy, he gets four or five more yards… They outworked our offensive line. That was something we preached all week.”
The Catamounts improved as a game progressed and showed fight in the second half, but Bell made clear the early hole was too deep.
“Once we got into a little bit of it, we played a little bit better, but man, we played so bad early, you ain’t gonna win one of those. A week don’t define who you are. Unless you let it define you, and we’re not going to let that happen. We’re gonna go work,” Bell said.
Western Carolina returns home next week, Oct., to face another challenging opponent in Tennessee Tech (4-0). Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
