Looking at Game 3, Catawba College

Who: Catawba College Indians

When: Saturday, September 13, 2014

Where: Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium

The Series: The Catamounts and Indians first met in 1933 after Western Carolina joined the newly formed North State Intercollegiate Conference, commonly known as the Old North State Conference.  The Old North State later became the Carolina's Conference with the addition of the first school from the state of South Carolina, Newberry College in 1961 . WCU and Catawba played yearly conference games from 1933 until 1969.  During that period, Catawba dominated WCU on the football field, with the Indians owning a 18-8-2 record over the Catamounts.

Their conference:  The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) - The South Atlantic Conference is in its 38th year as a NCAA Division II conference. A forerunner of the South Atlantic Conference was the North State Atlantic Conference (NSIAC). The NSIAC was formed when the "Little Six", as it was called, broke from the North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1930. These charter members included Lenoir-Rhyne College, Atlantic Christian, Catawba College, Guilford College, Elon College, and High Point College.

Their coach:  Curtis Walker - Former defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Western Carolina, Curtis Walker is in his second season as head coach at his alma mater. Prior to WCU, Walker spent 10 seasons as the DC at Coastal Carolina.

Last year’s record: 6-5 overall, 3-4 in the SAC

How they got there:  The Indians opened the season at home against West Liberty with a win, 10-9 to open the Curtis Walker era at Catawba.  Catawba followed the season opening win with victory over North Greenville on the road, 20-17.  In the third game of the young season, the Indians tasted their first defeat at the hands of Newberry, 27-0.   Bouncing back the next week, Catawba won 25-22 over Carson-Newman on the road.  Catawba then lost their next three games, losing to Tusculum, Wingate and UNC Pembroke. The Indians then picked up three straight wins over Brevard, Mars Hill and North Greenville, before dropping their season closing game to Lenoir-Rhyne.

Statistics:
Rushing Offense:  131.7 yards per game
TDs Rushing:  16
Passing Offense:  258.9 yards per game
TDs Passing:  17
Total Offense:  390.6 yards per game
Scoring Offense:  23.8 points per game
Fumbles-Lost:   12 - 6
Red-Zone Scores:  33 - 37  89%
Red-Zone Touchdowns:  27 - 37  73%
PAT-Attempts:  27 - 33  82%
3rd Down Conversions:  68 - 170  40%
4th Down Conversions:  11 - 19   58%

Losses/Weaknesses - The Indians lost 5 startin seniors on offense, & 5 starting seniors on defense

Strengths - The Indians signed 38 in their 2014 incoming class.

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