Wofford 17, The Citadel 13
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Aaron Miller came up inches shy of the goal line on the final play of the game, allowing Wofford to escape with a 17-13 victory over The Citadel in the Southern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday at Gibbs Stadium.
The Bulldogs (1-4, 0-1 SoCon) lost to the Terriers (3-2, 1-0) for the 16th straight season but not before driving 64 yards in 16 plays in the final 2:45. Miller completed seven passes for 57 yards on The Citadel's final possession, including a fourth-down conversion hookup with Jake Stenson.
Consecutive completions of 11 yards to Brandon Eakins and Vinny Miller gave the Bulldogs a first and goal at the Wofford three. A spiked pass on first down was followed by a throw to Eakins that fell just short of the wide receiver in the end zone. On third down, Miller rolled out to his left and managed to avoid a sack, throwing the ball out of bounds with one second left.
With The Citadel facing fourth down, Miller ran a designed quarterback draw and dove for the end zone where he was met by Dylan Young. Young was able to spin Miller around and keep him from scoring the winning touchdown.
Miller completed nine of 18 passes for 97 yards and led the Bulldogs in rushing with 60 yards on 21 carries. Freshman Cam Jackson added 56 yards on 12 attempts and scored The Citadel's lone touchdown on an 11-yard run with 9:41 left in the third quarter that gave the visitors their only lead of the game at 13-10. The touchdown was the first for Jackson as a Bulldog.
The Terriers followed the Jackson touchdown by immediately threatening to go back in front. A 47-yard run by Evan Jacks and four runs by Lorenzo Long brought the ball to The Citadel four. But Mark Thomas forced and recovered a Long fumble to protect the Bulldogs' tenuous advantage.
Wofford got the ball back after a 52-yard punt by Will Vanvick and quickly reached Citadel territory on a 28-yard run by Will Gay. Four plays later, Jacks kept and raced 25 yards for a touchdown with 17 seconds left in the third quarter that ultimately proved to be the game-winning score.
After a three-and-out possession for the Bulldogs, the Wofford ground game was back on the march, with a 17-yard run by Will Irwin converting a 3rd-and-10 and a 10-yard carry by Jacks on a 4th-and-2 play putting the Terriers at the 26. But again The Citadel forced a turnover when Mitchell Jeter stripped Jacks of the ball and recovered it to keep it a one-score game.
Jeter recovered a pair of fumbles in the game, with the first leading to a field goal by Eric Goins in the second quarter for the first Citadel points. Jeter led the Bulldogs with 12 tackles, followed by Tevin Floyd with nine and Justin Oxendine with eight. Jeter and Oxendine both had two tackles for loss, and Carson Smith recorded a sack.
The Bulldogs took over at their own 33 following the Jacks fumble, and appeared poised to take the lead, driving to the Wofford 31, but Isiaha Smith was stopped shy of the sticks on a fourth-down run. The Terriers took over but were unable to run out the clock, giving The Citadel one more chance.
In a battle between two of the top five rushing teams in the FCS, only Wofford was able to match its season average. The Terriers, who were averaging 299 yards per game prior to Saturday, picked up 314 yards on the ground led by Jacks with 141 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns and Long with 23 totes for 84 yards.
The Bulldogs, who were one spot ahead of Wofford with a mark of 300 yards per outing, were limited to 199 yards on the ground on 54 attempts.
Both teams enjoyed lengthy drives in the first quarter, with The Citadel marching to the Wofford 26 before turning it over on downs. Wofford then went 74 yards the first time it had the ball and took a 7-0 lead on a one-yard scoring plunge by Jacks.
After Goins put The Citadel on the board with his first of two field goals, the Terriers went on a 20-play, 74-yard drive that took more than 10 minutes off the clock. Wofford was kept out of the end zone, but a 29-yard field goal by David Marvin made it 10-3 at the 5:09 mark of the second quarter.
That was enough time for the Bulldogs to dent the scoreboard one more time before intermission. A 21-yard pass from Miller to Eakins led to a 35-yard field goal by Goins with 15 seconds left in the half, and The Citadel trailed only 10-6 at the break.
With his two three-pointers, Goins remained perfect in seven field goal tries in his first season as the Bulldogs' placekicker.
Samford 21, Mercer 18
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team earned a 21-18 Southern Conference win over the Mercer Bears Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
With the win, Samford improves to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference play. The victory was Samford’s seventh-straight home win, dating back to the 2013 season. Mercer drops to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in league play. The game was played in front of a crowd of 8,713 fans.
Samford junior quarterback Michael Eubank completed 24-of-40 passes for a career-high 262 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Karel Hamilton caught 10 passes for 101 yards, while running back Denzel Williams rushed 18 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense for Samford, senior safety Jaquiski Tartt had eight tackles, all solo, and an interception. Senior cornerback Brandon Nettles also had an interception in the win. Senior punter Greg Peranich had eight punts for an average of 42.4 yards, placing three kicks inside the 20-yard line.
Mercer was led by quarterback John Russ, completing 11-of-23 passes for 148 yards and two interceptions. Running back Alex Lakes rushed 16 times for 56 yards for the Bears
Samford struck first on its second offensive possession of the game. Williams scored on a two-yard run with 8:54 left in the first quarter to give Samford a 7-0 lead. The score capped a five-play, 65-yard drive that took 58 seconds off the clock.
Mercer put its first points on the scoreboard when Jagger Lieb kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2:34 left in the first quarter to cut the Samford lead to 7-3. The drive was set up when Mercer’s Lee Bennett recovered a Samford fumble at the Mercer 32-yard line.
Samford added to its lead when Williams scored on a three-yard run with 5:57 to go in the second quarter. The score pushed Samford’s lead to 14-3. Mercer’s John Russ scored on a one-yard run with 1:18 left in the second quarter to send the teams to halftime with Samford holding a 14-10 advantage.
In the third quarter, Eubank hit Gavin Sinclair for a 24-yard touchdown with 8:32 left in the quarter. The score pushed Samford’s lead to 21-10.
The score stayed 21-10 until late in the fourth quarter. Mercer’s Chandler Curtis returned a Samford punt 99 yards for a touchdown with 54 seconds left in the game. Russ then scored on the two-point conversion to cut the Samford lead to 21-18.
After the touchdown, Mercer attempted an on-side kick, but Samford’s Jeremiaha Gates recovered for the Bulldogs, sealing the Samford win.
As a team, Samford finished with 365 yards of total offense, compared to 262 for Mercer. Each team committed two turnovers in the contest.
Chattanooga 55, VMI 7
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- It was a happy Homecoming for the 14th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs football squad. It rolled to a 55-7 victory over VMI at Finley Stadium on equally impressive performances by the offense and defense.
The Mocs had a season-high 555 yards of total offense while scoring the program’s most points since the 59-56 win over Appalachian State on October 30, 2004. Jacob Huesman accounted for 275 of those yards with two rushing touchdowns and four more in the air in just over two quarters of work.
The defense was stifling behind a stout effort from the line. The Keydets had just 165 total yards for the game with 107 coming in the fourth quarter. The defensive unit had three takeaways with an interception and two recovered fumbles.
The Mocs offense took a little time to get started. After punts on their first two drives, Huesman and his mates scored touchdowns on seven consecutive possessions. Huesman connected with three different receivers on his four touchdown tosses and tallied scores on runs of six and 44 yards.
The onslaught started with a 23-yard catch-and-run when Huesman found Derrick Craine in the flat. Craine motored through the defense for his second score of the season. Huesman also hit C.J. Board for a 26-yard touchdown and Faysal Shafaat twice from 17 and 18 yards.
Meanwhile, the defense was miserly. It held the VMI rushing attack to zero yards through three quarters. The Keydets seven points tied for its lowest output of the season with its number against FBS Bowling Green. They entered the contest averaging 24.8 points per game, 28.4 points per FCS contest.
Huesman hit two big milestones today. He became the first Moc to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark rushing and 4,000 yards in the air for his career.
Alphonso Stewart and C.J. Board both caught their first touchdown passes. Stewart had a team-high six catches for 71 yards including the 31-yard third quarters score from Alejandro Bennifield. Board (64 yards) and Shafaat (49) both had four receptions as the Mocs signal callers hit eight different receivers.
Ryan Bossung had a team-high five tackles. Davis Tull had four stops with two sacks and three hurries. Nakevion Leslie and Derrick Lott each added a sack.
Taylor Stout led VMI with 36 yards on seven rushes. Starting quarterback Al Cobb was limited to 42 yards completing just six-of-18 pass attempts. Hayden Alford added 70 yards passing going four-for-nine with an interception. Alford’s one-yard plunge with 36 seconds remaining kept the shutout from occurring.
