Western Carolina spent Saturday afternoon desperately trying to get into a rhythm to keep up with a physical Chattanooga squad, but all hope seemed to be lost after two quick interceptions on back-to-back drives, turning a one-score game into a rout. The Mocs left homecoming with a 41-18 SoCon victory.
The Catamounts (3-5, 1-3 SoCon) lost for the first time at home this season, and the loss ended a four-game series winning streak against Chattanooga. The Mocs (5-3, 4-1 SoCon) won in Cullowhee for the first time since 2018.
“There were some things that just really didn’t go our way today,” head coach Kerwin Bell said. “Just some penalties that really hurt us.”
The game was tied 10-10 at the break, and WCU got there with help from its special teams. The Catamounts opened the scoring on Bryan McCollum’s 28-yard field goal late in the first quarter. Chattanooga answered in the second on running back Journey Wyche’s 4-yard touchdown run, capping a nine-play, 89-yard drive.
Senior wide receiver A.J. Colombo gave Homecoming a highlight. Chattanooga punter Heath Jehu punted 54 yards to the WCU 14, and Colombo took it back 86 yards for a touchdown with 2:29 left in the half and a 10-7 lead. The Mocs tied the score as time expired on Jude Kelley’s 57-yard field goal.
“AJ’s a special player and he’s got a heart of gold,” Bell said. “He loves to compete, and that was a big, big play for us there in the first half because we couldn’t get anything going.”
That was the problem. Outside of Colombo’s return, WCU’s offense didn’t reach the end zone until 1:54 remained in the game. The Catamounts had a first-and-goal at the Chattanooga 6-yard line in the first quarter and came away with only a field goal.
Bell said the team wanted to come out aggressively.
“We wanted to try to get up early and separate, and we just kept getting knocked back with penalties,” Bell said. He said early penalties cost the offense momentum and that a fast start would have changed the game’s complexion.
Chattanooga took control with its ground game. On the first drive of the second half, the Mocs needed four plays to go 75 yards. Running back Kevin Lalin ripped off a 39-yard run, and quarterback Battle Alberson finished the drive with a 19-yard touchdown for a 17-10 lead.
“They stuck with the run game,” Bell said. “They’re really good running the football, and they lean on their defense.”
The Mocs finished with 295 rushing yards on 53 carries, a 5.6-yard average, and five rushing touchdowns. Lanin had 135 yards and two scores on 20 carries, and Wyche added 105 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Alberson ran for two touchdowns and threw for only 103 yards on 5-of-11 passing. Chattanooga totaled 398 yards to WCU’s 360.
Bell said his offense’s struggles affected the defense as well.
“A lot of it’s because your offense ain’t going,” Bell said. He added that some young players on defense started to let up and get discouraged as the game wore on.
Kelley’s 31-yard field goal made it 20-10 early in the fourth quarter. WCU turned to backup quarterback Isaac Lee, who threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions.
Chattanooga defensive back Jaden Nelson picked off the first and returned it 42 yards to the WCU 1-yard line. Officials initially ruled it a touchdown, but a review overturned it. Lalin scored on the next play to make it 27-10. Linebacker Kristian Ozane intercepted Lee’s next pass at the WCU 36 and returned it 11 yards, and Alberson scored from 4 yards out to push the lead to 34-10 with 6:40 left.
“We had the two turnovers there, and that widened it to where we couldn’t catch up,” Bell said.
Quarterback Lex Thomas returned to lead WCU’s final possessions. He completed 29 of 42 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown pass to freshman receiver Santana Carlos with 1:54 left, and Carlos also caught a pass for the two-point conversion that made the score 34-18.
WCU’s onside kick failed, and Lanin broke a 37-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left for the final margin.
Carlos, a former UCLA commit and 3-star recruit, hauled in six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, career highs for the young receiver. Sophomore receiver and return-man Richard Hollis had a 42-yard catch and 122 yards on five kick returns. Colombo finished with 97 punt return yards on two returns.
The Catamount defense recorded three sacks and seven tackles for loss. Cornerback Jayden Cornelius led with seven tackles, and linebacker Blue Monroe had six. Defensive lineman Fernando Jeanty, Trystan Anderson and Caleb Turner-Allen each recorded sacks or half-sacks.
Bell said the team’s youth is part of the picture. WCU’s roster is made up mostly of freshman and sophomores, and the Catamounts were facing a more experienced team.
“We’ve got some young kids that are getting a lot of playing time, freshman and sophomores,” Bell said. He said he hopes many of them stay with the program to build on the experience.
With four games left, Western Carolina can still finish with a winning record, which would mark the fifth season in a row with that accomplishment. Doing so would require winning out.
“We’ve got four more games,” Bell said. We’ve got to go try to win and have a winning record.”
The Catamounts’ next game is at Furman on Saturday, Oct. 31 in Greenville, S.C., at 2 p.m. It’s the Battle for Purple Supremacy, and Western Carolina outscored the Paladins 104-27 across the last two meetings.
