No. 13 Wofford 38, Presbyterian 21
Final Stats
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College football team opened the season with a 38-21 win over Presbyterian College on Saturday night at Gibbs Stadium. The Blue Hose took an early 14-0 lead, but Wofford the next 31 points to take control of the game.
The Terriers are 1-0 on the season and Presbyterian is 0-1. Wofford was led by quarterback Ben Widmyer with 107 rushing yards and 138 passing yards. Dane Romero had 15 carries for 100 yards and three touchdowns, while Andy Strickland had three catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
“It shows a lot about our football team that we dug ourselves a pretty big hole against a good football team and we came out of it,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “Presbyterian is a good team and they are going to win a lot of football games. One of the big things for us was we made some adjustments defensively and basically told the guys to settle down and play your technique. I think offensively on the line of scrimmage we started to create some space and got the ball inside and outside, then took it straight at them. We had some big pass plays and I was pleased with the ways our kids got after it.”
The Blue Hose wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as they drove 69 yards in five plays as Tim Webb found Terrance Butler for a 57-yard touchdown reception just 1:46 into the game. Wofford fumbled the ensuing kickoff return and a six-yard touchdown pass from Webb to S.J. Worrell made it a 14-0 lead at 11:10 in the first quarter.
Wofford battled back when Ben Widmyer found Andy Strickland down the sidelines for a 40-yard touchdown reception. The play capped a five-play, 60-yard drive. The next Presbyterian drive ended with a 26-yard field goal attempt that went wide right.
The Terriers then were able to move the ball to the Presbyterian one-yard line, but a fumble ended the drive. The Wofford defense forced a three-and-out and the Terriers responded with a 24-yard field goal from Patrick Mugan for a 14-10 score at 9:44 in the second quarter.
After another three-and-out by the Blue Hose, the Terriers went 50-yards in five plays, highlighted by a 20-yard run by Widmyer and capped by a one-yard run by Dane Romero to take a 17-14 lead. On the third play of the next drive by Presbyterian, safety Jason Leventis forced and recovered a fumble. The Terriers again were able to move the ball, including a 42-yard outstretched grab by Justice Joslin, but another fumble ended the drive.
The Blue Hose, aided by a pass interference call, advanced the ball to the Terriers’ 25-yard line. Jason Leventis came up with his first career interception and returned it 80-yard for a touchdown and a 24-14 lead with 1:53 left in the first half.
Wofford opened the second half with a seven-play, 59-yard drive capped by a one-yard rush by Dane Romero. Ben Widmyer had a 27-yard rush on the drive as Wofford took a 31-14 lead. Several drives later, Presbyterian was able to reach the Wofford seven-yard line, but the Terrier defense stood strong and the Blue Hose turned it over on downs.
In the fourth quarter, Presbyterian went 65-yards in 14 plays with a four-yard touchdown pass from Tim Webb to Terrance Butler for a 31-21 score with 12:21 left. Both teams then turned the ball over on down to end drives. Wofford was able to end the scoring for the day with a four-yard run by Dane Romero to end a 46-yard drive with 2:52 left in the game.
On the next play by the Blue Hose, Aaron Scott recovered a fumble and the Terriers were able to hold the ball for the remaining 2:43 and win the first game of the season.
Wofford outgained Presbyterian 367 rushing yards to 31. Presbyterian had the edge in the passing game with 351 yards to Wofford’s 145. Wofford had the ball for 33:33 and were 3-of-4 in fourth down conversions.
Next week the Terriers will travel to Charleston to face Charleston Southern at 1:30 pm.
Furman 62, Mars Hill 14
Final Stats
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jordan Sorrells passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score to lead Furman to a 62-14 season opening win over Mars Hill Saturday evening at Paladin Stadium.
Sorrells, a junior from Greenville making his third career start but first since the 2006 season, completed 19-of-26 passes and threw touchdown strikes covering 11, 8, and 54 yards and also added a 9-yard scoring run in helping Furman (1-0) to the victory.
The Paladins rolled up 486 yards in total offense while limiting Mars Hill (0-1) to just 172 total yards. Furman’s 62 points marked its highest output since the 2003 season and most ever in a season opener.
“We’re very pleased with our performance,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb, who notched the 50th victory of his coaching career. “We did what we’ve been doing in practice ? executing well without a lot of mistakes.
