Box Score CULLOWHEE, NC – Wofford College defeated Western Carolina 47-44 on Thursday night at Whitmire Stadium. The first half belong to Wofford, taking a 37-3 lead. The second half was controlled by the Catamounts, as they scored 41 second half points.

Wofford is now 7-2 on the season and are 4-1 in conference play. Western Carolina is 1-8 overall and are 0-5 in the Southern Conference. Wofford was led by Kevious Johnson with 128 yards on 15 carries and Adrian Young with 24 carries for 115 yards. Kevious Johnson, Adrian Young, Dane Romero and Michael Hobbs all scored for the Terriers. Wofford had 513 yards of offense, including 397 yards rushing. Western Carolina had 341 yards passing.

“That was a crazy game,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “I can’t say enough about Western Carolina tonight and I give them a lot of credit. We were lucky to come out of here with a win. Our defense had a bad day, and I think the short week hurt us. We could not stop them. Every score we had tonight we needed to win the game, and the field goal at the end was huge.”

The Catamounts had the ball first, but the Terriers’ Brian Ford was able to recover a fumble forced by Filmon Dawkins. After a 32-yard gain on a pass from Josh Collier to Fenn Allen, Michael Hobbs scored from one yard out. On the next Western Carolina drive, the Terrier defense forced a punt, which was blocked by Brian Kemp. Once again, a big reception by Fenn Allen set up a three-yard touchdown run to give Wofford a 14-0 lead just seven minutes into the game.

On the next drive by the Catamounts, the defense forced a three-and-out. Wofford’s next drive was highlighted by a 34-yard run by Jeremy Marshall. Dane Romero scored on an eight-yard run to cap the five play drive for a 21-0 lead.

Wofford again forced Western Carolina three-and-out. After the punt, the Terriers were able to drive 68-yards in eleven plays, with the touchdown scored from one-yard out by Adrian Young early in the second quarter.

Western Carolina was able to put together an eleven play drive that ended when the Terrier defense held on fourth-and-one from the two-yard line. Wofford was able to drive 98-yards in twelve plays, including a fake field goal try in which Stev Davitte completed a pass to Fenn Allen to the one-yard line. Kevious Johnson took it in from one yard out, but Patrick Mugan missed the point after for a 34-0 lead at 2:48 in the second quarter.

With just under one minute remaining in the half, the Catamounts got on the board with a 31-yard field goal by Jonathan Parsons. The Terriers were able to match the field goal when Patrick Mugan hit from 30-yards as time expired in the first half.

The Terriers had the ball first in the second half, but quarterback Ben Widmyer was hit while throwing and Western Carolina recovered the fumble. Off the turnover, the Catamounts were able to score on a four-yard pass from Adam Hearns to Shamar Allen for a 37-10 score at 11:22 in the third quarter.

After forcing the Terriers to punt for the first time in the game, the Catamounts struck quick with a 61-yard touchdown catch by Eddie Cohen at 9:10 in the third quarter. Wofford responded with a thirteen play, 70-yard drive that included a fourth-and-one conversion by Adrian Young and a two-yard touchdown run by Young as well for a 44-17 lead at 3:00 in the third quarter.

The Catamounts went 63 yards in seven plays and scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Adam Hearns to Marquel Pittman at the end of the third quarter. Western Carolina stopped Wofford on the next drive. The Catamounts scored again when Mike Malone scored on a two-yard run with 8:53 remaining in the game for a 44-31 score.

With 4:01 remaining in the game, Patrick Mugan hit a 32-yard field goal to give the Terriers a 47-31 lead. But the Catamounts were far from done, as they answered with a 42-yard touchdown pass by Todd Spitzer to Eddie Cohen, but the two-point conversion failed.

The Terriers recovered the onside kick, but the offense was hampered by a penalty and had to punt. The punt was botched, resulting in a short field for the Catamounts. On the second play of the drive, Todd Spitzer found Marquel Pittman for a 27-yard touchdown and a 47-44 score with 1:27 left in the game. Wofford was able to recover the onside kick and run out the clock to preserve the win.

Next week the Terriers will host Georgia Southern on Saturday, November 3 at 1:30 pm. The contest at Gibbs Stadium will be part of Homecoming weekend at Wofford College.


Wofford vs. Western Carolina
Post-Game Notes

• The Terriers played their first Thursday night game since they opened the 1996 season against Youngstown State.
• The 21 points scored in the first quarter were the most since the Terriers scored 28 in the first quarter on November 11, 2006 against Chattanooga. Wofford also had 200 yards of offense and nine first downs after the first 15 minutes.
• The 37 points in the first half were the most this season and the most since 42 in the first half against Chattanooga in 2006.
• Wofford scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and scored on the first six overall.
• The 21 points scored by the Catamounts in the third quarter were the most by an opponent since Furman scored 21 in the second quarter on September 30, 2006.
• The Terriers had four different players complete passes – Josh Collier, Ben Widmyer, Stev Davitte and Jeremy Marshall.
• Wofford tight end Fenn Allen had a career-high four catches for a career-best 76 yards.
• Wofford wide receiver Andy Strickland had a catch in eight straight games.
• Wofford back Adrian Young had 115 yards on 24 carries for his first career 100+ yard game.
• Attendance: 4,721