Football Southern Conference

Saturday's Football Roundup

#4 Wofford 43, The Citadel 14

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Wofford College football team posted a 43-14 win over The Citadel on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Terriers had five different players score rushing touchdowns in the contest, which was the 13th straight win over the Bulldogs in the series.

The Terriers are 4-1 on the season and 3-0 in the SoCon. The Citadel is 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the conference. Wofford was led by Eric Breitenstein with 106 rushing yards and he was one of five players to score a touchdown. Mitch Allen, Donovan Johnson, Bryan Youman, and Alex Dunmire also added rushing touchdowns. The Citadel was led by Terrance Martin with 55 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Wofford opened the game with the ball and went on a 13-play, 73 yard drive that was capped by Mitch Allen with a five yard run. Wofford converted one fourth down on the drive for a 7-0 lead with 9:24 left in the first quarter. The Terrier defense forced a three-and-out and the Bulldogs punted. Brenton Bersin took the punt back 76 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 7:07 on the clock.

On the next drive by the Bulldogs, they gained three first downs. On fourth-and-six, a pass attempt by Ben Dupree was incomplete after James Zotto leveled the receiver, who dropped the ball. The Terriers picked up one first down before punting. The Citadel had two first downs before punting the ball back to Wofford, which was downed at the one-yard line.

Wofford covered the 99-yards needed on the next drive in just ten plays as Bryan Youman scored his second career touchdown from 15-yards out to give the Terriers a 21-0 lead with 5:25 left in the first half. The Citadel was forced three-and-out and punted on their next possession.

On the fourth drive of the first half for the Terriers, Eric Breitenstein capped off an 82-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run for a 28-0 lead with 1:03 remaining in the half. The Citadel gained two first downs before a sack by Alex Goltry for a loss of 12 yards ended the half.

The Citadel opened the second half with a first down, but a fumbled snap was recovered by Alex Goltry. Wofford drove 41-yards in six plays and scored on a one-yard touchdown run by Donovan Johnson. After a botched snap on the PAT, the Terriers led 34-0 with 10:31 left in the third quarter.

With the ball back, the Bulldogs went for it on fourth-and-two, but the run was stopped. Brian Kass entered the game at quarterback, but on his first drive the Terriers were forced to punt. The Citadel returned the favor with a three-and-out punt as well. Wofford then used a 41-yard pass from Kass to Jeff Ashley to get inside the five-yard line. However on fourth-and-goal from the one, the Terriers were stopped and turned it over on downs.

The Citadel drive started at the two-yard line and SeQuan Stanley recorded a safety to give Wofford a 36-0 lead. The Terriers got the ball back, but went three-and-out. The Citadel fumbled on their next possession, which was recovered by Jeremy Holt at the 22-yard line. The Terriers needed only three plays to score on a six-yard touchdown run by Alex Dunmire. Wofford had a 43-0 lead with 12:44 on the clock in the fourth quarter after Dunmire's first career touchdown.

The Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard with 10:02 remaining in the game when Terrance Martin scored from ten-yards out to make it a 43-7 contest. Wofford turned the ball over on downs after failing on fourth-and-one with 7:21 left on the clock. The Bulldogs added a second touchdown with 1:27 left in the game on a four-yard run by Byron Anderson to make it a 43-14 final score.

Wofford had 413 total yards, with 343 on the ground. The Citadel had 238 yards, 209 of which were passing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage by a 30:25 to 29:35 margin. Wofford was 2-of-9 on third downs and 1-of-3 on fourth down. The Citadel was 2-of-12 on third down and converted 3-of-5 fourth downs.


Samford 26, Furman 21

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Dustin Taliaferro passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns to power Samford to a 26-21 victory over Furman in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

Taliaferro, a senior, completed 22-of-35 passes and threw scoring strikes covering 6, 21, and 8 yards in helping the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-2 SoCon) snap an eight-game series losing streak and earn their first victory over the Paladins (3-2, 2-1 SoCon) since 1969.

