Western Carolina 24, The Citadel 13
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel Football team fell to Western Carolina in front of 10,207 fans at Johnson Hagood Stadium on Saturday afternoon in their home Southern Conference opener.
The Bulldogs outscored the Catamounts in the second half, but could not overcome a 17-3 halftime deficit. The Citadel falls to 2-3 overall, 0-2 in the SoCon, while Western Carolina improves to 2-3 overall, 1-1 in SoCon action.
WCU used key third down pass completions to drive 57 yards on 10 plays that resulted in a 40-yard field goal by Blake Bostic to make it 3-0 with 7:04 to play in the first quarter.
On the following drive, The Citadel was unable to pick up a first down and turned the ball over on downs to WCU on their own 44-yard line. The Catamounts drove 44 yards on three plays to convert a touchdown. Brandon Pechloff's pass found Marquel Pittman in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard score, making it 10-0 at the 3:21 mark in the opening quarter.
Erik Clanton forced a fumble by Pechloff that was recovered by Chris Billingslea at the 23-yard line in the second quarter. Unable to get a first down, Ryan Sellers converted on a 37-yard field goal, the first of his career, to cut the lead to 10-3 with 9:31 to play in the second quarter.
After forcing Western Carolina to punt, Greg Adams fumbled the punt return and it was recovered by the Catamounts at the 28-yard line. On four plays that covered 28 yards, the Catamounts converted a touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Pechloff to Jacob Mitchell to push the lead to 17-3 with 4:40 remaining in the first half.
The Citadel opened the second half and drove 79 yards on six plays, capped off by a 45-yard touchdown run by Terrell Dallas to narrow the gap to 17-10. The Bulldog defense then held the Catamounts to a three-and-out and the offense proceeded to drive 34 yards on nine plays that ended in a 36-yard field goal by Sellers to tighten the score to 17-13 with 5:54 to play in the third quarter.
After forcing the Catamounts to punt on a second consecutive series, The Citadel then drove down the field 40 yards in 10 plays, but a 47-yard field goal attempt by Sellers sailed wide right, giving WCU the ball back on the 30-yard line. Western Carolina answered with a 70-yard drive that took four plays, ending in a 5-yard touchdown run by Adam Hearns to make it 24-13 with 12:24 to play in the fourth quarter.
After trading three-and-out possessions, Sam Martin was then stripped on third down and the ball was recovered by WCU's Charles Johnson. The Bulldog defense would force another Catamount punt, but the offense could not convert as Thompson's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Mitchell Bell and WCU was able to run out the clock.
The Citadel totaled 304 yards on 75 plays, 198 of which were on the ground. Sam Martin went 4-for-7 with 58 yards through the air, while Dallas totaled 96 yards on the ground with a touchdown. Demetrius Jackson led the defense with seven tackles. Western Carolina racked up 273 yards on 50 plays. Pechloff went 10-for-19 with 154 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while Harris had 75 rushing yards. Hearns led the Catamount defense with 12 tackles, three tackles for a loss.
Wofford 38, No. 23 Furman 17
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Eric Breitenstein rushed for 230 yards and four touchdowns to power Wofford to a 38-17 victory over Furman in Southern Conference football action Saturday aftenroon at GIbbs Stadium.
The game marked the 84th meeting between the two oldest football rivals in South Carolina football history.
Breitenstein, a junior fullback, scored on runs of 4 and 3 yards in the first half to help Wofford (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) take a 17-10 halftime lead. He added a 23-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to increase the Terriers' lead to 31-10 and finished off his afternoon with a 4-yard plunge with 41 seconds left in the contest.
Wofford, the nation's leading rushing team entering the contest, chewed up Furman (2-2, 1-1 SoCon) for 400 yards on the ground, the most allowed by the Paladins since 2005, and limited Furman's ground attack to just 47 yards. The Terriers finished the contest with 452 total yards to the Paladins' 251.
Both teams traded field goals in the first quarter before Wofford took the lead for good in the second period on the strength of two Breitenstein scoring runs, the first of which was set up by his 65-yard run to the Furman 17. Breitenstein's second touchdown of the quarter came after James Zotto picked off a pass by Paladin quarterback Cody Worley at the Terrier 45.
Furman sliced the lead to 17-10 on a Worley 39-yard touchdown pass to Adam Mims with 3:09 to go in the first half, but the Paladins failed to carry any momentum into the second half. A punt on the opening possession of the third quarter gave Wofford the ball at their 31, and from there the Terriers used eight plays to cover 69 yards for the score, which came on a 10-yard pass from Mitch Allen to Brenton Bersin for a 24-10 lead.
The Terriers used another interception, a pickoff by Jamar Reaves at the Furman 47, to set up Breitenstein's third score of the day, a 26-yard burst with 12:20 left in the game for a 31-10 advantage.