Presbyterian 19, Western Carolina 14
CLINTON, S.C. - Presbyterian bookended its scores with two interception returns for touchdowns - the second coming inside the game's final two minutes - as the Blue Hose handed Western Carolina a heart-breaking 19-14 road loss in nonconference action on Saturday afternoon at Bailey Memorial Stadium.
Trailing at intermission for the first time this season, Western Carolina (3-2) grabbed the lead back from the Blue Hose with the only offensive score of the second half as Troy Mitchell found Spearman Robinson from 21 yards out to give WCU a slim one-point, 14-13, advantage.
Mitchell, who left the game midway through the third quarter due to an injury, threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted twice.
With WCU still clinging to the one-point lead inside the game's final two minutes, Presbyterian defensive lineman Deonte Davis intercepted a errant pass attempt from Catamount back-up quarterback Garrett Brown and rumbled 32 yards for what proved to be the game-winning score.
On the ensuing possession, true freshman quarterback Wes Holcombe's first pass attempt was intercepted, sealing the victory for PC - their first over WCU since 1969.
Presbyterian (3-2) took an early lead as a Mitchell pass to the right flat was bobbled and then intercepted by Ed Britt who took it 25 yards for a touchdown and the early 6-0 lead. The Catamounts would later take the lead, 7-6, as Mitchell found a streaking sophomore Tyler Sexton for a 31-yard strike, the first receiving touchdown for the second-year tight end.
WCU trailed at intermission for the first time this season as PC got its only offensive touchdown of the game midway through the second quarter on a Kaleb Griffin quarterback sneak, 13-7.
Coastal Carolina 37, Furman 31 (2 OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. - De'Angelo Henderson hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Alex Ross in double overtime to lift consensus FCS third-ranked Coastal Carolina to a 37-31 victory over Furman on Saturday night at Paladin Stadium.
Henderson's game winning score came after Furman missed a 36-yard field goal on the first possession of the second overtime period.
The win improves Coastal Carolina to 6-0 overall while Furman falls to 2-4. The contest marked the second overtime contest between the two programs following Coastal Carolina's 47-45 triple overtime win in 2012, also at Paladin Stadium.
With the score tied 28-28, Coastal Carolina moved into position for the win in regulation, advancing to the Furman 6-yard line, but the Paladins' Trey Robinson broke through the line to block Alex Catron's 24-yard field goal try with 10 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
In the first extra period Catron drilled a 40-yard effort to give the Chanticleers a 31-28 advantage.
Furman saw its best chance to win the game slip away when, on its first possession, wide receiver Andrej Suttles took a lateral from P.J. Blazejowski but under heavy pressure threw short to a wide open Chad Scott, who had broken 15 yards clear behind the Chanticleer secondary. Hollingsworth followed with a 35-yard field goal to force the second overtime.
The Paladins battled back from a 21-7 third quarter deficit to tie the game following a Blazejowski 27-yard touchdown run and an Ernie Cain 3-yard scoring plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter. Cain's game tying tally was set up by a blown Costal Carolina fourth-and-one play at the Furman 31, when the snap from center sailed over Chanticleer quarterback Alex Ross' head for a 26-yard loss back to the CCU 43.
Coastal Carolina bounced back with a 10-play, 72-yard drive to take a 28-21 lead on a 2-yard scoring toss from Ross to Thomas Pauciello with 11 minutes remaining.
Furman tied it on its final possession of regulation, using 11 plays to cover 67 yards for a 7-yard connection from Blazejowski to Chad Scott with 4:45 to go.
Appearing in only his second game and making the first start of his career, Blazejowski, a true freshman from St. Augustine, Fla., completed 12-of-18 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown while also rushing 14 times for 81 yards and a score.
The Paladins enjoyed their most productive rushing attack since the 2012 season, compiling 276 yards on the ground, led by Hank McCloud's 22-carry, 94-yard peformance. Furman finished with 418 yards total offense to Coastal Carolina's 403.
Ross led the Chanticleers, connecting on 15-of-24 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Henderson topped all rushers with 20 carries for 134 yards and two scores. He also caught two passes for 27 yards, including the game winner in double overtime
Coastal Carolina grabbed an early 7-0 lead with John Israel collecting a 12-yard pass from Ross midway through the first period.
Furman's bid to tie the game on the ensuing possesion came up short after the Paladins marched 81 yards in 19 plays to Chanticleer 1, but McCloud was stopped a half yard shy of the goal line on fourth down.