#17 Wofford 45, Western Carolina 14
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford football team used 501 rushing yards to defeat Western Carolina 45-14 on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers had three players with over 100 yards rushing as the team averaged 9.4 yards per play in the contest.
The Terriers are 5-1 on the season and 3-0 in the conference and the Catamounts are 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led in rushing by Mitch Allen with 178 yards, Eric Breitenstein with 149 yards and Donovan Johnson with 123 yards. Brian Kass added two touchdown passes in the game. The Catamounts were led by Michael Johnson with 69 rushing yards and Anderw Rogers with 43 receiving yards. On the day, Wofford had 590 total yards to only 219 for the Catamounts.
The Catamounts first drive ended with a sack of Zac Brindise by Josh Roseborough that forced a fumble which Roseborough also recovered. After gaining one first down, the Terriers scored with a 26-yard field goal by Christian Reed at 10:07 in the first quarter.
Wofford's defense forced Western Carolina to punt on their second possession of the game, but the Terriers gained only one first down before punting back to the Catamounts. Despite a short field, Keaton Thompson intercepted a pass at the line of scrimmage to give the ball back to the Wofford offense.
With the ball back, a 37-yard run by Mitch Allen got the Terriers deep inside Catamount territory. Wofford converted a fourth-and-one on the four-yard line and Eric Breitenstein carried it in from one-yard out for a 9-0 lead at 13:54 in the second quarter.
After a sack by Ameet Pall, the Catamounts were three-and-out and punted. On the first play for the Terriers, Angelo Brown came up with an interception of Mitch Allen and returned it to the Wofford 42-yard line. Western Carolina was able to convert the turnover into points when Michael Johnson rushed for a one-yard touchdown to make it a 9-7 game with 9:20 left in the first half.
Wofford was driving when Randy Pressley stepped in front of a pitch by Mitch Allen and returned the fumble 51-yard to the end zone to take a 14-9 lead at 6:21 in the second quarter. Back on offense, the Terriers used a 44-yard run by Mitch Allen to move to the ten-yard line. The drive was capped by a nine-yard run by Eric Breitenstein. The two-point conversion run failed and Wofford had a 15-14 lead with 2:47 left in the half.
The Terrier defense came up with a tackle for loss and a sack, forcing a three-and-out for the Catamounts. On the second play of Wofford's next drive, Brian Kass found Brentin Bersin for a 47-yard touchdown and a 22-14 lead with 47 seconds left on the clock. The Catamounts gained two first downs before the end of the first half.
After trading punts to open the second half, Wofford was able to use two key runs by Eric Breitenstein, including a 34-yard touchdown run, to take a 29-14 lead at 8:55 in the third quarter. With the ball back, the Catamounts picked up two first downs before punting the ball to the two-yard line. Wofford drove the 98-yards and capped the drive with a 32-yard touchdown run up the middle by Mitch Allen for a 35-14 score after the point after was missed with 1:08 left in the third quarter.
Following a three-and-out by the Catamounts, the Terriers were able to drive the field again and score on an eleven-yard touchdown pass from Brian Kass to Devin Reed to increase the lead to 42-14 with 13:07 on the clock in the fourth quarter.
With another punt by the Catamounts, the Terriers moved the ball downfield with a 54-yard run by Donovan Johnson. The drive ended with a 31-yard field goal by Christian Reed for a 45-14 score with 5:29 remaining in the game. The next drive by the Catamounts ended with an interception by Coleman Hornaday. Chris White was under center for the next drive by Wofford that ended with a punt. Western Carolina got the ball back with 1:29 on the clock and Coleman Hornaday again came up big with an interception in the end zone. Wofford took a knee twice to run out the clock on the victory.
The Terriers had 590 total yards, with 501 on the ground. Western Carolina had 219 yards,114 of which were rushing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage. Wofford was 4-of-11 on third downs. Western Carolina was 4-of-12 on third down.
Furman 27, Samford 10
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Furman scored 17 points over a 12:47 span in the second half to surge past Samford for a 27-10 Southern Conference victory Saturday at Seibert Stadium.
Samford fell to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in SoCon play. Furman improves to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in league play.
Samford committed three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble) to just one interception for Furman. The Bulldogs committed 10 penalties for 78 yards, compared to two penalties for 29 yards for the Paladins.
The Samford offense was led by senior running back Chris Evans with 23 rushes for 157 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Connor Lowery completed 13-of-23 passes for 100 yards and two interceptions. Quin Roberson led the Samford receivers with three catches for 31 yards.
