Box Score
SPARTANBURG, SC – Wofford was able to take advantage of six Chattanooga turnovers and turned five of them into touchdowns in posting a 55-0 win Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The win was Wofford’s fourth straight.
Chattanooga turned the ball over on four of its first five possessions and Wofford converted each one into a touchdown. A total of 16 Terriers carried the ball as Wofford rushed for 326 yards.
The win marked the final home game for 13 Wofford seniors. The victory also assured Wofford of no worse than a third place finish in the Southern Conference race.
The Terriers improved to 6-4 overall and 5-2 in the Southern Conference. Chattanooga concluded its season 3-8, 2-5. Wofford’s four-game winning streak is its longest since the 2004 season.
Wofford did not take long to get on the scoreboard. After the Terriers kicked off, Chattanooga fumbled on its first play of the game and James Gonsoulin recovered at the UTC 17. Terrance Ware carried the ball to the 3 and Josh Collier scored two plays later for a 7-0 Terrier advantage.
Wofford quickly made it 14-0 when Chattanooga quarterback Antonio Miller overthrew his target on a screen pass and Brandon Berry intercepted and returned it 12 yards for a score.
After Chattanooga lost its next possession on downs, the Terriers needed just four plays to move 69 yards with quarterback Josh Collier hitting Andy Strickland on a 32-yard pass for a 21-0 lead.
After picking up two first downs on its next drive, Chattanooga fumbled and Brian Kemp recovered at the Wofford 27. Wofford’s Terrance Ware finished off the drive with a 22-yard scoring run as the Terriers went ahead 28-0 with 2:00 left in the first quarter.
Chattanooga fumbled four plays into its first drive of the second quarter with Bryan Blair recovering at the Wofford 7. Collier drove the Terriers 90 yards, completing three passes en route, before calling his own number from the 3 as Wofford went up 35-0.
The teams traded punts on each of their next possessions before freshman safety Buck Brown intercepted a Matt Lopez pass and returned it 44 yards for a Terrier touchdown and a 42-0 advantage with 36 second left before halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter as they traded punts throughout the period. On Wofford’s final drive of the quarter started at its own 38 following a Moc punt, quarterback Ben Widmyer ripped off a 35-yard run and freshman Brian Whitehurst concluded the drive with a 7-yard scoring run.
Jeremy Marshall concluded Wofford’s scoring with a 7-yard rush with 7:56 remaining in the game.
Placekicker Nick Robinson converted each of his first seven PAT attempts before having his final try blocked.
The 55 points marked the most by the Terriers this season. The shutout was the first by a Wofford defense since it blanked Johnson C. Smith 56-0 on Sept. 25, 2004. Wofford’s last shutout against a SoCon opponent was a 13-0 victory at The Citadel on Oct. 27, 2001.
Chattanooga was shutout for the first time since suffering a 31-0 loss to East Carolina on Sept. 12, 1998. The Mocs were last blanked by a SoCon team in 1996 when Marshall posted a 45-0 win.
Wofford will play its final regular season game of the season next Saturday when the Terriers visit Gardner-Webb.
NOTES
With an interception for a touchdown, Brandon Berry is the first player in Wofford history to score on a kickoff return, punt return and interception return in a career. In previous seasons playing as a wide receiver, Berry has also scored both rushing and receiving.
Wofford returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
Nick Robinson’s streak of 38 consecutive PATs ended with 7:56 to play in the game when his attempt was blocked.
Brian Whitehurst and Jeremy Marshall each scored their first career touchdowns. Terrance Ware’s touchdown run was his first since his freshman season in 2003.
Wofford used 16 different ballcarriers.
Wofford has ensured itself of a winning season for the fifth straight season. Wofford has now won 5 or more SoCon games in a season for the fourth time in eight years.
The home team won the Wofford-Chattanooga game for the third straight season.
Wofford’s last shutout: vs. Johnson C. Smith, 56-0, Sept. 25, 2004
Wofford’s last SoCon shutout: 13-0 at The Citadel, Oct. 27, 2001.
It was Wofford’s first home shutout against a SoCon opponent.
Chattanooga was last shutout by East Carolina, 31-0, on Sept. 12, 1998.
The last time UTC was shutout by a SoCon opponent was on Oct. 5, 1996 by Marshall, 45-0.
Wofford’s attendance of 6,155 brought the 11-year attendance in Gibbs Stadium to over 450,000.
