What is a Catamount anyway?

Webster’s dictionary defines a Catamount as being any of various wild cats (Lynx, Cougar, and Bobcat) that occupy The Appalachian Mountains. On Saturday, the Catamounts (Western Carolina’s Football Team.) were described by Coach Tommy Tuberville as being &uot;just what the doctor ordered.&uot; I agree, this game was the next best thing to an intra-squad scrimmage against the &uot;scout team.&uot; The only difference is that the player’s pre-game meal is better when you play a real, opponent like Western Carolina.

I traveled to Jordan-Hare on Saturday afternoon and watched the game between. Auburn and Western Carolina, and I was surprised to see how many other fans (80,067 to be exact) were in, attendance. Even though the team only had five days rest, they really showed a lot of energy against their 1 -AA opponent. The Tigers won 56-0, and it was an entertaining game for us Auburn fans to watch. The Tiger coaches cleared the benches and played sixty eight players, including twenty-two Freshman. This was a great opportunity for the fans to see our younger players show what they could do, and the future looks bright to me. Despite all of the scoring, the crowd remained relatively quiet until 1.9 seconds were left in the 3rd quarter. That was when the stadium announcer revealed the outcome of the Oklahoma vs. Alabama game. I guess for some Auburn fans it is just as fun to pull against the Tide as it is to pull for the Tigers.

The Selma boys had a great afternoon. Ben Obomanu had three catches for 18 yards, and he barely missed catching a touchdown pass in the fist quarter. Brett Holliman was on the field all day long. He plays on the kickoff coverage team, and the punt return team. He had to be worn out that night with seven touchdowns being scored by Auburn, and nothing but punts from the opponent. By the way, that guy a is wrecking ball. He was hitting everything that moved on Saturday. Also, Todd Bradford got on the field for the first time this season. He played most of the 4th quarter, and took part in, two scoring drives.

This was a good game for Auburn for two reasons. The first being that the Tigers were able to totally rest four starters (Torbor, Ratliffe, Thomas and Nowland), and limit others to only a few snaps. Carnell Williams only carried the ball four times before they put the &uot;Cadillac&uot; in the carport for a rest. However, he did score two touchdowns and average over 16 yards per carry. The second benefit of this game was the experience that the younger players got from playing so many downs. I think this will make us a better team during this long season.