Taron Dickens threw four touchdown passes, and the Western Carolina Catamounts defense forced four turnovers in a 52-7 win over Furman Paladins in a Southern Conference rout on Saturday afternoon.

Furman (4-2, 2-1) was derailed by turnovers. Despite a scoreless first quarter on either side, the game got away from the Paladins in the second frame.

After a 50-yard touchdown strike from Dickens to Michael Rossin, Gavin Hall returned the ball to the Catamounts (4-3, 3-0) on a fumble. Dickens found Joshua Perry on a 9-yard passing score for a 17-0 lead and a second touchdown in less than three minutes.

A week after setting the FCS record with 46 consecutive completions to start the game, Dickens was 17 of 24 for 220 yards with another 60 on the ground. He was pulled at the 7:48 mark in the fourth quarter.

Ken Moore Jr. led the Catamounts with two interceptions. Hasaan Sykes had the other.

Trey Hedden was 18 of 35 for 208 yards and a touchdown for Furman. He had three interceptions and one fumble that the Paladins recovered.

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