Taliaferro's 8-yard touchdown hook-up with Kelsey Pope with 8:21 to go in the game gave Samford a 26-14 lead and helped blunt a Furman comeback that saw the Paladins rally from a 16-0 halftime deficit with two third quarter scores.

Furman cut it to 26-21 on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Chris Forcier to Tersoo Uhaa with 6:09 remaining, but the Paladins misfired on their final two possessions, first when the Bulldogs' Omar Johnson picked off a Forcier pass at the Samford 17 with 1:52 to go, and then on the final play of the game when Tersoo Uhaa was tackled at the Bulldog 38-yard line before getting out of bounds.

Forcier tied a Furman single game passing record with 356 yards, completing 27 of 45 attempts on the day, including tosses of 14, 66, and 13 yards. ?He was, however, picked off three times, the first two following batted balls.

Fabian Truss headlined an effective Samford ground game, rushing 26 times for a career high 136 yards. ?Furman, meanwhile, managed just 71 yards on the ground. ?The Paladins forged a slight 427-415 advantage in total offense.

Samford grabbed a 3-0 lead on a Cameron Yaw 39-yard field goal three minutes into the game.

After Furman missed a pair of 35-yard field goals, the Bulldogs put together a 12-play, 82-yard drive for the game's first touchdown, which came on a 6-yard connection from Taliaferro to Chris Cephus with 2:23 to go in the first half.

On the ensusing possession, a Forcier tipped pass was gathered in by Samford's Alvin Hines at the Furman 25, and four plays later Taliaferro placed a 21-yard pass into Riley Hawkins' hands two yards into the end zone for the score to make it 16-0 with just under a minute to go before intermission.

The Paladins opened the second half with a Sederrik Cunningham 56-yard kickoff return to the Samford 38, and seven plays later Forcier hit tight end Colin Anderson with a 14-yard touchdown pass to get Furman on the scoreboard.

The Paladins scored again on their next possession, with Forcier hitting Tyler Maples in stride on a 66-yard touchdown pass to pull the Paladins to within two at 16-14 midway through third quarter.

At that point Samford's defense regrouped and forced punts on the Paladins' next three possessions. ?The Bulldogs' offense, meanwhile, took advantage of a 27-yard Furman punt to set up Yaw's second field goal of the day, a 32-yard effort less than a minute into the fourth quarter, to stretch their lead to 19-14.

Samford's game winning score, which came on Pope's 8-yard reception and run to the pylon at the 8:21 juncture, cashed in a 9-play, 85-yard drive.

Pope paced Samford's receiving corps with eight catches for 104 yards and a score.

Furman was led by Colin Anderson's career high nine receptions for 110 yards. ?Tyler Maples' seven catches covered a career best 143 yards.

Kadarron Anderson paced all tacklers with a career high 20 stops, two tackles for-loss, and one forced fumble.

Alvin Hines nine tackles topped the Bulldogs' defense, which registered four sacks in the contest.

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Elon 38, Western Carolina 31

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Elon defense forced four turnovers and a late touchdown pass from Thomas Wilson to Aaron Mellette proved to be the difference as the Phoenix defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts 38-31 on a beautiful mountain day on Saturday.?

Western Carolina (1-4, 0-3 Southern Conference) took a 7-0 lead with 9:52 remaining in the first quarter when Josh Cockrell took a reverse 10 yards for the game's first score.? The Catamounts were set up in great field position after a pass attempt was tipped at the line and intercepted by Western's Marcus Stokes.

Gary Coates blocked his second punt of the first quarter to set Elon (4-2, 2-1) up at the Western three-yard line.? The Phoenix gained one yard on first down before an incompletion and a penalty made it third-and-goal from the seven.? Wilson dropped back to pass and then raced to the end zone, diving in for the touchdown as Elon tied it at seven with 18 seconds left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing possession, the Catamounts faced a third-and-four from its own 39 before Brandon Pechloff lofted a pass deep down the middle of the field where an open Cockrell hauled it in and raced in for a 61-yard touchdown that put Western back in front 14-7 with 14:18 to play in the first half.

After starting at its own 20 following a WCU punt, Elon took over with 9:13 left on the first half clock.? Wilson found Mellette for an eight-yard gain on second-and-10.? Wilson went back to Mellette for another four yards and an Elon first down at the 32 to move the chains.? On third-and-three, Wilson zipped a pass to a streaking Jeremy Peterson for a 14-yard pick-up to move into Catamount territory at the 47.? A personal foul against Western moved the Phoenix down to the Catamount's 28-yard line, but the drive stalled at the 27 and Adam Shreiner came on to attempt a 44-yard field goal.? The attempt was blocked, but Western lined up offside and Shreiner got a chance for a 39-yarder that he booted through the uprights to make it a 14-10 game.

The Phoenix offense came out firing in the second half and marched 67 yards on eight plays to take a 17-14 lead.? Elon converted a third-and-five with a seven-yard pass from Wilson to Mellette that moved the ball to the Elon 45.? After picking up another first down at the Western 45-yard line, Wilson went deep down the left sideline to Mellette for a 37-yard completion that set up a first-and-goal at the eight.? Two plays later, Dontay Taylor bowled in from three yards out to put the Phoenix on top for the first time, 17-14.

On the ensuing Catamount drive, linebacker Jonathan Spain, making his first start of his career, stepped in front of a Pechloff pass for an interception and the Phoenix took over at the Western 41.? A.J. Harris scampered for 16 yards on first down to the Catamount 25.? On third-and-10 Wilson fired to Christian Dennis for a first down at the nine.? Harris took it in on the next play as the Phoenix put up 14 points less than six minutes into the final half to build a 24-14 lead.

Akeem Langham made a diving tackle to potentially save a score on the kickoff as Nate Harris returned the ball 30 yards to the Western 48.? On second-and-nine from the Elon 40, Pechloff went deep down the Catamount sideline for a 28-yard gain to Deja Alexander as Western advanced to the Elon 12.? A personal foul on second down against the Catamounts backed the ball up to the 21 and brought up a third-and-19.? Pechloff threw toward Cockrell who dropped a sure touchdown, setting up a Clark Sechrest 38-yard field goal that made it a 24-17 game.

A Blake Thompson interception return of 47 yards set up Elon's next score.? The Phoenix started at the Western 21 and scored three plays later when Taylor went in from four yards out to give Elon a 31-17 lead with 12:09 to play.

Western Carolina struck quickly in response when Cockrell broke two Elon tackles and went 66 yards for a touchdown after a reception.? The PAT pulled the Catamounts back within a touchdown, 31-24.

After forcing Elon to punt, Pechloff converted a third-and-three by running for four yards to the Western 39.? A 26-yard pass to Cockrell moved the Catamounts down to the Elon 27.? On fourth-and-10 from the 27, Pechloff completed a pass to Mitchell down to the 18 for what would have been short of the marker, but a holding penalty on Elon allowed the drive to continue with a first down at the 17.? Johnson ran the hand off up the middle for a gain of nine yards on first down before Pechloff was taken down for a loss of two.? Mitchell's third-down run was stopped at the eight, bringing up another fourth down.? Johnson's second effort on fourth down moved the ball to the five, setting up a first-and-goal.? Pechloff tossed a ball into the back of the end zone where Taylor Spangler made the grab and Sechrest's PAT evened the score at 31 with 4:05 showing on the clock.

Wilson went deep to Mellette on second down for a gain of 59 yards to the Western one on second-and-six from the Elon 40.? Two plays later Wilson tossed into the back right corner of the end zone where Mellette pulled down a TD pass.? The catch gave Mellette a touchdown grab in seven consecutive outings.

Elon sealed the victory when Jonathan Conner picked off Pechloff with 1:53 remaining.

The Phoenix offense compiled 360 yards of offense, including 207 passing yards for Wilson who completed 24 of 33 passes.? Mellette ended the day with eight receptions for 124 yards and a score.? Harris ran the ball 23 times for 98 yards while Taylor finished with 45 yards and two scores on 12 carries.

Pechloff completed 12 passes of 231 yards for the Catamounts.? Cockrell had two catches for 127 yards.

Elon's defensive unit was led by Thompson who finished the day with 11 total tackles.? Conner ended the afternoon with six stops, a forced fumble and an interception while Spain tallied six tackles, an interception and one fumble recovery.

Western's Rock Williams led all players with 19 tackles.

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#1 Georgia Southern 28, #23 Chattanooga 27

STATESBORO, Ga. --- Despite a heroic effort by redshirt freshman Terrell Robinson, the 23rd-ranked Chattanooga Mocs (2-4/0-3) dropped a heart-breaking 28-27 decision at No. 1 Georgia Southern (5-0/4-0) in Paulson Stadium Saturday afternoon. Robinson came off the bench in relief of an injured B.J. Coleman to bring UTC within a two-point conversion of victory.

Robinson ran for 114 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns. He had 92 of those yards in a second-half comeback after the Mocs trailed 21-7 at intermission.

After a scoreless opening quarter, Georgia Southern found the end zone on its final three possessions of the first half. Dominique Swope opened the scoring with a 22-yard dash. Jaybo Shaw found J.J. Wilcox for a 20-yard score with Wilcox picking up the majority of the yards with his legs.

Robinson got the Mocs on the board late in the second quarter running in from five yards out to close it to 14-7 with 1:52 left in the half. He engineered a drive that went 82 yards in 11 plays in what looked like the final tally before the break.

But the Eagles struck quickly. Shaw ended a 67-yard drive with a sneak from less than a yard out with 10 seconds left in the half. It seemed like a deflating moment to everyone but the Mocs.

The UTC rushing attack came in full force in the second half beginning in the opening drive.? J.J. Jackson capped a 76-yard drive with a 20-yard sweep around the left sideline for his first score of the season. All 76 yards came on the ground in six tries.

Robinson tied the game in the fourth quarter with an 11-yard run with 9:10 to go in the game. It was his second score of the game, but it would not have happened without some gambling from the sidelines.

On fourth and eight from his own 36, wide receiver-turned-punter Joel Bradford ran 10 yards on a fake punt to keep the drive alive. From there Robinson and Jackson took over accumulating 46 of the remaining 54 yards to tie it up.

The Eagles answered on their next series. Shaw snuck in from less than a yard again to make it 28-21. The score was setup by Robert Brown who broke loose up the middle for 48 yards to the Mocs three. Two plays later Shaw slipped in for the score.

Robinson and the Mocs were not done, however. Taking over on his own 27, he sparked another scoring drive. On fourth and one from his own 47, he broke free for 17 yards to the Eagles' 36 yard-line. Five plays later he dashed in from five yards out for his third score.

The score was 28-27 and UTC head coach Russ Huesman decided to go for two. Robinson was stopped in the backfield, which seemed like for the first time in the game. The onside kick attempt had an opening for recovery, but it was not meant to be.

Brown led all rushers with 169 yards for the Eagles on 18 carries. Shaw added 67 yards, also on 18 totes, with two scores. The Eagles amassed 326 yards rushing, 383 total yards for the game.

Marquis Green and Jackson combined for 114 rushing yards with 58 and 56, respectively. The 238 yards on the ground for UTC is the most since the 2007 season finale at Appalachian State (262).

Bradford had an eventful day. He caught four of the Mocs' seven completions for 56 yards to go with his 10-yard run on the fake punt. He punted three times for an average of 48.3 yards with a long of 53 with one downed inside the 10.

Ryan Consiglio and D.J. Key led the defensive effort with 12 and 11 tackles apiece. Consiglio recovered a fumble as well. Josh Rowe led GSU with 11 stops.

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