CULLOWHEE, N.C. (Interstat) — Western Carolina defeated Tennessee Tech 44-20 in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The Catamounts improved to 3-3, while the Golden Eagles fell to 4-1. Western Carolina, the home team, controlled the second half and pulled away late. Tennessee Tech, the visiting team, stayed within reach early but could not match the Catamounts after halftime. The Catamounts scored in every quarter and held the Golden Eagles to 20 points.

Western Carolina opened the scoring with Bryan McCollum’s 25-yard field goal with 6:42 remaining in the first quarter. Later in the first quarter, Lex Thomas rushed to the Tennessee Tech 1 with 5:17 left, and Jordan Martin-Durham scored on a 1-yard run with 1:44 remaining. In the second quarter, Thomas connected with Jai Boyd for a 49-yard touchdown with 12:11 left, and McCollum added a 39-yard field goal with 7:26 remaining. Tennessee Tech answered when Jax Leatherwood found Eric Weatherly for a 4-yard touchdown with 4:32 left. The play was reviewed, and the ruling of runner inbounds was upheld. In the third quarter, J.Perry broke free for a 35-yard touchdown run for Western Carolina with 10:40 remaining. Carter Brown kicked a 30-yard field goal for Tennessee Tech with 3:09 left. In the fourth, J.Perry scored again on a 13-yard run with 14:22 remaining, and Martin-Durham added a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:03 left to seal the result.

Jax Leatherwood led Tennessee Tech’s offense. The 6-foot-8, 253-pound quarterback from San Diego, California, completed 26 of 46 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed two times for 3 yards. Eric Weatherly caught three passes for 29 yards and one touchdown and made one tackle. Tre’ Holloway had five receptions for 36 yards and returned one punt for no yards. Maury Sullivan caught two passes for 29 yards. Lazaro Rodriguez had one reception for 3 yards. Defensively, Anthony Busa made 11 tackles. Omari Philyaw recorded 10 tackles. Greg Turner III added eight tackles. Alex Edwards had seven tackles. Kaleb Brown and Seth Vaughn each made six tackles. McKenzie Hazzard had five tackles and one sack. Eric Taylor and Will Johnson each finished with four tackles.

Lex Thomas guided Western Carolina. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound quarterback completed 19 of 30 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown and rushed 19 times for 94 yards and one touchdown. AJ Colombo caught six passes for 60 yards. Jai Boyd caught two passes for 49 yards and one touchdown. Corey Swint had one reception for 45 yards. Kha’leal Sterling rushed once for 3 yards and caught one pass for 23 yards. Jordan Martin-Durham rushed four times for 7 yards, made one tackle and scored two touchdowns. Michael Rossin rushed once for 11 yards and caught two passes for 6 yards. Marlin Cochran carried 11 times for 26 yards. Kale Woodburn caught one pass for 9 yards. Jake Young caught two passes for 10 yards. Santana Carlos had one reception for 10 yards. In his previous game against East Tennessee State, Thomas completed 16 of 32 passes for 163 yards and rushed 11 times for 52 yards with three touchdowns.

Western Carolina’s defense produced several key stops. Blue Monroe, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker, made five tackles. Joshua Collins, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound running back, also made five tackles. Nassor Ashenafi recorded seven tackles. Jayden Cornelius, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound cornerback, made four tackles, and Andre Jackson Jr., a 5-foot-10, 180-pound cornerback, made five tackles. Jermiyah Douglas had two tackles. Caleb Turner-Allen had two tackles and one sack. Na’koma Simpson-Nealy, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound safety, had one tackle and one interception. Da’Shawn Davis, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive lineman, had one tackle and two quarterback hurries. Trystan Anderson, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive lineman, had one tackle and one quarterback hurry. Ryan McKinnis, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker, made two tackles. Mark Fitzgerald punted four times for 129 yards. Richard Hollis, a 5-foot-8, 170-pound wide receiver, returned one kickoff for 25 yards. Bryan McCollum, a 5-foot-8, 160-pound kicker, handled kicking duties. Among the other defensive contributors, Braylon Jones, Jabari McWilliams, a 6-foot-0, 270-pound defensive lineman; Dylan Harris, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive lineman; Marco Patierno, a 6-foot-0, 225-pound linebacker; Alant’e Reese, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety; Chase Kerns; Cain Jefferson, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound defensive end; Braeden Barger; Vanier Baptiste III, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound tackle; Julian Quintero, a 6-foot-0, 200-pound safety; and Marseille Taylor, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound cornerback each recorded one tackle.

Tennessee Tech moved to 4-1 after opening the season with wins over Wofford, Samford, Chattanooga and Monmouth. The Golden Eagles beat Monmouth 38-14, won at Chattanooga 24-9, beat Samford 45-19 and won at Wofford 42-38. Western Carolina evened its record at 3-3 after previous results against East Tennessee State, Presbyterian, Cincinnati, Campbell and Eastern Kentucky. The Catamounts beat Eastern Kentucky and Presbyterian and lost to Cincinnati and East Tennessee State. The Catamounts’ win came before their next game at Mercer. Tennessee Tech will return home to face Furman in its next contest. Western Carolina will then host Chattanooga in a later game. Tennessee Tech’s upcoming schedule also includes home games against Eastern Kentucky, Virginia Military Institute and Mercer, along with trips to Citadel, East Tennessee State and Mississippi State. Western Carolina’s upcoming schedule also includes a trip to Furman, a home game against Wofford, a trip to Samford and a home game against Citadel.

Interstat’s game simulator projected Tennessee Tech 51, Western Carolina 38 before the game. Interstat’s ELO system gave Tennessee Tech a 52.4 percent probability to win. Western Carolina had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-12.5. Western Carolina covered the spread as the home favorite. The total score of 64 finished under the over-under line of 64.5.