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Greenville, S.C. – Cole Gonzales passed for a Southern Conference record 620 yards and five touchdowns in guiding Western Carolina to a league benchmark 801 yards of total offense as the Catamounts stretched their current winning streak to three in a row with a commanding 52-20 victory over the Furman Paladins in Southern Conference action at Paladin Stadium.
Gonzales obliterated WCU’s 24-year school record for passing yards in a game, usurping David Rivers (RYE-vurrs) who threw for 474 yards against Wofford in 2000. He also eclipsed the SoCon’s single-game passing yard record previously held by Samford’s Liam Welch who threw for 582 yards against ETSU in 2021. Western Carolina’s 801 yards of total offense also set a league record, bypassing the 46-year-old mark of 795 set by Chattanooga back in 1978.
Gonzales finished 35-for-55 passing for 620 yards, his fifth career 300-plus yard passing game and represents the most passing yards by an individual at all four levels of the NCAA this season. He posted his fourth career five-touchdown game to give him 49 career TD tosses, third in program history and just one out of second place. He spread the football around to 11 different receivers with three Catamounts finishing with over 100 yards…