- FCS FOOTBALL -

Western Carolina overwhelms Charleston Southern for third-straight victory

Quarterback Cole Gonzales throws 5 touchdown passes in first half

Published

September 24, 2023

Western Carolina quarterback Cole Gonzales had a near perfect stat line Saturday: 14-of-16 for 299 yards and 5 TDs. Photo courtesy Western Carolina University athletics

Western Carolina piled up 683 yards of total offense on Saturday afternoon and throttled Charleston Southern 77-21 in non-conference action.

The Catamounts improved to 3-1 overall, 2-0 in front of their home fans.

Here are three things to know about the WCU’s Family Weekend victory, played in front of 13,357 fans at Bob Waters Field at Whitmire Stadium:

1 Quarterback Cole Gonzales threw five touchdowns in the first half – to four different receivers. He hit AJ Colombo for scores covering 50 and 25 yards.

Gonzales started the game 12-for-12 and already had five TD throws in his pocket before recording an incompletion. His final stat-line, a thing of beauty: 14-of-16 for 299 yards.

Twelve different receivers caught passes, led by freshman Corey Washington, who had three catches for 108 yards. Brody Palhegyi and Taron Dickens also threw TD passes for WCU.

2 Desmond Reid gave the Catamounts a one-two punch on offense, providing 111 rushing yards on 13 carries. Reid scored touchdowns on runs of eight and 11 yards.

Palhegyi and Marlin Cochran added touchdown runs to the lengthy WCU box score.

3 Western Carolina reached the 77-point plateau for the second time in the coach Kerwin Bell era. The Catamounts scored 21 points in the first, second and fourth quarters, and tacked on 14 more in the third. WCU wasn’t the highest scoring FCS team from North Carolina on Saturday, however. Davidson hit the 84-point mark in a rout of NAIA St. Andrews.

Next Up: Western Carolina returns to conference action, visiting The Citadel next Saturday.