The way we played in the first half was a thing of beauty. We played a lot of guys and we had a bunch of players step up and make plays.”
“I thought we played well early, especially on defense, but we just ran out of gas,” said Mars Hill coach Tim Clifton. “Our defense stayed on the field too long because we had trouble in the first half moving the football.”
Sorrells connected with R.J. Webb on an 11-yard touchdown pass on the game’s first possession to stake Furman to a 7-0 lead.
It remained that way until the second quarter, when the Paladins erupted for 31 points, highlighted by a 7-yard run by Sorrells touchdown run and an 8-yard scoring toss to Sederrik Cunningham. Trent Hawk’s 40-yard field goal on the final play of the half stretched Furman’s lead to 38-0.
Mars Hill got on the board on its first possession of the second half on a 6-yard touchdown run by George Stripling, but Furman answered a little over a minute later when Sorrells connected with Cunningham on a quick horizontal completion, which the redshirt freshman turned into a 54-yard touchdown reception to make it 45-7.
Mike Brown headlined Furman’s ground game, which featured 11 ballcarrriers, rushing 13 times for 93 yards and a score. Adam Mims, meanwhile, accounted for a team high six receptions for 67 yards.
Defensively true freshman linebacker Chris Wiley topped the Paladins with seven tackles while rover Rick Furman added six stops The Paladins also tallied four quarterback sacks and four turnovers, including three fumble recoveries.
Furman takes on Virginia Tech next week in a 1:30 p.m. game in Blacksburg, Va.
No. 23 The Citadel 54, Webber International 7
Final Stats
Charleston, S.C. ? The Citadel Football opened their 2008 season with a 54-7 win over Webber International on Saturday night before a crowd of 11,247 at Sansom Field at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Summerville’s Asheton Jordan recorded 70 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut to lead the Bulldogs’ rushing effort.
Webber International won the coin toss and received the ball first, only to have a punt blocked and recovered by the Bulldogs on the Warriors’ 34-yard line. Two plays later, The Citadel put their first points on the board with a 3-yard run by Jordan at 10:47 on the clock. The run marked Jordan’s first collegiate touchdown.
The Bulldogs’ second score came just two minutes later when All-American wide receiver Andre Roberts returned a Warrior punt 64 yards for a touchdown at 8:40. The score marked the first time a Bulldog returned a punt for a TD since 1999.
The Citadel opened the second quarter with a 38-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Bart Blanchard to Roberts at 12:49, marking the Bulldogs’ first passing touchdown of the game. Four plays into The Citadel’s next possession, Roberts caught a 78-yard pass from Blanchard, increasing the lead to 35-0. The Bulldogs held Webber International scoreless for the remaining of the first half going into halftime, 38-0.
The third quarter saw two more touchdowns by the Bulldogs. The first was a Cam Turner 24-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Luke Caldwell at 13:15 in the third, marking a career first for both Turner and Caldwell. With 3:34 left in the quarter sophomore Tyler Starnes also recorded his first collegiate touchdown with a 10-yard pass from Turner.
The Warriors’ first and only score of the game came early in the fourth quarter when Tito Torres connected on a 15-yard pass from Cory Johns with 14:11 left in the game, making the score 51-7.
The final score of the game was a 27-yard field goal by redshirt freshman kicker Sam Keeler, who finished the night 2-of-2 for field goals and 6-of-7 for extra point attempts.
The Bulldogs ended the night with 54 first downs and 385 total yards. Blanchard connected on 12-of-14 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Turner finished the night 3-of-5 for 54 yards and two touchdowns. The Citadel had no turnovers. Roberts led The Citadel in passing with 91 yards on three catches and two TDs, while Jordan gained 70 yards on 10 carries and two scores.
Webber International totaled 199 yards, 121 passing and 78 rushing. They had seven first downs and turned the ball over on one occasion.
The Citadel (1-0) will head to Clemson next Saturday to take on the Tigers at Memorial Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kick-off. For more information on Bulldog Football or The Citadel Athletics, go to the official website for Bulldogs Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
No. 6 Richmond 28, No. 15 Elon 10
Final Stats
ELON, N.C. (AP) -- Josh Vaughan rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns to lead Richmond to a 28-10 victory over Elon on Saturday.
Vaughan's 72-yard touchdown run with 12:35 remaining in the game capped the victory for the Spiders (1-0), who held the Phoenix scoreless in the second half. He also scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter.