Worley completed 19-of-34 passes for 204 yards for the Paladins, but the senior was intercepted three times. Mims led the Paladin passing game with 10 catches for 122 yards and a score.
Wofford tallied three sacks in the contest, all by junior defensive end Ameet Pall, whose seven tackles paced the Terriers.
Kadarron Anderson led Furman with 15 tackles.
No. 21 Elon 24, Samford 19
ELON, N.C. -- Scott Riddle passed for 416 yards and three touchdowns as the Elon Phoenix offense racked up 495 total yards on its way to a 24-19 Southern Conference football victory over the visiting Samford Bulldogs on Family Weekend at Rhodes Stadium.
After forcing a Samford punt to start the game, No. 21 Elon (2-3, 1-1 SoCon) marched 80 yards in six plays to take an early 7-0 advantage. The drive began with two A.J. Harris runs sandwiched around a Bulldog offside penalty to set up a second-and-two. The Phoenix converted the first down when Riddle found Aaron Mellette for an eight-yard gain. After Jeremy Peterson picked up eight more yards on a catch, Riddle hit Mellette again for another nine yards to the Samford 47. A pass to Harris was followed by two rushes by the back to move the ball down to the Bulldogs' 36 before Riddle thew to Kierre Brown in the middle of the field who raced to the pylon for the score with 9:22 left in the first quarter.
Facing a third-and-five from its own 25, Riddle dropped back and, despite solid coverage from the Bulldog defender, found a streaking Sean Jeffcoat at the numbers on the right side of the field for a 48-yard completion down to the Samford 27. A screen pass to Brandon Newsome moved the Phoenix into the red zone at the 15 and the Phoenix made it a first-and-goal from the five-yard line after a Riddle dive on a third-and-inches. Elon would have to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Adam Shreiner with 2:27 remaining in the first period to take a 10-0 lead.
Elon took possession with 12:16 on the clock in the second quarter and methodically marched 89 yards over 11 plays to add another touchdown to its total. Newsome got the drive started with a four-yard rush before Riddle teamed up with Mellette on third-and-one for an 11-yard gain out to the Elon 31. Brown snared a pass for another 10 yards on the next play and two plays later the Phoenix moved into Samford territory as a Peterson reception went for 14 yards to the 45-yard line. Newsome would gain 19 yards on two rushes to get the ball to the 26 before Riddle found Andre Labinowicz along the sideline to the two for a first-and-goal. On the next play, Riddle found Jeffcoat in the right side of the end zone for the short TD completion and a 17-0 Elon lead with 8:33 to play in the first half.
Samford (2-3, 0-2) had put together its best drive of the game and had marched to the Elon 17-yard line before Blake Thompson picked off a Dustin Taliaferro pass at the two to put an end to the Bulldog scoring threat.
The Bulldogs got on the board with 20 seconds left in the first half when Cameron Yaw drilled a career-long 48-yard field goal to make it a 17-3 game.
Samford took advantage of two Elon turnovers early in the second half to pull within four points at 17-13. The Bulldogs kicked a 22-yard field goal after taking over at the Elon 44 and driving to the eight. After a second Phoenix fumble, Samford started at midfield. Chris Evans rumbled for 49 yards on the first play before Kelsey Pope rushed in for the one-yard touchdown with 7:27 on the clock.
Elon responded to the Samford push by going 80 yards in eight plays for a touchdown that gave the Phoenix a 24-13 lead. Riddle completed three passes for 15 or more yards on the drive before finding Labinowicz for a nine-yard TD strike with 3:47 to play in the third quarter.
Following an Elon punt, Samford took possession at its own 25 and proceeded to drive 75 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown. Evans had rushes of 15 and eight yards on the drive that was capped by another one-yard run by Pope. The Bulldogs went for the two-point conversion to try to make it a three-point game, but was unsuccessful and the Phoenix lead sat at five points - 24-19 with 10:34 to play.
The Phoenix made the lead stand, stopping the Bulldogs on their final two possessions - the first drive ending with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-six and the second being halted by a Ronnie Hardison interception, the first of his career.
The 416 passing yards were the second-highest total ever for Riddle and the 16th-most passing yards ever for a SoCon quarterback. Harris accounted for a total of 95 yards between 16 rushes and a career-high seven receptions. Jeffcoat made kept Elon's streak of having a receiver eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark this season going by snaring seven balls for 109 yards and a score.
For Samford, Connor Lowery passed for 105 yards while Evans carried 12 times for 115 yards. Pope finished with seven carries for 10 yards and two both Bulldog touchdowns.
Elon's defense was led by Brandon Wiggins who tallied 12 total tackles.
Bryce Smith made a game-high 17 tackles to lead the Samford defense. Andy Davis added 10 total tackles and forced a fumble.