Quarterback Jeff Zolman and Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Kevious Johnson both had career-high rushing performances as the SoCon champion Wofford Terriers defeated Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion North Carolina A&T, 31-10, in the opening round of the Division I-AA playoffs this afternoon in Spartanburg, S.C.
The game was played before an estimated crowd of 10,500 at Gibbs Stadium.
The Terriers (11-1) will host defending national champion Western Kentucky next Saturday at Gibbs Stadium in the quarterfinal round. Kickoff time is to be announced. The Hilltoppers defeated Jacksonville State, 45-7, this afternoon.
All of Wofford's offense came on the ground as the Terriers ran for 370 yards, its second-best effort of the season, against a North Carolina A&T defense that ranked eighth in the nation in rushing defense (97.9 yards per game). Wofford attempted just two passes and both were incomplete.
Zolman had 141 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. He had a pair of 44-yard runs in addition to scoring on carries of five and four yards. Johnson had 106 yards on 11 attempts as he had a career-best day for the third time in the last four games. His 688 rushing yards on the year are the most by a Wofford freshman since former quarterback Shawn Graves had 1,483 in 1989.
With the game scoreless in the first quarter and the Aggies (10-3) driving at the Terrier 24, Wofford free safety and SoCon Defensive Player of the Year Matt Nelson made a leaping interception in the end zone for his sixth pick of the season.
The Terriers took a 7-0 lead when they drove 59 yards in eight plays, capped by a J.R. McNair 6-yard scoring run, with 8:27 left in the second quarter. Johnson had a 21-yard gain on the first play of the series.
On the Aggies' ensuing possession, a Teddie Whitaker hit on a Micheaux Hollingsworth run forced a fumble that was recovered by Alex Love at the A&T 20-yard line. Four plays later, Nick Robinson kicked a 31-yard field goal to give Wofford a 10-0 lead with 5:27 left in the first half.
On its final series of the first half, North Carolina A&T drove to the Wofford 15 before Yonnick Matthews missed a 32-yard field goal.
A 44-yard Zolman run on the opening series of the second half keyed a 9-play, 80-yard scoring drive that gave Wofford a 17-0 lead. Zolman scored from five yards out on a 3rd-and-goal rush.
North Carolina A&T answered with a 15-play, 59-yard drive to close within 17-7. Quarterback Orrick Watkins had a 3-yard touchdown run on a 4th-and-goal play with 4:48 to play in the third quarter.
Following a Wofford turnover, the Aggies trimmed their deficit to 17-10 when Matthews kicked a 25-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Terriers responded with a season-long 17-play scoring drive to increase their lead to 24-10 with 9:02 left in the game. Wofford's 85-yard march to the end zone was keyed by a Zolman 4-yard rush on a 4th-and-1 at the Aggie 49-yard line. Zolman then capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.
After Lee Basinger recorded a pair of sacks on North Carolina A&T's next possession, the Terriers took over at the Aggie 48-yard line. A Johnson 31-yard run on the first play of the series set up an 8-yard Corey Dunn touchdown carry as Wofford led 31-10 with 5:54 to play.
The Aggies were held to 85 yards rushing on 48 attempts (1.8 per carry). North Carolina A&T had 176 yards in the air for 261 total.
"I’m very proud of our guys’ effort," Wofford coach Mike Ayers said. "Going into the ball game, we knew we were going to be facing a great challenge in A&T.
"They have some great athletes and are very well coached and disciplined. Defensively, they presented a lot of problems to us and you can see their quarterback scrambling gave a lot of problems for us, too.
"It took a total team effort. Our offensive coaches did a great job in getting a game plan together for the second half. The guys then came out and executed the plan. We felt like we didn't play our best defensively but, at the same time, we made some big plays that kept the pressure off and allowed us to do some things offensively.
"We know that the game meant a great deal to a lot of people, not just Wofford. We are representing the Southern Conference, which we feel is the best conference in the country. We wanted to do our best today. We knew A&T was an excellent football team. I think coach (George) Small has done a fabulous job with those guys. He is an outstanding person and their kids played hard and very well.
"We’re very fortunate and blessed to come out with this win today. I thank God, thank him every day, for this being a fabulous, fabulous year."
Wofford has now won 20 straight games when scoring first and 44 in a row when leading at the half. The Terriers are also 65-2-1 in 68 games under Ayers when allowing 16 or fewer points.
This was the Terriers' second postseason win in their football history and the first since a 12-6 victory over West Liberty State in the 1970 NAIA semifinals. Wofford has tied a single-season school record with its 11 victories (1949, 1970).
"There was great hospitality from the Wofford administration and coaching staff," Aggie coach George Small said. "It’s a disappointment, although we made it this far.
"Unfortunately, we didn’t finish with a win. We made too many mistakes. Wofford is a good football team. You can’t afford to have any mistakes against a quality team like that.
"Sometimes, I didn’t even know he (Zolman) had the ball. We also missed a lot of scoring opportunities. Nobody expected us to be here. My hat goes off to those young men for working hard all year."
The Terriers scored on 5-of-6 red-zone opportunities and recorded four sacks, increasing their SoCon-leading total to 28 on year. Wofford also tops the SoCon in scoring defense, allowing just 13.8 points per game.
