Who: VMI Keydets
When: November 15, 2014 at 2:00 pm (EST)
Where: Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, NC
Series History:
Western Carolina currently leads the series 17-3. The
Cats and
Keydets first played in 1978 and last played in 2002, with the
Cats owning an eleven game winning streak over
VMI.
Western Carolina was the last
SoCon team the
Keydets played in
Lexingtonbefore their departure from the
Southern Conference.
Their coach:
Sparky Woods - Sparky Woods enters his seventh season as head coach of the VMI football program, and continues to make his mark throughout the program by implementing the philosophy and knowledge attained over an impressive coaching career.
Catamount fans might also remember
Woodsas the head coach of
Appalachian State from 1984 -1988.
Last year’s record: 2-10 overall, 1-4 Big South
How they got there: The
Keydets opened the season on the road at CAA's
Richmond, dropping the opener to the
Spiders, 0-34. The following week,
VMI returned home and picked up a win against
Glenville State, 34-27. Remaining at home, the
Keydets were beaten the following week by
North Greenville, 24-37.
VMI then traveled to
Virginia, picking up their third loss of the season, 0-49.
Robert Morris of the Northeast Conference was next to visit Lexington, and pulled out an overtime victory, 21-37. Entering conference play in the
Big South,
Charleston Southern was next up in Lexington, and the
Bucs were able to pull out a hard fought win, 17-25. The
Keydets then went on the road for three straight
Big South games, at
PC, at
CCU, and at
Liberty. The
Keydets fell at
PC, 35-49, the traveled to Number 3 nationally ranked
Coastal Carolina, CCU had little trouble with the
Keydets, winning 27-66. In the final conference road game at
Liberty, the
Keydetskept it close, losing to the
Flames, 7-17. The road weary
VMI team returned to Lexington for the final BS home game of the season, and the final game against a
Big South opponent in Lexington before their departure to the
SoCon. The
Bulldogs of
Gardner-Webb traveled to Lexington, and fell victim to the
Keydets, 27-9. The following week, renewing their rivalry,
VMI traveled to Charleston to meet the
Citadel, falling 10-31. To close out the season,
Bucknell of the Patriot League traveled to Lexington, winning 35-23 over the
Keydets.
The last game vs. VMI:
Nov 2, 2002 - Western Carolina quarterbacks
Pat Cilento and
Brian Gaithercombined for 350 yards passing and four touchdowns to lead
Western Carolina past
VMI, 35-23, in the final
Southern Conference game played at
Alumni Memorial Field in Lexington. The
Catamount win was the 11th straight for
Western over the
Keydets and snapped
VMI's three-game win streak. With the win,
WCUimproves to 5-5, 3-4 in the
Southern Conference, while VMI fell to 5-5 and 2-4 in the
SoCon.
Letterwinners returning/lost: 34 - 20
Offense: 15 - 9
Defense: 18 - 9
Special Teams: 1 - 2
Starters Returning/Loss: 14 - 10
Offensive starters - Returning/Lost: 6 - 5Defensive starters - Returning/Lost: 7 - 4
Specialist Returning/Lost: 1 - 1
2013 Statistics:
Scoring: 19.6 points per game
Rushing Offense: 89 yards per game
TDs rushing: 9 rushing touchdowns
Passing Offense: 238.8 yards per game
TDs passing: 20 passing touchdowns
Total Offense: 327.8 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 22 - 11
Penalties-Yards: 76 - 597 yards (49.8 yds per game)
On-side kicks: 0 - 4
3rd Down Conversions: 58 of 167 (35%)
4th Down Conversions: 6 of 16 (38%)
Field Goals - Attempts: 9 of 16
Red-Zone Scores: 20 of 29 (69%)
Red-Zone Touchdowns: 16 of 29 (55%)
Losses/Weaknesses:
Key Losses - Eric Koenbrock - QB, Patrick Goulden & Will Lucas - OL, James Rogers - WR, Mario Thompson - TE, Weston Reber & Ty Garvin - LB
Strengths: At the
SoCom Media Day, the
Keydets were picked to finish in eighth place.
VMI had one player selected on the all conference team,
Andrew Marcotte, senior offensive line. Redshirt Sophomore
Hayden Alford (QB) will probably get the starting nod,
Alford replaces starter
Eric Koenbrock, and played in 4 games, completing 8 passes for 98 yards and no interceptions.
Returning Leaders:
Derrick Ziglar - RB,
Deon Watts - RB,
Same Patterson - WR,
Stat leaders -
Rushing -
Derrick Ziglar 148 attempts, 768 yards, 69.8 avg game, 5 tds
Deon Watts 56 attempts, 182 yards, 16.5 avg. game, 1 td
Passing -
Hayden Alford 8 completions, 13 attempts 98 yards
Receiving -
Sam Patterson 38 receptions, 646 yards, 17.0 avg, 8 tds
Derrick Ziglar 25 receptions, 336 yards, 13.4 avg, 1 td
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