WKU Football: Tops Strike 49ers for Homecoming Win, 45–13

Homecoming on The Hill was treated to a 3 pm kickoff in the C-USA East division. Of course, it was between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers & Charlotte 49ers. The Tops went into today’s game looking for their third conference win of the season. The 49ers received the ball first after WKU deferred the decision.

After a quick three and out, the Tops offense started going to work. In the first drive of the game, things started in WKU’s favor. Bailey Zappe threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Daewood Davis.

After seven plays & 47 yards, the Tops were now leading 7–0 with 11:44 to go in the first quarter. Charlotte moved down the field on the ensuing drive and was only successful with a field goal attempt. The Tops were still leading 7–3 at the 6:39 mark.

On the second offensive drive of the game for WKU, Zappe’s unfortunate luck ended the drive early with an interception that was the result of overthrowing Malachi Corley. After a Demetrius Cain interception of defense, the offense was able to make up for their previous mistake. Zappe once again showcased his talent with deep passes and concluded the drive on a rare one-yard quarterback sneak.

With 1:21 left in the 1st, the Tops were leading 14–3. Once Charlotte got the ball back, their drive was short-lived as the Tops defense was able to force another turnover late in the first quarter.

Opening the second quarter, the game was still in favor of WKU. Zappe made sure to keep the lead for the Tops, finding Mitchell Tinsley for a 13-yard touchdown.

After just under two minutes passing in the second quarter, the Tops continued to lead 21–3. Charlotte was quick to stop the bleeding after James Foster lead the team down the field. This included a 53-yard completion to Shadrick Byrd. Foster later scored on a quarterback sneak. with 9:40 left in the 2nd, the Tops still lead 21–10. Charlotte would continue to score again after another WKU turnover. Jonathan Cruz kicked a 57-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 21–13. Quickly enough, this did not phase the Tops any as they were able to score again. Zappe found a familiar target for another scoring play, courtesy of Jerreth Sterns from 21 yards out.

At the end of the first half, the tops were leading 28–13.

Moving on to the third, the Tops did not score again until late in the quarter. Zappe was able to find Dalvin Smith on a red zone touchdown pass.

With 2:04 left in the third quarter, the Tops extended their lead to 35–13. Thankfully, things remained the same until the start of the fourth quarter, Brayden Narveson was called into action for his first field goal attempt and he was successful from 35 yards out. WKU continued to lead 38–13 with 12:44 left in the game.

Going back on offense after another Charlotte stop, the Tops were able to score again after a Noah Whittington-led drive which resulted in him scoring a touchdown. With under five minutes left, the Tops lead 45–13. Time will run ou as the Tops remain with the final score, getting their third conference victory of 2021.

Zappe was productive today as he threw for 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The defensive unit is getting better in terms of quarterback pressures and sacks.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers improve their 2021 record to 4–4, with a 3–1 Conference USA record. They will lay Middle Tennessee State in this year’s installment of The 100 Miles of Hate series next Saturday. Kickoff is slated to start at 2:30 CST with the game being broadcasted on ESPN Plus.

Here are the final stats from today’s homecoming win at The Houch: