Furman 26, #4 Wofford 21
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jerodis Williams rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns to power Furman to a 26-21 Southern Conference victory over Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) fourth-ranked Wofford in Paladin Stadium Saturday afternoon in the 85th clash between the state's oldest football rivals.
The win marked the second straight triumph for Furman (4-3, 3-2) over Wofford (5-2, 3-1 SoCon) in Greenville and ninth victory in the last 11 clashes with the Terriers in Paladin Stadium.
Williams, a junior from Prattville, Ala., and the SoCon's second leading rusher entering the contest, ran 22 times and scored on runs of one and four yards to pace the Paladins. After Wofford's Eric Breitenstein's 2-yard touchdown plunge with 4:47 remaining cut Furman's lead to 26-21, Williams ran five times for 51 yards on the Paladins' final possession to effectively preserve the victory.
Furman ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns against a Wofford defense that entered the game yielding just 112.7 yards per game on the ground. The Paladins' defense also proved effective enough against a Terrier ground game, surrendering 284 rushing yards to a Wofford unit that came into the contest averaging 353 yards per outing, the second highest mark in FCS.
Furman, which never trailed in the contest, jumped on top on its first possession by moving 70 yards in 10 plays for Williams' first score, which covered four yards on a toss sweep around right end at the 10:25 mark.
Wofford tied the game on a Donavan Johnson 1-yard run with 4:17 to go in the first quarter.
The Paladins took advantage of field position to register their second score, opening a drive at their own 49 following a 36-yard Wofford punt early in the second quarter. On the possession's first play, quarterback Chris Forcier connected with tight end Colin Anderson on a 30-yard pass to the Wofford 21, and six plays later Williams crossed the goal line with a 1-yard scoring plunge for a 13-7 lead.
The Paladins preserved the first half advantage when Ryan Steed intercepted a pass in the end zone of the half's final play.
Furman's defense stopped Wofford on a fourth-and-three play at the Paladin 35 to open the third quarter, after which the Paladins responded with an 8-play, 65-yard scoring drive. A 21-yard Forcier completion to Anderson and 26-yard hook-up with Tyler Maples to the Wofford 17 keyed the march, which ended when Forcier connected with Anderson for a 2-yard scoring strike at the 6:28 mark of the third period.
The Paladins' missed the PAT, their miss second of the game, but led 19-7.
A Greg Worthy interception at Paladin 9-yard line two minutes later halted a Wofford scoring threat, but the Terriers cashed in on their next possession by moving 58 yards in 11 plays for a Breitenstein 5-yard scoring run less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Using a Sederrik Cunningham 38-yard kickoff return, the Paladins turned to their ground game to take control of the contest, running eight consecutive times to cover 48 yards. Tersoo Uhaa's 3-yard touchdown run with 8:59 to go put the Paladins up 26-14.
Wofford countered with a 12-play, 80-yard drive to make it 26-21 on Breitenstein's second scoring run of the game with 4:47 remaining, but 19 and 22-yard runs by Williams on Furman's final possession helped the Paladins grind the clock and effectively secure the decision.
Kadarron Anderson, Gary Wilkins, and Mitch McGrath paced Furman defensively with 13 tackles.
Wofford was led by James Zotto and Mike Niam with 12 tackles apiece. Breitenstein topped the Terriers offensively with 24 rushes for 129 yards and two scores.
The Citadel 35, Western Carolina 7
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Five different Bulldogs rushed for a touchdown on Saturday as The Citadel racked up 435 rushing yards in a 35-7 romp over Western Carolina in front of 7,277 fans on Homecoming at E.J Whitmire Stadium.
The Citadel scored on its first two possessions of the game and took a commanding 21-0 lead into halftime. The 28-point margin of victory is the biggest for the Bulldogs in the all-time series with the Catamounts, surpassing the 25-point victory in 1991. It is also the third victory for the Bulldogs in their last four road contests, dating back to the 2010 season.
Propelled by a return from Kevin Hardy, who took the opening kickoff 59 yards to the Western Carolina 24-yard line, the Bulldogs needed just five plays to score. Rickey Anderson's 9-yard touchdown run, his first rushing touchdown of the season, gave the Bulldogs a quick 7-0 lead.
