LYNCHBURG, Va. – Quarterback Will Jones tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clayton Bardall and QB Mark Wright plunged in from 3 yards out to account for Western Carolina's scoring as the Catamounts dropped their season-opener at No. 22 Liberty on Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium.
WCU was playing its first football game in nearly a full calendar year since finishing the 2019 season at fifth-ranked Alabama in late November.
Flames quarterback Malik Willis accounted for 403 yards of total offense including 306 yards on 14-of-19 passing with three touchdowns and 97 rushing yards and two scores in the winning effort. Liberty (8-0) finished with 633 yards of total offense, while its defense created three turnovers including two interceptions and a fumble.
For the Catamounts, Wright, who earned the starting nod, completed 11-of-17 passes for 66 yards while Jones rushed for 32 yard and finished 7-of-13 for 74 yards passing including the TD to Bardall that closed the deficit to 14-7 early in the second quarter. Senior Donnavan Spencer rushed 12 times for 79 yards to lead WCU with tight end Owen Cosenke catching five passes for 56 yards.
Leading 7-0 after the first quarter of play, the Flames scored early in the second quarter on a 44-yard pass from Willis to Johnny Huntley to pull ahead by two scores. On his first drive at QB, Jones drove the offense 75 yards in seven plays, finishing the scoring drive on a jump-pass to Bardall to make it a one-score game.
Liberty responded, though, with four straight touchdowns to close the first half and start the second, capping the swing with an 83-yard pass from Willis to Kevin Shaa. Wright culminated an 11-play drive with a 3-yard scoring rush to make it 42-14. Flames placekicker Alex Barbir capped game scoring with a 54-yard field goal to provide the final tally, 58-14.
Senior linebacker Ty Harris paced the Catamount defense with 11 tackles including five solo stops and a sack, while junior Jacob Harris finished with nine total stops. Junior transfer linebacker Willie Hampton tallied five tackles and forced a fumble that was recovered by redshirt freshman Dorian Davis.
Western Carolina (0-1) travels to Richmond, Kentucky, to face Eastern Kentucky in the inaugural “Opportunity Bowl” on Nov. 21. Kickoff from Kidd Stadium is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN3.