Elon 28, Furman 25
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Elon’s Karl Bostick rushed for a pair of touchdowns and the Phoenix held off a second half rally by Furman to down the Paladins, 28-25, in Southern Conference football action on Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Bostick scored on runs on two and eight runs in the first half to help Elon (2-4, 1-1 SoCon) build a 28-10 halftime lead, which proved to be enough to earn the Phoenix the win.
Furman rallied from the 18-point halftime deficit with a pair of second half touchdowns by Hank McCloud, who scored on a 3-yard run in the final minute of the third quarter and later with a 29-yard touchdown catch and run midway through the fourth period. Quarterback Duncan Fletcher’s two-point conversion run made it 28-25.
The Paladins could get no closer, however, as Furman failed to muster scoring chances on its final two possessions, which followed punts of 59 and 49 yards by Phoenix punter David Petroni. The 59-yarder pinned Furman back at its own 11 and led to a Paladin punt, and Petroni’s 49-yard effort, combined with a penalty, put the ball at the Furman 7-yard line with 3:10 remaining. From there the Paladins pushed the ball out to the 32, but an incomplete pass on a fourth-and-one play effectively sealed the game’s outcome.
Furman grabbed an early 7-0 lead on its first possession, getting an 11-yard Terry Robinson touchdown run five minutes into the contest.
Elon answered with the first of Bostick’s two scoring runs, a 2-yard plunge, to tie the contest at 7-7.
Chandler Wrightenberry broke the tie when he stepped in front of a pass by Terry Robinson and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown with 3:22 to go in the first quarter.
The Paladins made it a 14-10 game on a Ray Early 35-yard field goal, but it didn’t remain that way for long as Phoenix quarterback Mike Quinn scrambled to avoid pressure and connected with Rasaun Rorie behind the Paladin secondary for a 73-yard touchdown pass.
Elon capped its decisive first half when defensive lineman Jay Brown gathered in an under thrown pass at the Furman 37, and four plays later Bostick crossed the goal line on an 8-yard scoring run to stretch the advantage to 28-10.
Furman’s rough first half took an unfortunate turn early in the third quarter when backup quarterback Terry Robinson sustained a knee injury and was forced to leave the game.
His departure left Fletcher as Furman’s only quarterback in uniform, and the true freshman, who got his first start in place of injured sophomore Reese Hannon and previously sidelined true freshman Dillon Woodruff, tried to rally the Paladins.
After Jairus Hollman returned an Elon fumble to the Furman 17, Fletcher engineered a 10-play, 83-yard drive that ended on a McCloud 3-yard scoring run.
On the Paladins’ next possession, Fletcher connected on all eight pass attempts on an 11-play, 94-yard march that McCloud capped with a 29-yard scoring reception from Fletcher.
The Columbus, Ga., product completed 25-of-38 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown.
Quinn, meanwhile, connected on 11-of-17 passes for 175 yards a score.
Hank McCloud led all rushers with a 20-carry, 116-yard performance — his third 100-yard outing of the the season.
Furman finished the game with a 419-309 advantage in total offense, including a 247-78 margin in the second half that saw the Paladins blank the Phoenix.
Elon’s John Silas led all defenders with 12 tackles.
The Citadel 31, Appalachian State 28 (OT)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Mitchell Jeter hauled in an interception off a deflected pass in overtime, and The Citadel took advantage with a 35-yard Thomas Warren field goal on its possession to seal a 31-28 victory over Appalachian State on Saturday at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
The Bulldogs won for the first time in four home games this season and improved to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the Southern Conference. ASU dropped to 1-4 and 1-1 in the conference.
The Bulldogs and Mountaineers ended 60 minutes of football knotted at 28. The Citadel won the overtime coin flip and elected to go on defense. Four plays and 14 yards later, The Citadel defense was faced with a crucial 3rd and 8 play which it was able to turn into a wild interception.
ASU quarterback Kameron Bryant's pass was tipped by Carl Robinson and broken up by Nick Willis, the popping in the air and into the hands of defensive lineman Jeter.
On its overtime possession, The Citadel used three rushing plays to set up Warren for his field goal attempt which he was able to drill through the uprights for his second career game-winning field goal, giving the Bulldogs their first back-to-back wins over ASU since winning three straight from 1991-93.
The overtime victory was The Citadel's first since topping Furman at Johnson Hagood Stadium 54-51 in 2007.
