Kerwin Bell huddled with his team on the orange end zone turf shortly after Western Carolina’s 42-35 win at Campbell on Saturday evening.
The Catamounts head coach was not happy.
Yes, WCU had just secured its second-straight victory after three defeats to start the season. Yes, quarterback Taron Dickens had recorded another stat-stuffing afternoon with 427 passing yards and four touchdowns.
But for five minutes, Bell’s impassioned voice cut through the post-game celebration.
“We can be better than this.”
Western Carolina never trailed on Saturday, building a 28-3 lead in the second quarter and a 35-10 advantage early in the third quarter. But the Catamounts never could deliver the knockout punch, allowing the Camels to score 25 points after the break and twice pull within one possession.
Bell knows letting opponents hang around like this, failing to get stops and turning the ball over could spell doom to a team trying to shake a 50+ year playoff drought and win its first Southern Conference championship since joining the league in the 1970s.
Never Over Till It’s Over
Western Carolina looked ready to run away with it early. After Hasaan Sykes intercepted a Campbell pass at the 12-yard line, running back Camury Reid punched in a one-yard score to put the Catamounts on top. Dickens then went to work, firing three first-half touchdown passes — a 17-yarder to Brayden Blackmon, a 32-yard strike to Marcus Striggles and a nine-yard toss to David Hulbert — as WCU stormed ahead 28-3.
The Camels finally broke through with a late score before halftime, trimming the margin to 28-10 when quarterback Kamden Sixkiller scrambled 11 yards for a score.
The Catamounts stretched the lead to 35-10 early in the third quarter when Dickens found tailback Patrick Boyd Jr. on a short four-yard touchdown pass. But Campbell refused to fold, using a two quarterback system and opportunistic defense to keep the Catamounts from relaxing.
Versatile quarterback Mike Chandler II scored on a 10-yard scramble and Alex Crabb booted a 21-yard field goal to slice the deficit, before quarterback Sixkiller found Stevie Keener for a 26-yard touchdown to make it 35-28 with under five minutes remaining.
Tensions were high on the visitors’ sidelines. Could Campbell replicate what Gardner-Webb had engineered a few weeks earlier in rallying from a 20+ point deficit to knock off the Catamounts?
Ironically, it wasn’t Dickens – who has thrown for more than 1,000 yards the past two weeks – who delivered what was ultimately the game-changing pass. It was wide receiver James Tyre, who found Painter Richards-Baker on a 61-yard reverse pass for the dagger touchdown to restore a two-score cushion, 42-28.
Still, the Camels kept coming. Sixkiller capped an eight-play, 65-yard drive with his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon to pull Campbell back within 42-35 with just over two minutes left. But Richards-Baker recovered the onside kick, and Tyre hauled in a fourth-down pass from Dickens to allow WCU to bleed out the clock and escape with the win.
After the post-game handshakes, Bell stopped his team short of the locker room for one last message before the trip back to Cullowhee. The Catamounts can and should be better.
“I want this for you so badly,” he said, referring to what WCU fans are hoping is a special, historic season that includes a conference trophy and/or FCS playoff trip at the end.
Everything is still within reach. WCU is 1-0 in SoCon play after beating Samford on Sept. 20. But Bell knows things will have to get better for the Catamounts to achieve their ultimate goals.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
- 10:37 – WCU: Camury Reid 1-yd run (Marcus Trout kick) — Catamounts 7-0
2nd Quarter
- 14:56 – WCU: Brayden Blackmon 17-yd pass from Taron Dickens (Trout kick) — Catamounts 14-0
- 11:46 – CAM: Alex Crabb 32-yd FG — Catamounts 14-3
- 8:36 – WCU: Marcus Striggles 32-yd pass from Dickens (Trout kick) — Catamounts 21-3
- 3:45 – WCU: David Hulbert 9-yd pass from Dickens (Trout kick) — Catamounts 28-3
- 0:17 – CAM: Kamden Sixkiller 12-yd run (Crabb kick) — Catamounts 28-10
3rd Quarter
- 11:11 – WCU: Patrick Boyd Jr. 10-yd pass from Dickens (Trout kick) — Catamounts 35-10
- 7:08 – CAM: Mike Chandler II 10-yd run (Trevor Wilson 2-pt run) — Catamounts 35-18
4th Quarter
- 13:12 – CAM: Crabb 21-yd FG — Catamounts 35-21
- 4:58 – CAM: Stevie Keener 26-yd pass from Sixkiller (Crabb kick) — Catamounts 35-28
- 4:19 – WCU: Painter Richards-Baker 61-yd pass from James Tyre (Trout kick) — Catamounts 42-28
- 2:11 – CAM: Sixkiller 5-yd run (Crabb kick) — Catamounts 42-35
Stat Leaders
Western Carolina (2-3)
- Passing: Taron Dickens – 26/40, 427 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT; James Tyre – 1/1, 61 yds, 1 TD
- Rushing: Camury Reid – 14 carries, 43 yds, 1 TD
- Receiving: James Tyre – 6 rec., 101 yds; Painter Richards-Baker – 5 rec., 99 yds, 1 TD; Michael Rossin – 3 rec., 88 yds; Malik Knight – 4 rec., 76 yds
- Defense: Jordan Thompson – 11 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack; Caleb Fisher – 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack-fumble; Hasaan Sykes – 1 INT
Campbell (1-4)
- Passing: Kamden Sixkiller – 18/45, 205 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT; Mike Chandler II – 2/3, 79 yds
- Rushing: Sixkiller – 12 carries, 55 yds, 2 TD; Naieem Kearney – 9 carries, 46 yards; Chandler – 8 carries, 19 yds, 1 TD
- Receiving: Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox – 5 rec., 124 yds; Stevie Keener – 3rec., 50 yds, 1 TD
- Defense: Kalen Villanueva – 11 tackles; Jojo Pace – 9 tackles; Justin Garza – 1 TFL, 1 forced fumble; Ashton Miller – 1 fumble recovery
What’s Next
Western Carolina (2-3, 1-0 SoCon) leaves the state for the first time this season, heading to Spartanburg on Saturday to face Wofford (0-4, 0-1 SoCon). Campbell (1-4) faces its second FBS foe, traveling up the road to Raleigh to take on NC State at 2 p.m. in its final nonconference game before returning home Oct. 18 for Homecoming against New Hampshire.