Defensively for Samford, Bryce Smith had 13 tackles, including 12 solo stops and two tackles for a loss. Alex Davis had three sacks for a loss of 16 yards. Samford punter Bob Hooper punted four times for an average of 46.5 yards per kick.
Furman's Cody Worley completed 14-of-25 passes for 149 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Adam Mims caught seven passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Steed had 10 tackles and an interception returned 52 yards for a touchdown to lead the Paladin defense.
Furman jumped on top first when Steed intercepted a Lowery pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown with 12:12 to go in the first quarter. Ray Early's extra point gave the Paladins a 7-0 lead.
Cameron Yaw put Samford's first points on the board when he kicked a 35-yard field goal with 4:29 to go in the first quarter to cut the Furman lead to 7-3. Furman's Early added a 52-yard field goal with 1:16 to go in the first quarter to give the Paladins a 10-3 lead.
Samford tied the score on its first possession of the second quarter. Evans score on a 33-yard run. Yaw added the extra point to tie the score at 10-10.
The teams went to halftime tied at 10-10. In the first half, the Samford offense outgained Furman, 233 yards to 107 yards. For the game, Samford had 348 yards of total offense to 283 yards for Furman.
The teams remained tied through most of the third quarter until Furman's Jerry Williams scored on a two-yard run with 4:43 to go in the quarter. Early added the PAT to give the Paladins a 17-10 lead.
Early added a 31-yard field goal with 10:35 to play in the fourth quarter to stretch the Paladins' lead to 20-10. Mims caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Worley with 6:56 to play and Early's PAT made the final score 27-10.
Chattanooga 35, # 18 Georgia Southern 27
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- With the Southern Conference's top rushing defense, Chattanooga limited Georgia Southern to 120 yards of offense in the second half en route to a 35-27 Mocs win at Finley Stadium Saturday night. Chattanooga (4-2, 3-1 SoCon) scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and added another in the fourth quarter to hold onto the win.
Georgia Southern (3-3, 1-2 SoCon) made a charge late in the fourth quarter, as junior quarterback Jaybo Shaw completed a 63-yard pass to J.J. Wilcox to put the Eagles in the red zone. Senior fullback Tobi Akinniranye and Shaw brought the Eagles to the one-yard line on the next four attempts, setting up Shaw for the one-yard touchdown with 1:38 left in the game to pull GS within eight points, 27-35.
An unsuccessful on-side kick put the ball back in the hands of the Mocs, but the ball went back to the Eagles on downs at GS 33 with 1:16 left to play. Junior slotback Nick Hickey threw a pass to midfield which was intercepted by Jordan Tippit, sealing the victory for Chattanooga and its fourth straight win this year.
Akinniranye ran for a career-best 102 yards on the night, which included a career-long 60-yard touchdown run from a Jerick McKinnon handoff in the second quarter. Shaw had a touchdown run and connected with Wilcox for a 58-yard first-half touchdown reception, Shaw's longest as an Eagle. Wilcox had 121 yards receiving, a career-best total, to go along with 35 yards rushing. Georgia Southern scored on four of its first five possessions, then had its final touchdown in the fourth quarter. Chattanooga scored on its first series then didn't score again until its last drive of the half.
Chattanooga ate up nine minutes of clock in the third quarter with its longest drive of the season. After picking up five first downs, the Mocs were pushed back to third-and-21 after fumble and holding call. UTC's Jeff Veres' 40 yard field goal attempt tumbled short, but a roughing the holder penalty on Georgia Southern gave the Mocs new life, a first down and the ball at the GS 11-yard line.
The longest UTC drive of the year, the 17-play, 80-yard drive ended as Moc quarterback B.J. Coleman first rolled out, then ran for the goal line himself to put Chattanooga up 21-20. A fumble on the third carry of the Eagles' next drive, recovered by the Mocs, put Chattanooga at the GS 25. The Mocs used four plays and just over a minute and a half on their scoring drive to take the 28-20 lead. The Mocs final score came on their first drive of the fourth quarter. On third-and-eight, Coleman launched a 43-yard post pass for Brian Sutherland for a touchdown.
Defensively, junior safety Derek Heyden had a game-high and career-best 12 tackles to lead the Eagles with Josh Rowe recording eight and sophomore nose tackle Brent Rusell with seven. Linebacker Ryan Consiglio had 10 tackles for the Mocs with defensive end Chris Donald with seven.