The Citadel rushed for 328 yards with Ben Dupree and Darien Robinson each going over the 100-yard mark in the same game for the second time this season. Dupree accounted for 136 yards on the ground and Robinson added another 109 as the rushing duo accounted for 24 points, scoring two touchdowns apiece.
Dupree moved into fourth place in Citadel history with 28 career rushing touchdowns and jumped all the way from 12th place to eighth on the rushing chart with 2,190 career yards.
Robinson recorded his 11th career 100-yard game, tying him with Nehemiah Broughton for fifth most in Citadel history, and his two touchdowns give him 19 in his career to move to 12th place in program history. Robinson also increased his career rushing total to 2,505, moved within 131 of Nehemiah Broughton for fifth place.
Dupree and ASU running back Marcus Cox, who also had two scores on the ground, share the conference lead with 10 rushing touchdowns on the season. Cox led the Mountaineer ground game with 98 yards and also caught seven passes for 95 yards.
With the game tied at 21 and just under minutes to play in regulation, Robinson capped an eight-play, 74-yard drive with a two-yard run that gave The Citadel a 28-21 lead with just 1:19 remaining. However, the Mountaineers needed just 53 seconds to march 79 yards, including a screen pass for 49 yards to Cox, and evened the score at 28 on a two-yard Bryant touchdown run with 20 seconds left to play.
Turnovers proved costly in the first half as the both teams were able to scoop up forced fumbles and turn them into six points.
The Citadel opened the contest with a methodical drive down to the ASU 42, but on the 10th play ASU's John Law forced a fumble by Dalton Trevino, which was picked up by Karl Anderson and returned 28 yards to The Citadel 42. The Mountaineers took six plays and capped their drive with the first of Cox's two rushing touchdowns on the day to give ASU a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive the Bulldogs went back to work and put together the game's longest drive, 15 plays and 75 yards, which spanned 8:44 and resulted in the equalizer, a 23-yard scamper into the end zone by Dupree.
The Mountaineers answered with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a 23-yard rushing touchdown by Cox to give ASU a 14-7 advantage. The Bulldogs took advantage of a Mountaineer fumble, created by a Justin Oxendine tackle for loss of Bryant, and Oxendine's recovery gave the ball back to the Bulldogs with 2:10 left in the first half.
Brandon Eakins took a reverse on the first play of the drive 16 yards, and three plays later Robinson found the end zone for the first time, evening the score at 14-14 going into the half.
A defensive stop to start the second half on a Jeter tackle on a 4th and 1 run by Ricky Fergerson short of the mark gave the ball to the Bulldogs with 8:30 left in the third quarter. Two plays later Dupree found the edge on a quarterback keeper and sprinted 53 yards into the end zone for his second score of the day, giving The Citadel a 21-14 advantage.
After a stalled Mountaineer drive, The Citadel moved the ball to the ASU 16. Warren came on for a 32-yard field goal but a botched hold followed by an incomplete pass by Austin Wiles caused a turnover on down and gave the ball back to the Mountaineers.
After an exchange of punts, the Mountaineers put together a drive that covered 64 yards on seven plays which resulted in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bryant to Andrew Peacock to even the score at 21.
Bryant completed 19 of 23 passes for 214 yards and was sacked once by Bay Amrhein, the second of his career. The Bulldog defense accounted for a total of six tackles for loss.
Samford 44, #16 Georgia Southern 34
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford football team overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to earn a 44-34 Southern Conference win over 16th-ranked Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
Senior quarterback Andy Summerlin set a new school record with 495 passing yards. The total breaks the previous record of 478 yards, set by Summerlin just two weeks ago against Southeastern Louisiana. Summerlin completed 23-of-42 passes for his record-setting total. He threw three touchdown passes in the win as well.
Senior wide receiver Kelsey Pope caught seven passes for a career-high 201 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Karel Hamilton caught two passes for 86 yards and a score. Senior running back Fabian Truss led the running game with 14 rushes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively for Samford, Justin Shade had nine tackles, including one sack. James Bradberry had a key interception midway through the third quarter, keeping Georgia Southern out of the end zone when the Eagles were attempting to increase their 11-point advantage.
On special teams, Greg Peranich averaged 44.8 yards on four punts. Warren Handrahan was good on all three of his field goal attempts, making kicks from 19, 21 and 30 yards out.
For Georgia Southern, Jerick McKinnon rushed 33 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Ellison was 7-of-7 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles.
