🏈 FINAL: Western Carolina 45, Eastern Kentucky 21
Western Carolina opened the 2026 season with plenty of reasons for optimism Saturday night, turning a four-point halftime deficit into a 45-21 win over Eastern Kentucky at E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee.
The Catamounts trailed 14-10 at halftime before taking control with 21 unanswered points in the third quarter and outscoring EKU 35-7 after the break. Western Carolina finished with 508 yards of offense, scored on all six of its red-zone trips and did not commit a turnover.
🎯 Thomas looks the part in WCU QB debut
Coach Kerwin Bell said during the preseason that he wants his quarterback to operate his offense like a “Hall of Fame point guard.” In his first start for the Catamounts, NC State transfer Lex Thomas certainly looked comfortable in that role.
Thomas completed 27 of 35 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He also led Western Carolina with 69 rushing yards and scored on a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter, finishing his debut with 389 yards of total offense and four touchdowns.
Thomas spread the football around, too. Michael Rossin caught six passes for 94 yards, A.J. Colombo, returning to the lineup after missing 2025 with injury, added six catches for 90 yards and Josh Perry caught six passes, including two touchdowns. Bode Burns caught Thomas’ other TD pass.
🛡️ Encouraging signs from the new-look defense
One game isn’t enough to declare Western Carolina’s defensive problems solved, but the debut under new defensive coordinator Nick Reveiz offered some promising signs.
Eastern Kentucky marched 75 yards for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession, an ominous sign for a team that proved porous on defense a year ago. But the Catamounts became increasingly disruptive as the game progressed.
Western Carolina held EKU to just 65 rushing yards on 29 carries — 2.2 yards per attempt — while recording three sacks, forcing two turnovers and holding the Colonels scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Ja’Torian Mack forced a third-quarter fumble that Nassor Ashenafi recovered at midfield, and WCU immediately turned it into Thomas’ second touchdown pass to Perry for a 31-14 lead. Marseille Taylor added a fourth-quarter interception.
📊 By the Numbers
- 508 — Western Carolina total yards
- 389 — Total offense for Thomas
- 4 — Total touchdowns for Thomas
- 188-65 — WCU’s advantage in rushing yards
- 35-7 — WCU’s second-half scoring advantage
- 6-for-6 — Catamounts scoring in the red zone
- 3 — WCU sacks
- 2 — EKU turnovers
- 0 — WCU turnovers
📌 Why It Matters
Perhaps the most encouraging part wasn’t simply that Western Carolina won. It was how the Catamounts responded when the opener wasn’t going their way.
A year ago, Western Carolina opened the season by building a four-touchdown lead against Gardner-Webb only to watch the Runnin’ Bulldogs storm back and steal the game. Saturday, WCU faced the opposite situation. The Catamounts went to halftime trailing, immediately drove 75 yards for a touchdown to open the third quarter and then took control.
It’s only one game, and EKU still threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns. There will be considerably tougher tests for Reveiz’s defense (newcomer Tennessee Tech looked strong in a win over Monmouth, Mercer also won tonight). But Thomas looked capable of running Bell’s offense at a high level, the defense stopped the run and created turnovers, and WCU finished strong rather than allowing an opponent back into the game.
For opening night, that’s a pretty encouraging combination.
⏭️ What’s Next
And now this gets fun.
Western Carolina travels to Campbell next Saturday, Sept. 5, where Thomas will meet Kamden Sixkiller after the Campbell quarterback accounted for 438 yards and four touchdowns in the Camels’ 49-37 season-opening win at ETSU.
Thomas: 389 yards, 4 TDs.
Sixkiller: 438 yards, 4 TDs.
🏟️ Pregame Center
Pregame information for the matchup, including game time, TV and streaming details, players to watch and key storylines (preserved here as part of the story archive).
Eastern Kentucky (5-7 in 2025) at Western Carolina (7-5)
Date: Saturday, August 29, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium (Cullowhee, NC)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Listen Live: Catamount Sports Network
📚 EKU vs WCU football history
- Eastern Kentucky leads series 5-3
- Last meeting: Western Carolina 27, Eastern Kentucky 24 (Sept. 16, 2023)
- First meeting: Eastern Kentucky 32, Western Carolina 14 (Oct. 22, 1988)
The last time the teams met in 2023, WCU edged the Colonels on a rainy Saturday night in Richmond, Kentucky. Cole Gonzales threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Desmond Reid compiled 240 yards of total offense.
WCU’s defense stood strong at the goal line late in the fourth quarter, forcing Eastern Kentucky into a field goal to take a 24-21 lead. The Catamount stoppers came up big again a few minutes later with a three-and-out.
Western Carolina moved the ball into the red zone on its last series, and Gonzales hit Branson Adams with the winning TD pass with 25 seconds left.
🔍 What to Watch
🏈 UPDATE: Lex Thomas takes over at quarterback
NC State transfer Lex Thomas has won Western Carolina’s starting quarterback job after a competition with Isaac Lee and Patrick Harding that stretched from spring practice through preseason camp, according to multiple reports. He’ll replace one of the most prolific passers in school history in 2025 starter Taron Dickens, whose transfer journey eventually landed him at Northern Illinois after a brief stop at UNC.
Thomas played his high school football at Heritage High in Wake Forest, throwing for more than 3,000 yards with 33 touchdowns over two seasons. He appeared in four games over two seasons at NC State, completing 7 of 15 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Coach Kerwin Bell has said he wants his quarterbacks to be “Hall of Fame point guards,” distributing the ball efficiently and keeping the chains moving. Saturday will provide the first look at Thomas running Bell’s offense after emerging from the competition. Lee served as Dickens’ backup last season.
🛡️ First look at WCU’s rebuilt defense
Western Carolina finished second in the Southern Conference a year ago, winning six of eight games. But the Catamounts struggled to stop teams at times, and coach Kerwin Bell has focused his off-season on resetting the defensive side of the ball. The season opener will provide the first peek into how the reconstruction is going under new coordinator Nick Reveiz.
📊 Where they stand in the preseason
Neither team enters 2026 as the favorite in its conference, but both are expected to be in the mix.
Western Carolina was picked fourth in the Southern Conference preseason poll, behind defending champion Mercer, newcomer Tennessee Tech and ETSU. The Catamounts are coming off a 7-5 season that included a 6-2 finish in SoCon play.
Eastern Kentucky was picked in a tie for fifth in the United Athletic Conference, giving Saturday’s opener an early look at two teams trying to outperform their preseason expectations.
👀 Plenty of new faces for EKU
Eastern Kentucky is coming off a 5-7 campaign, but two of the losses came against FBS opponents – Louisville and Marshall. The Colonels stunned Austin Peay, then ranked 15th and 16th in the major FCS polls, by a 34-20 score. They played No. 18/20 Abilene Christian tough late in the season before falling 17-10.
EKU is undergoing a major roster reset, bringing in roughly 45 new players for 2026. Like Western Carolina, the Colonels need to find a new starting quarterback after projected starter Myles Burkett suffered a serious injury during spring drills.
⚫ Blackout Whitmire
Special: This will be a “Blackout Whitmire” game, and WCU fans are encouraged to wear black gear to the season opener. The football team will debut new black “Night Cat” Nike uniforms. The first 3,500 fans will receive a FREE black WCU T-shirt, with Catamount students receiving 4,000 black thunder sticks, courtesy of The Everson.
🔗 More Western Carolina & FCS Football Coverage