Georgia Southern scored on both its drives to start the game as junior kicker Adrian Mora hit a 37-yard field goal to put the Eagles on the board first, 3-0. The Mocs took the lead back on the next series, 7-3. Chattanooga capped its 70-yard drive with a 46-yard touchdown off B.J. Coleman's double play action pass to Chris Awuah and point after by Jeff Veres.
Freshman quarterback Jerick McKinnon took over the signal calling in the final series of the first quarter. On third-and-three McKinnon handed off to Tobi Akkiniranye who rushed for 60-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up 17-7 very early in the second quarter.
After both teams exchanged punts, Chattanooga started its drive at its own 44 and Wynn picked up 14 yards on the first play. Wynn rushed three more times to pick up another Moc first down. Seeminly stalled at fourth-and-nine, Coleman completed a pass to Joel Bradford for a first down. A roughing the passer penalty against Georgia Southern moved the ball to the Eagle nine-yard line to set up first and goal Chattanooga. Wynn took the ball on two carries to the one and then ran for the one-yard touchdown to bring the score to 17-14 Georgia Southern.
The Eagles helped the Mocs offense with two first downs in the first quarter on pass interference penalties in the first quarter. The first put the Mocs at their own 40, eventually setting up the 46-yard touchdown pass while the second put Chattanooga at midfield in its second drive, but the Mocs punted the ball back to the Eagles with two minutes left in the first quarter.
The Eagles ended the half the same way they started the game, with Mora hitting a 33- yard field goal after stringing 16 plays together to go 54 yards and take a 20-14 lead.
#1 Appalachian State 39, The Citadel 10
BOONE, N.C. -- DeAndre Presley matched a school record with five touchdown passes and Appalachian State University's defense did not allow The Citadel to complete a pass in a 39-10 rout over the visiting Bulldogs on Saturday evening at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Presley became only the fourth Mountaineer to ever throw five touchdown passes in a game and the Appalachian defense did not surrender a completed pass for the first time in school history in the rout. ASU's 16th victory in its last 17 meetings with The Citadel extended the Mountaineers' Southern Conference winning streak to 24 games and 1,090 days, dating back to a 38-35 loss to Georgia Southern on Oct. 20, 2007.
Presley's touchdown passes of 65, 3, 5, 22 and 73 yards highlighted a 14-for-25, 241-yard performance for the Walter Payton Award and SoCon Offensive Player of the Year candidate. He also added 27 yards on four carries to finish with 268 yards of total offense despite sitting out the final quarter of the ballgame after helping stake top-ranked Appalachian (6-0, 4-0 SoCon) to the 29-point lead that would also serve as the game's final margin.
The Citadel (2-5, 0-4 SoCon) actually drew first blood less than five minutes into the game when quarterback Matt Thompson scored on a one-yard run to cap a 22-yard drive and give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead. The short field was set up by a 40-yard return of an ASU fumble by The Citadel defensive end Erik Clanton.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, their momentum lasted less than 20 seconds because on the first snap following their score, Presley hooked up with Brian Quick for a 65-yard touchdown pass. The Citadel blocked the extra point to maintain a one-point advantage but the touchdown was the catalyst of 29 unanswered points over the next 23 minutes that gave the Mountaineers a commanding 29-7 halftime lead. In addition to Presley's four first-half touchdown passes, Appalachian benefitted from The Citadel making two errant snaps on punts that led directly to 10 of ASU's 29 points.
After a Citadel field goal on the first series of the second half, the Mountaineers scored the final 10 points to seal the victory. Travaris Cadet capped the scoring when he took a short pass from Presley, picked up a couple of key downfield blocks and wove his way through the Bulldog secondary for a 73-yard touchdown with 1:24 remaining in the third period. Presley's record-tying fifth touchdown pass, which came on the evening's final snap for ASU's offensive starters, was the longest play of both his and Cadet's careers and ASU's biggest gain of the season.
Quick caught two of Presley's five touchdown passes and finished with 99 yards on three receptions. Cadet also caught three passes for 79 yards and a score while CoCo Hillary and Ben Jorden were on the receiving end of Presley's other touchdown strikes.
Linebacker Justin Wray highlighted the Mountaineers' staunch defensive effort with a game-high-tying 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a field-goal block. Fellow linebacker D.J. Smith also notched 12 tackles and recovered a fumble.