Richmond quarterback Eric Ward was 17-for-22 for 236 yards and two touchdowns. He hit Kevin Grayson on an 80-yard scoring pass to open the scoring with 6:15 left in the first quarter and found Joe Stewart on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds left in the third.
Grayson finished with seven catches for 121 yards.
Richmond had 452 yards of total offense and held Elon (0-1) to 22 yards rushing.
Elon quarterback Scott Riddle threw for 243 yards. Terrell Hudgins had 10 catches for 78 yards and Bo Williamson added five catches for 92 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown reception.
No. 1 Georgia 45, No. 17 Georgia Southern 21
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia Southern made a second half run against the nation’s top-ranked team but fell short in its upset bid of Georgia, losing 45-21 in front of a capacity crowd at Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 30). The 17th-ranked Eagles opened on the road for the first time in three years, and played against the top-ranked Football Bowl Subdivision team for the first time in program history.
The capacity crowd of 92,746 matches the Eagles’ record for largest attendance they have played in front of (2004 game at Georgia).
Georgia Southern went 3-and-out on its opening drive then Georgia took possession near midfield. Matthew Stafford connected with A.J. Green on a 36-yard completion down to the two. Knowshon Moreno punched it in on the next play as the Bulldogs took an early 7-0 lead.
The Eagles held Georgia on third down but true-freshman Blair Walsh connected on a 52-yard field goal with 8:25 left to extend the lead to 10-0.
Late in the first GS drove into Georgia territory, keyed by Darrel Pasco’s 45-yard kickoff return to midfield. A pair of offsides calls on Georgia, including one for a first down, and Antonio Henton’s 18-yard pass to Tim Camp got the Eagles inside the 20. However, a 36-yard field goal attempt by Jesse Hartley went wide left. Chris Covington recovered a fumble (the fourth of his career) three plays later to set up the Eagles on the Georgia 35.
GS drove down to the one, but an offsides then a sack set up 3rd-and-goal from the 10. Henton was intercepted in the endzone by Dannell Ellerbe.
Right before halftime UGA marched 72 yards in 2:37, capped by Moreno’s 3-yard TD run to extend the lead to 24-0. The last time Georgia Southern was held scoreless in the first half was in 2005 at Appalachian State.
UGA needed two plays to score a TD to start the second half. Moreno capped a 71-yard drive by scoring from 24 yards out. Later in the quarter Stafford connected with Demiko Goodman on a 5-yard TD, making it 38-0.
On the Eagles’ ensuing drive Lee Chapple found Marcus Russ for a 21-yard completion on a 4th-and-5 from midfield. Darell Norman took a 26-yard reverse down to the one. Chapple dove in on the next play to put the Eagles on the board with 4:27 left in the third.
Chapple drove the Eagles 82 yards on their next drive for another touchdown, this time a pitch to fellow freshman Samair Baker from two yards.
Joe Cox hit Green on a 4-yard score but again the Eagles responded. Adam Urbano returned a punt 14 yards to set up GS on its own 46. Henton found Russ for 20 yards but three plays later was facing a 4th-and-9. The sophomore quarterback found Leander Barney on a 35-yard scoring strike for the final margin.
“We had a lot of questions at the beginning of the season. You could tell that our nerves got to us in the red zone. Our offensive line did well, we ran the ball exceptionally well today,” said head coach Chris Hatcher. “We fought for 60 minutes and played very hard. We had a bunch of guys who will come out and fight. As the game went along the nerves went away.”
Chapple started the game at quarterback and the redshirt-freshman completed 9-of-18 passes for 86 yards. He rushed for six yards and scored a touchdown. Henton was 10-of-18 for 102 yards and one touchdown.
Norman led the Eagles with 60 rushing yards on 12 carries. Russ caught four passes for 59 yards while Camp recorded a career-high 48 receiving yards on three receptions.
Quentin Taylor paced the defense with five tackles, including a 2-yard sack. Pasco, Brandon Echols and Dakota Walker recorded four tackles each.
Jesse Hartley connected on all three extra point attempts, extending his streak to 50 straight since the start of his junior year (2007).
Redshirt-freshman Charlie Edwards averaged 44 yards on seven punts, including a long of 55 and launched one that was downed on the Georgia one yard line.
