ASU’s 24th win in its last 26 meetings with WCU was also its 25th-straight Southern Conference (SoCon) victory. ASU (7-0, 5-0 SoCon) is just five wins short of the SoCon record of 30-consecutive league triumphs, set by West Virginia from 1952-59.
ASU’s latest win in the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug had far less drama than the last two, which were both decided in the second half, because for all intents and purposes, Saturday’s game was over in the first quarter. ASU scored on 3-of-4 first-quarter possessions, all of which started in WCU territory, to grab a commanding 20-0 lead.
Travaris Cadet set the tone for the dominating first period by returning the opening kickoff 56 yards to the WCU 44. Eight plays later, DeAndre Presley scored on an 11-yard run to make it 7-0 just 3:22 into the game.
WCU (2-6, 1-4 SoCon) pulled out all the stops early in the game in hopes of an upset, beginning with its opening play when it picked up 50 yards on a flea-flicker. However, the trickery backfired for the rest of the period, which was a big factor in ASU building what proved to be an insurmountable lead.
After an ill-fated fourth-down attempt left WCU empty-handed following the big gain on their first play, WCU coach Dennis Wagner went into the bag of tricks again on the Cats’ next possession, calling for a fake punt on fourth-and-eight from their own 20 yard line. Demery Brewer easily snuffed out the fake and ASU quickly took advantage of the great field possession, with Presley scoring his second touchdown of the afternoon from four yards out to cap a five-play, 22-yard drive and make it 13-0.
On its ensuing possession, WCU gave ASU impeccable field position again when tailback Michael Johnson muffed a handoff and Gordy Witte, Jr. recovered at the WCU 26. ASU once again made quick work of the short field and stretched the lead to 20-0 on Cedric Baker’s two-yard touchdown run with 1:22 still left to play in the opening period.
After out-gaining the Catamounts 122-66 in the opening period, ASU’s offense sputtered in the second quarter and WCU appeared to grab momentum when Zac Brindise found Marquel Pittman for a 32-yard touchdown pass that cut the ASU lead to 20-7 with 2:56 to go before halftime.
However, Presley and Co. squashed any thoughts of a WCU comeback by answering the Cats’ touchdown with an eight-play, 91-yard drive, capped by Presley’s third touchdown run of the half from seven yards out. It took ASU just 2:12 to carve WCU up on the 91-yard drive, which started with a 31-yard run by Presley and a 21-yard pass to Brian Quick, and ASU took a comfortable 27-7 lead into the halftime break.
ASU tacked on a 10-yard touchdown run by Cadet in the third quarter and a 33-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris in the fourth to close out its seventh-straight game with 30-plus points.
As has been the case all year, Presley led the offensive charge, accounting for 272 total yards. The Walter Payton Award and SoCon Offensive Player of the Year candidate torched WCU for 185 yards on 21-of-26 passing and added 87 yards to go along with the three scores on just nine carries (9.7 avg.).
Presley completed passes to seven different receivers, led by Matt Cline, who hauled in seven receptions for 60 yards. Cadet added 153 all-purpose yards (80 rushing, 10 receiving and 63 on kickoff returns).
After not allowing The Citadel to complete a pass a week ago, ASU’s run defense stepped up on Saturday, limiting WCU to just 88 rushing yards. Buck Buchanan Award candidate D.J. Smith led the effort with a game-high 13 tackles, good for his fifth-straight double-digit-tackle performance.
Against the pass, ASU registered a season-high five sacks, led by two from Buchanan Award candidate Jabari Fletcher, and broke up nine passes, paced by three by Ed Gainey.
At 7-0 for just the second time since 1954 and only the fourth time in school history, ASU returns to action this Saturday, October 30 when it hosts longtime rival Furman. ASU’s annual Black Saturday game kicks off at 3:30 p.m.