The Bulldog defense then forced a punt on the Catamounts' first possession as Rod Harland picked up a big sack on the drive of WCU quarterback Zac Brindise. The offense then needed just six plays to go 81 yards for their second score in as many possessions. Four of the Bulldogs' six plays on the drive went for runs of 10 or more yards as Darien Robinson capped the drive with a 31-yard run. Ryan Seller's extra point put The Citadel in front, 14-0.
Each team then turned the ball over on their next possession as Brindise was stripped of the ball on third and long by Quintin Turner and the ball was recovered by Chris Billingslea. The Bulldogs then drove 35 yards into the WCU red zone but a fumble by VanDyke Jones gave Western Carolina the ball back deep in their own territory.
After forcing another punt by the Catamounts, the offense would capitalize once again heading into the second quarter. Jones reeled off a 21-yard burst to get into WCU territory on the final play of the first quarter. The Bulldogs then methodically drove down and scored on a 7-yard rush by Jones to make it, 21-0. That would cap the scoring in the first half as the Bulldogs held an opponent scoreless on the road for the first time since Oct. 17, 2009, which was also in Cullowhee against Western Carolina.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Bulldogs took the ball 81 yards on 18 plays and erased over 10 minutes off the clock. Aaron Miller capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle early in the fourth quarter to put The Citadel in front, 28-0.
After forcing another Catamount punt, the Bulldogs drove into WCU territory but turned it over on downs. On the ensuing possession for Western Carolina, a fumble by Michael Johnson on fourth down was forced and recovered by Jeremy Buncum on the WCU 45-yard line. The Citadel would capitalize as it took five plays to move 45 yards with Christian Graham scoring his first career touchdown on a 26-yard scamper into the end zone with just under two minutes to play in the contest that make it 35-0.
The Catamounts would finally get on the board late as Brindise found a wide open Garrett Brown for a 61-yard touchdown with 1:23 left on the cock. That would cap the scoring as the Bulldogs ran out the rest of the clock to preserve the victory.
The Citadel totaled 447 total yards, 435 of which were on the ground. Robinson rushed for over 100 yards for the second consecutive game as he picked up 106 yards on 13 carries with a score. Anderson added 95 yards and a score on just six carries. Tolu Akindele led the defense with 10 tackles, two for a loss of six yards.
Western Carolina was limited to just 236 total yards, 175 of which were through the air. Brindise was 9-for-21 for 175 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked four times. Brown caught three passes for 94 yards and a score. Ace Clark led the Catamount defense with 11 total tackles.
The Bulldogs improve to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in the SoCon, while Western Carolina falls to 1-6 overall and 0-5 in SoCon action.
#6 Appalachian State 35, Samford 17
BOONE, N.C. - Sixth-ranked Appalachian State scored 21 points in a 12:46 span of the second quarter to turn 3-0 deficit into a 21-10 halftime lead and cruised to a 35-17 win over visiting Samford on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
With the win, Appalachian moved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference play going into next week's collassal showdown versus No. 1 Georgia Southern (7-0, 5-0 SoCon) at The Rock. With No. 5 Wofford's 26-21 loss at Furman on Saturday, ASU controls its own destiny in its quest for an unprecedented seventh-straight SoCon championship.
Appalachian dominated the action from the get-go but a pair of turnovers deep in Samford territory and a missed field goal left the Mountaineers empty-handed. Samford took advantage of the ASU miscues to take a 3-0 lead on Cameron Yaw's 39-yard field goal midway through the first quarter.
The Mountaineers' dominance finally began to pay dividends in the second period, as they put together three-straight drives of 74 yards or more to erase the 3-0 deficit and take a commanding 21-10 lead. The second-quarter blitz began when quarterback Jamal Jackson capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give Appalachian its first lead of the afternoon at 7-3.
One series later, ASU marched 84 yards on seven plays, buoyed by 18 and 13-yard runs by Travaris Cadet and a 27-yard gain on a screen pass to Steven Miller. Cadet closed out the impressive drive with a five-yard touchdown run to stretch the ASU advantage to 14-3.
