Catamounts Notch First Win Among SoCon and Big South Teams

With relatively little fanfare, the Mark Speir era of Western Carolina football started well Thursday night with a 42-14 victory over nearby Mars Hill. The Catamounts’ win launched the 2012 football season for regional teams. The remaining eight SoCon programs and all seven Big South Conference squads get underway Saturday.

By Myron Hosea
CSN So South Columnist
College Sporting News

Speir – a former assistant at Appalachian State – returned purple helmets to the Catamount wardrobe and handed the starting quarterback job to true freshman quarterback Troy Mitchell. The young signal caller responded by completing 20 of 29 pass attempts for 149 yards and rushing for two touchdowns.

Western Carolina ran well all night, getting 344 yards on the ground. Darius Ramsey rushed for 120 yards, and Michael Johnson added two rushing touchdowns. The defense chipped in with four takeaways.

Beating Mars Hill, a Division II playoff team in 2011, is a welcome achievement for a victory-starved program. The competition improves next week with a visit to Marshall. A better test of how improved the Catamounts are will come Sept. 15 when they open SoCon play at Wofford.

Speaking of the Wofford, its game at Gardner-Webb is one of the week-one games in which I’m most interested. These teams haven’t played since 2007, and this is one of toughest season-openers Gardner-Webb has had in some time. I would expect the Bulldogs to be primed for the upset, but Wofford has a lot of players who remember the near-stumble in week one at Presbyterian College a year ago.

The other games I find interesting include the first SoCon game of the season when Samford hosts Furman and the battle of neighbors between Charleston Southern and The Citadel.

Furman and Samford have a competitive history, which the Paladins lead 8-6. It’s a huge game for the Paladins and Bulldogs. Both of these teams are in the middle of the pack in the SoCon and losing the conference opener puts the loser in a real difficult spot.

The last time Charleston Southern and The Citadel played (season opener, 2007) was the first game I covered for CSN. It’s memorable for me because I remember most everyone in the press box wound up tracking on the Internet Appalachian State’s upset win at Michigan. The Bulldogs figure to have the edge, but you have to imagine that the Bucs would love to end their 12-game losing streak with a win over The Citadel.

Three SoCon teams open the season on the road against FBS teams: Appalachian State at East Carolina, Elon at North Carolina, and Chattanooga at South Florida. Preseason SoCon favorite Georgia Southern hosts Jacksonville.

Liberty, under new coach Turner Gill, is the only Big South team challenging a FBS squad on the first Saturday as the Flames travel to Wake Forest. League favorite Stony Brook starts at home against Central Connecticut State. New coach Joe Moglia will make his debut on the Coastal Carolina sideline in a home game against North Carolina A&T. Presbyterian College welcomes Brevard College to Clinton while VMI opens on the road at Delaware State.