Samford struck first when Handrahan kicked a 19-yard field goal with 2:59 to go in the first quarter. The kick, which gave Samford a 3-0 lead, came off of a 10-play, 78-yard drive that took 2:58 off the clock.
The Bulldogs struck again when Summerlin hit Gavin Sinclair for a 74-yard touchdown with 27.1 seconds to go in the first quarter. The touchdown gave Samford a 10-0 lead.
Georgia Southern came back with a touchdown of its own. Ellison hit Tray Butler for a 24-yard touchdown with 10:25 to go in the second quarter. The score cut the Samford lead to 10-7. On GSU’s next drive, Ellison connected with Butler for a 58-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 14-10 lead with 5:06 to go in the second quarter.
Georgia Southern added to its lead when William Banks scored on a 15-yard run with 3:18 to play in the second quarter. The score gave the Eagles a 21-10 lead.
Samford cut Georgia Southern’s lead to 21-13 when Handrahan kicked a 21-yard field goal with 6:59 left in the third quarter. The drive started at the Samford seven-yard line after Bradberry’s interception. The score was set up by an 83-yard pass from Summerlin to Pope, giving Samford the ball at the GSU nine-yard line.
Samford struck again on its next drive when Truss scored on a nine-yard run. Samford’s two-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 21-19 with 5:58 left in the third quarter. The scoring drive began after Samford’s Jerry Mathis recovered a Georgia Southern fumble at the Eagles’ 24-yard line.
The Bulldogs took the lead when Truss scored on a 19-yard run with 1:46 to go in the third quarter. Samford, again went for the two-point conversion, but the attempt was no good making the score 25-21. On Samford’s next possession, however, GSU recovered a Samford fumble at the Bulldogs’ 22-yard line. Georgia Southern scored on the drive on a 27-yard run by McKinnon with 11:35 to go in the game. The two-point attempt failed, making the score 27-25.
Samford answered to take the lead for good when Summerlin hit Hamilton for a 69-yard touchdown with 10:33 to go in the contest. Summerlin connected with D’Morrise Bledsoe on the two-point conversion to make the score 33-27. On Samford’s next offensive drive, Summerlin connected with Pope for a 58-yard score, and Summerlin then hit Kelvin Clay on the two-point try to make the score 41-27.
Georgia Southern cut the lead in half when McKinnon scored on a three-yard run with 4:00 to go to make the score 41-34. Samford put the game away when Handrahan kicked a 30-yard field goal with 12 seconds to go to make the final score 44-34.
The Samford offense finished with 651 total yards, compared to 448 yards for Georgia Southern.
With the win, Samford improves to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Southern Conference play. This marks the first time Samford has been 2-0 in SoCon play since joining the league in 2008. Georgia Southern falls to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Chattanooga 42, Western Carolina 21
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Chattanooga quarterback Jacob Huesman tossed four touchdown passes and rushed for a fifth as the Mocs handed Western Carolina a 42-21 loss Saturday night in Southern Conference action at Finley Stadium.
Huesman threw for 223 of UTC’s 432 total yards of offense, adding 49 yards on the ground in the victory for the Mocs. Tailback Keon Williams rushed for 127 and a score in the winning effort.
Western Carolina (1-5, 0-3 SoCon) got receiving touchdowns from redshirt sophomore Karnorris Benson and freshman Terryon Robinson in the second half, with freshman tailback Garry Lewis rushing for his first career score in the third quarter. Robinson finished with a career-high 91 yards receiving on five receptions while classmate Willie Police led five Catamount receivers with a career-high six catches.
Chattanooga converted three WCU first half interceptions into 14 points, while limiting the Catamount offense to just 63 total yards in the opening half to carry a 21-0 lead into the locker room. After the break, WCU amassed 226 yards of total offense including 172 yards through the air.
Sophomore quarterback Troy Mitchell accounted for both scoring strikes, finishing 16-of-22 for 181 yards, but tossed three interceptions. Redshirt junior Eddie Sullivan went 2-for-3 for 10 yards and an interception on the one series he saw action.
All told, WCU’s 191 yards were the most allowed by Chattanooga this season, which entered the game ranked fifth in the nation in pass defense.
Trailing 28-0 in the third quarter, Western Carolina broke up the shutout as Lewis capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive with an impressive 12-yard scoring run. The Fayetteville, N.C., native was initially stopped after a modest gain over right tackle. However, he spun free from a would-be tackler and raced the rest of the way into the end zone untouched for the rushing score.