Samford (4-3, 2-3 SoCon) appeared to regain a bit of momentum when it cut the lead to 14-10 with 2:38 to go in the first half but Appalachian quickly turned the tables back in its favor five plays later when Jackson hit Brian Quick in stride over the middle and Quick sped untouched past several Bulldog defenders for a 69-yard touchdown. The score not only gave the Mountaineers a 21-10 lead going into halftime but was also the 26th of Quick's career, breaking the 43-year-old ASU record for touchdown receptions in a career, previously held by Bob Agle (1965-68).
Appalachian put the game away for all intents and purposes on its second possession of the second half when, after a 37-yard punt return by Cadet gave the Mountaineers terrific field position in Samford territory, Jackson found Tony Washington for a 41-yard touchdown strike that stretched the Mountaineers' advantage to 28-10.
ASU erased any doubts about the final outcome when it put together a clock-milking, 13-play, 86-yard touchdown drive that spanned 6:41 late in the third quarter and early in the fourth that extended its lead to 35-10. The back-breaking drive was highlighted by 20-yard completions to both Washington and Andrew Peacock and capped by Cadet's second touchdown run of the day from 12 yards out.
In all, Appalachian's offense racked up over 500 yards of offense for the second-straight week, outgaining Samford, 519-380, and averaging 7.2 yards per snap. The balanced ASU attack included 290 passing yards and 229 yards on the ground. Cadet and Quick led the onslaught with 139 yards on 22 carries and 100 yards on four receptions, respectively. The 100-yard game was the 10th of Quick's career and his fourth this season while Cadet surpassed the century mark for the fifth time overall and first time in back-to-back games (he rushed for 133 yards in last week's win at The Citadel).
Jackson completed 19-of-30 passes for a career-high 290 yards and two touchdowns with six of his completions going to Washington, who amassed 78 yards.
Despite the offensive fireworks, the story of the day may have been senior DeAndre Presley. After having a string of 18-straight starts at quarterback snapped last week at The Citadel due to a shoulder injury, Presley started at right cornerback on Saturday after less than one week of practice at the new position. Presley made his presence on the defensive side of the ball known just seven plays into the game when he leveled Samford's Kelsey Pope, causing a fumble that was recovered by the Mountaineers. Presley went on to finish with six solo tackles to go along with the forced fumble in his first-ever defensive action.
Jeremy Kimbrough and Troy Sanders led Appalachian with nine tackles apiece with Kimbrough adding a sack, one-and-a-half tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Rodger Walker had two interceptions for the Mountaineers.
ASU limited Samford to just 84 rushing yards, marking the third time in seven games this season that an opponent failed to rush for 100 yards against the Mountaineers.
Samford's Dustin Taliaferro completed 27-of-42 for 253 yards but threw for just one touchdown and was picked off twice. Fabian Truss, who came into the contest ranked fourth in the SoCon and 25th nationally with 98.2 rushing yards per game, managed just 65 yards on 16 carries.
Chattanooga 42, Elon 18
ELON, N.C. - The Elon Phoenix football team suffered a 42-18 loss to the visiting Chattanooga Mocs on Homecoming at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Elon held the Mocs to only four yards of offense in the third quarter and managed to claw within 10 points, but a first-half deficit of 28 was too large to overcome. Elon fell to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Southern Conference, while Chattanooga improved to 4-4, 2-3.
Aaron Mellette registered his sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season in the setback, going for 107 yards on eight catches. Today's game marked the first time this season the opposition held Mellette without a touchdown, as his streak of eight consecutive games with a TD grab came to an end.
Thomas Wilson finished the game with 241 passing yards and one touchdown after completing 22-of-35 passes. Wilson's lone touchdown pass came in the third quarter on an 11-yard pass in the back of the end zone to Jeremy Peterson. Peterson finished the contest with a career-high nine grabs for 82 yards.
On defense, Joshua Jones led the Phoenix with 11 tackles, while Jonathan Spain finished with nine. Jones pushed his career total to 306 tackles which rates seventh in program history.
Chattanooga's Wes Dothard led all players with 15 tackles, while Ryan Consiglio finished the game with 11 tackles and a sack.
Terrell Robinson led the Mocs' rushing attack with a game-high 115 yards on 14 carries. Robinson had a 41-yard scamper for Chattanooga in the win as well.