“Their team speed is phenomenal, their receivers are bigger than some of our linemen,” said Hatcher. “We found some things we are good at and some things we have to work on. Our two quarterbacks played well and they both made good and bad decisions today. We brought up 72 players and rotated them in and out to keep them fresh. The freshmen played well today.”
Stafford completed 13-of-21 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Moreno finished with 59 rushing yards and three touchdowns in addition to 53 receiving yards as the pair of Heisman Trophy candidates accounted for nearly 400 yards of total offense.
Corey Irvin and Darryl Gamble paced the defense with six tackles each.
NOTES: The Eagles held nearly a six minute advantage in time of possession in the first quarter, 10:52 to 4:08 but were down 10-0. Overall the Eagles held a 33:08-26:52 edge... GS was only 4-of-16 on third down but a perfect 2-of-2 on fourth down conversions. Last year the Eagles led the nation in fourth down conversions... UGA held a 535-290 edge in total offense but committed 11 penalties to the Eagles’ three... In all 24 redshirt- and true-freshmen played and 32 saw their first game action as an Eagle.
No. 7 LSU 41, No. 1 Appalachian State 13
Final Stats
BATON ROUGE, La. ? A year after stunning the college-football world with a season-opening victory at Michigan, No. 1 (FCS) Appalachian State University football couldn’t repeat the same feat at LSU in the 2008 season opener, falling 41-13 to No. 7 (FBS) LSU at Tiger Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
LSU’s front lines stymied the Mountaineers all day, as the Tigers rushed for 266 yards while limiting the Appalachian ground attack to just 52 rushing yards on 28 carries. Charles Scott did the majority of LSU’s work on the ground with 160 yards and two scores on 16 carries. ASU quarterback Armanti Edwards, facing strong pressure all afternoon, completed 13 of his 31 attempts for 155 yards to pace an offensive attack that had difficulty getting in rhythm before the hostile crowd of 91,922. His target of choice for most of the afternoon was CoCo Hillary set career highs with nine receptions for 80 yards.
Appalachian appeared to emerge from the locker room at halftime invigorated, forcing a three-and-out on LSU’s first possession and then stalling the Tigers’ second series of the half. The Mountaineers took over possession on their own 40-yard line and marched 74 yards to cross the goal line for the first time with a 44-yard strike from Edwards to Robert Welton on a route out of the backfield. The 44-yard touchdown pass, ASU’s longest offensive play of the game, capped a 7-play, 60-yard drive.
After a 33-yard field goal from LSU’s Josh Jasper made the score 34-7, the Mountaineer defense continued to make plays with Jacque Roman picking off a Jarrett Lee pass on the LSU 24 yard line near the end of the third quarter. Roman returned the ball to the 11 yard line but the Mountaineer offense couldn’t fully capitalize on the field position, settling for a 24-yard Jason Vitaris field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter.
LSU extended its lead to 41-10 on Brandon LaFell’s second touchdown catch of the afternoon, a 39-yard connection from Lee with a 10:03 left in the contest. The Mountaineers narrowed that margin on their final possession of the game as freshman quarterback DeAndre Presley drove the Apps to the LSU 13 yard line with a 32-yard pass to Devin Radford. Presley was shaken up on the play and a botched snap and a sack quickly forced the Mountaineers to settle for a 44-yard field goal from Vitaris to close the scoring.
The Tigers jumped to a quick 14-0 lead with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter, needing just two plays from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead after the Apps’ opening drive stalled at LSU’s 36-yard line. Taking over after a failed fourth-down conversion, Scott went 55 yards on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage all the way to the ASU 8-yard line. On the very next play, Scott scored from eight yards out.
The Tigers’ ensuing possession found paydirt when a 10-play, 56-yard drive culminated with a 17-yard pass from Andrew Hatch to Demetrius Bryd. Appalachian’s defense began to settle down at the onset of the second quarter when the ASU linebacking corps made a pair of stops at its own 3 yard line to limit the Tigers to a 21-yard field goal that gave LSU a 17-0 lead. D.J. Smith made both of the big stands with Pierre Banks and Roman assisting on one each to stymie the 9-play, 60-yard drive. For the game, Roman led the Apps with 12 tackles and Smith chipped in 11.
LSU added to its first-half lead with a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to carry a 31-0 lead into halftime. The Tigers added points on a 31-yard Jarrett Lee pass to a wide open Brandon LaFell with 5:35 left before intermission. A 29-yard touchdown jaunt by Scott on fourth-and-inches with less than a minute to play in the opening half gave the Tigers’ the 31-0 halftime advantage.