Mitchell hooked up with Robinson on a 46-yard scoring strike and found Benson on a 25-yard strike in the fourth quarter to cap WCU’s scoring.
Redshirt junior Ace Clark led the Catamount defense with 13 tackles including eight solo stops, while senior Courtland Carson tallied nine stops including seven solo hits. Carson also finished with 1.5 sacks and a combined 2.5 tackles for loss, forcing a fumble and also breaking up a pass.
Freshman Fred Payne finished with four tackles and recovered the Carson-forced fumble in the first half.
#15 Wofford 55, Presbyterian 14
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On a sunny and warm Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team defeated Presbyterian College 55-14 at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers ran for a season-high 411 yards while the defense held the Blue Hose to only 187 total yards on the day.
The Terriers move to 3-2 and Presbyterian is 1-4 overall. Wofford had eight different players score touchdowns in the contest. The team was led by Donovan Johnson with 98 rushing yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Evan Jacks ran for 70 yards and had 63 yards passing in his first career start. Ten different defense players had at least half tackle for loss. The Blue Hose were led by Blake Roberts with 50 yards and a touchdown.
The Blue Hose had the ball first and were forced three-and-out. Wofford picked up two first downs before a pass on fourth-and-ten was incomplete. Presbyterian went three-and-out and punted. The Terriers took over at the 19-yard line and put together a 15-play drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown run by Jonny Martin. Wofford had a 7-0 lead at the 1:56 mark of the first quarter.
Presbyterian was forced three-and-out and punted on their next possession. Wofford used a 46-yard completion to Will Gay from Evan Jacks to move into Blue Hose territory. Evan Jacks reached the ball over the pile on fourth-and-one from the one to take a 14-0 lead with 12:09 on the clock in the second quarter.
On the next drive for Presbyterian, they gained one first down before punting back to the Terriers. On the first play, Michael Weimer fumbled and it was recovered by Joaquin Ross, who returned it to the ten-yard line. Kaleb Griffin completed a nine-yard pass to Joey Gilky for a touchdown. The score was 14-7 at the 7:33 mark of the second quarter.
Wofford took over and completed a fourth-and-one with a Donovan Johnson run. Ray Smith added a 31-yard run before Caleb Lucas scored from two-yards out for a 21-7 lead with 5:41 left in the first half. Presbyterian was forced three-and-out and punted back to the Terriers. Wofford added to the lead when Michael Weimer found Will Irwin in the endzone from 29-yards out. The PAT was wide left for a 27-7 score with 3:41 remaining in the first half.
Presbyterian picked up two first downs, but a holding penalty forced a punt with thirty seconds left in the first half. Wofford had two runs for five yards by Donovan Johnson to end the half. At the break, the Terriers had a 306 to 78 edge in total offense.
To start the second half, Wofford had four first downs and the ten-play drive was capped by a four-yard touchdown run by Will Gay. The Terriers led 34-7 at the 11:32 mark of the third quarter. After another Presbyterian punt, Wofford took almost six minutes off the clock and scored on a two-yard run by Donovan Johnson. Paul Inclan kicked the point after for a 41-7 lead with 2:25 left in the third quarter. The Blue Hose gained a first down, but Mike McCrimon picked off a pass that was tipped by the intended receiver.
With the ball back, Wofford had a fourth-and-two but fumbled on the play. Presbyterian quarterback Kaleb Griffin was picked off by Hunter Thurley, who returned it 36-yards for a touchdown. Wofford led 48-7 at 14:06 in the fourth quarter.
After trading punts, Presbyterian took over with nine minutes left in the game. Tamyn Garrick was intercepted by Brion Anderson, who returned the ball to the 22-yard line. Lorenzo Long ran 22-yards up the middle for a touchdown on the first play of the series as Wofford took a 55-7 lead with 8:13 left in the game. Presbyterian then scored on a 12-play drive which was capped by a Blake Roberts 3-yard run. The score was 55-14 with 1:30 on the clock. Wofford ran out the clock to end the contest.
Wofford had 503 total yards, with 411 on the ground. Presbyterian had 187 total yards, 102 of which were passing. Wofford had 28 first downs, while Presbyterian had ten. Wofford was 7-of-14 on third downs and 3-of-5 on fourth downs. Presbyterian was 5-of-13 on third down. Presbyterian had seven penalties, while Wofford had one. Wofford had a 30:32 to 29:28 time of possession advantage.