After falling behind by four touchdowns late in the second quarter, the Phoenix made it a 28-3 game going into the locker room after Adam Shreiner hit a 36-yard field goal to cut into the Mocs' lead. The big play of the drive came when Wilson connected with Mellette for a 32-yard gain.
The Phoenix began the second half with a 10-play, 64-yard drive that resulted in a 32-yard field goal off the foot of Shreiner. On the drive, Wilson completed four passes for 40 yards, including a 24-yard pick-up to Mellette.
After forcing a UTC punt, Elon took over at its own 41. Wilson hit Peterson for six yards on the second play before finding Mellette for a 10-yard connection on the next snap as Elon moved into UTC territory. Darrius McQueen made a catch and raced 20 yards to the Mocs' 25 on third-and-12 to keep the chains moving. Wilson was sacked on third-and-eight, but a personal foul penalty against UTC gave the Phoenix a first down at the UTC 17. Two plays later, Wilson found Peterson for an 11-yard touchdown strike. The two-point conversion failed as Elon's deficit was reduced to 28-12 with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
A 39-yard Bradford punt pinned Elon at its own one-yard line on its next drive. On third-and-four, Wilson dropped back and drilled a pass to McQueen who ran it to the Elon 42 for a 35-yard gain. After converting two consecutive third downs, the Phoenix faced a fourth-and-nine from the UTC 34 when Wilson went to the All-American Mellette for a 15-yard gain to move the chains. After another completion to Peterson, this one for 19 yards, Dontay Taylor ran it in from two yards out as Elon clawed its way back to within 10 with 10:50 to play. The Phoenix's two-point try was not successful.
Chattanooga responded with a quick touchdown drive of just 1:28. Robinson raced 41 yards on the first play down to the Elon 38 and two plays later Green took it 21 yards for the score as the Mocs stretched their advantage to 35-18. Chattanooga's last score came on a 19-yard run by J.J. Jackson with 3:07 remaining in the contest to make the final margin, 42-18.
#1 Georgia Southern 48, Presbyterian 14
STATESBORO, Ga. - A 31-point second quarter propelled the #1 ranked Georgia Southern Football team (7-0, 5-0) past Presbyterian College, 48-14, Saturday afternoon at Paulson Stadium. The Eagles led 38-0 at halftime and amassed over 500 yards of total offense for the fourth time this season. GSU's second quarter scoring output was the most points in a quarter since a 2004 win over Johnson C. Smith.
GSU ran for 353 yards on the ground and completed seven passes for 151 yards. Jerick McKinnon ran for 98 yards on nine carries all of which came in the first half. Robert Brown rushed a team-high 11 times and averaged 6.1 yards per carry.
The Eagles put in their second-string after halftime and used the opportunity to get plays for the backups. Devin Scott carried the ball seven times for 48 yards in the second half, while Miguel Gilmore scored his first career touchdown on a 12-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Ezayi Youyoute completed all three of his pass attempts and tallied 31 yards while playing quarterback in the second half.
Presbyterian College got off to a fast start after Michael Ruff broke free along the left sideline for 59 yards before being knocked out of bounds inside the red zone on their first drive of the contest. The Georgia Southern defense stood tall and forced a field goal attempt which was blocked by Javon Mention.
The Eagles responded to the early challenge, scoring four touchdowns in their next five drives to lead 28-0 late in the second quarter. GSU tacked on two more scores before the half came to a close and led 38-0 at the break. Nico Hickey (Columbus, Ga.) recovered a bad snap in the endzone with four minutes remaining to jump ahead 35-0, and Adrian Mora (Dalton, Ga.) tacked on a field goal to make it 38-0. Mora finished the afternoon with his 300th career point and moved into a tie with Tim Foley for 5th all-time in the Eagles scoring annals.
The second-string offense came out of the gate after halftime ready to play and engineered a 12 play drive that ate over seven minutes off of the clock. Mora capped the drive with a 37-yard field goal.
PC scored twice, once in each quarter, in the second half and followed the field goal with a 10 play 75-yard drive which ended in a six yard pass to Arthur Williams. Following Gilmore's touchdown in the fourth quarter, Presbyterian engineered another long drive of 14 plays and scored a touchdown on Lance Byrd's two-yard rush.