In all, the Tigers out-gained the Apps, 323-119, in the first half, with 193 of those yards coming on the ground. Scott accounted for 144 rushing yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns in the first half alone.
The Mountaineers open their 2008 home slate next Saturday when they host Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
POSTGAME NOTES: Eight Mountaineers made their first career starts (DT Malcolm Bennett, WR Blake Elder, WR B.J. Frazier, WR CoCo Hillary, DB Mark LeGree, DE Quavian Lewis, DB Dominique McDuffie and WR Brian Quick) ... Robert Welton’s 44-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter were the first reception and touchdown of the sophomore’s career ... Jacque Roman’s third-quarter interception was the first of his career and it set up the first field goal of kicker Jason Vitaris’ career ... the crowd of 91,922 at Tiger Stadium was the second-largest to ever see ASU play, behind only the 109,218 on hand for last year’s opener at Michigan ... the crowd included a contingent of 3,500 Mountaineer faithful ... six true freshmen played in their first collegiate games ? Demery Brewer, Wilson Fitchett, Ed Gainey, McDuffie, DeAndre Presley and Lanston Tanyi ... due to the time change associated with Louisiana’s preparations for Hurricane Gustav, the game was broadcast on ESPN Classic and ASU’s perfect 12-0 record on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU remained intact ... however, Appalachian’s 13-game winning streak in nationally televised games was snapped ... it was the Mountaineers’ first loss on national TV since a 24-14 setback to Wofford on The Football Network in 2003.
No. 4 Oklahoma 57, Chattanooga 2
Final Stats
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) ? Fourth-ranked Oklahoma scored 50 first-half points and raced to a 57-2 victory over Chattanooga.
Sam Bradford threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns, Chris Brown ran for three scores and only an hourlong rainstorm could slow down the fourth-ranked Sooners in a 57-2 victory against Chattanooga on Saturday night.
The Sooners converted their first seven possessions into touchdowns and led 50-0 before a thunderstorm caused a lightning delay that extended halftime by 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Oklahoma seemed to be pulling back on the reins after reaching former coach Barry Switzer's proverbial "half a hundred," putting fullback Matt Clapp at tailback for the next series. Dominique Franks also called for a fair catch on what seemed to be a returnable punt.
But after halftime, Oklahoma's starters were back on the field -- even if their production level fell off sharply. They managed only two first downs on their first three drives before backups started filtering in.
Bradford completed 17 of 22 passes, including a 3-yard score to Quentin Chaney and a 7-yard TD to Manuel Johnson on fade patterns. DeMarco Murray had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs, one of them following a 49-yard scamper, and finished with 124 yards on 15 carries.
Brown also had touchdown runs of 10 and 9 yards.
The Mocs scored their only points after Oklahoma's first drive of the second half, when punter Mike Knall tracked down a bad snap in the end zone and knocked it out of bounds for a safety.
Chattanooga coach Rodney Allison talked earlier this week about hoping to make it a game into the second half, like the Mocs did last year at Arkansas, and trying to avoid injuries. Neither one worked.
Tailback Erroll Wynn, who took the place of injured starter Bryan Fitzgerald, didn't return after getting hurt in the second quarter and starting quarterback Jare Gault came out with his right arm dangling at his side in the third quarter.
All fans were asked to leave the seating area of Owen Field during halftime, although they were told that re-entering would not be allowed if they left the stadium.
A line of fans remained on the top row of the lower deck, under the overhang of the upper level, and a dozen or so more remained near the field in the student section. Other huddled on the concourse and in tunnels.
The rest left. They had seen enough already anyway.
Chattanooga, Oklahoma's first Championship Subdivision opponent since Stoops' debut in 1999, had only one first down, one completed pass and negative yardage on its first seven possessions, thanks in part to a high snap that went over the punter's head for a safety.
The Mocs ended up with 36 yards, three completed passes and never did get another first down.
After backup quarterback Joey Halzle's 36-yard touchdown pass to Iglesias made it a 50-point lead, Oklahoma's mascot ponies -- Boomer and Sooner -- weren't even sent onto the field with the Sooner Schooner for their usual celebration. Unlike all the first-half scores, no fireworks were set off after Brown's 1-yard TD run put Oklahoma up 57-2.