GREENVILLE, S.C. — Cole Gonzales passed for 620 yards and five touchdowns to power Western Carolina to a 52-20 Southern Conference victory over Furman on Saturday at Paladin Stadium.

The win halted a four-game losing skid for Western Carolina (4-3, 3-0 SoCon) in Greenville and marked only the Catamounts' second win in the last 15 contests in Paladin Stadium.

Gonzales completed 35-of-55 passes in the contest, his 620 yards marking a Furman opponent record.  The Catamounts finished the contest with 801 yards in total offense — another standard for a Paladin foe.

Gonzales' first two scoring strikes went to Isiah Johnson, covering 15 and 62 yards to give WCU a 14-0 first quarter lead.

Furman answered immediately when Colton Hinton fielded the kickoff and raced 96 yards to the end zone to get the Paladins on the board.

The Catamounts, who compiled 394 total yards while limiting Furman to 61 total yards over the first half while taking a 17-6 lead, added to their advantage with a pair of third quarter touchdowns, getting a 23-yard Gonzales scoring strike De'Andre Tamarez and four-yard touchdown run by Jalynn Williams for a 31-6 lead.

Gonzales' big day continued in the fourth quarter with a pair of 20 and 48 yard touchdown passes — his fifth strike coming with 5:40 remaining — to stretch the Catamounts' lead to 45-13.

WCU put the finishing touch on its big offensive day when backup quarterback Taron Dickens hit Malik Knight with a 32-yard scoring toss with 1:54 on the clock.

Furman freshman quarterback Trey Hedden completed 22-of-34 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.  His favorite target was Hinton, whose nine catches for 114 yards marked career highs for the sophomore.

Furman's next game is Nov. 2 at VMI.