Box Score Wofford-Chattanooga game book
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Wofford College defeated Chattanooga 42-16 on Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium. With the win, Wofford claimed a share of the Southern Conference title. It is the second title in school history, joining the 2003 team.
Wofford ends the season at 8-3 and are 5-2 in conference play. Chattanooga is 2-8 overall and are 2-4 in the Southern Conference. Wofford was led by Josh Collier with a career-high 191 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Michael Hobbs and Adrian Young added rushing touchdowns, Sean Lees scored on a kickoff return and Fenn Allen added a receiving touchdown.
“We knew they were going to be a challenge for us,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “They started out fast and we held them to a field goal. Our defense played great. On offense, we self destructed in the first half and I was worried going in at the half. We can out in the second half and had some drives that ate the clock and put some points on the board. On defense our linebackers made some big plays. I can’t say enough about these kids; it has been a tough, physical season without a break. We are done for now but we should be in the playoffs. We will have a week to heal and work on fundamentals. Hopefully we will get a chance to play again.”
Chattanooga won the toss and received the opening kickoff. After picking up three first downs, the Mocs scored on a Spencer Nolan 36-yard field goal that hit the crossbar and bounced over for a 3-0 lead at 11:39 in the first quarter. Wofford wasted little time on their first offensive drive as on the third play Josh Collier ran 62-yards for a touchdown at 10:10 for a 7-3 lead. It was the longest rush of Collier’s career.
After forcing Chattanooga to punt, the Terriers put together a long drive that ended when Josh Collier fumbled the ball which was recovered by the Mocs. The Terriers returned the favor two plays later when Seth Goldwire forced a Bryan Fitzgerald fumble that was recovered by Tommy Irvin. The Wofford drive ended in the endzone when Brandon Golder intercepted a pass intended for Andy Strickland by Josh Collier.
The Terrier defense forced a three-and-out by the Mocs. Working with a short field courtesy of a fair catch interference call, Wofford scored when Fenn Allen caught an 18-yard pass from Josh Collier. The Terriers led 14-3 at 11:35 in the second quarter.
Again, the Terriers defense was able to force a three-and-out and punt. Back on offense, Ben Widmyer was sacked and fumbled, but the Terriers recovered. Wofford was forced to punt. Chattanooga drove to the goal line, where a fumble was recovered in the endzone by James Mitchell. Despite a gain of 36-yard on a pass to Justice Joslin, the Terriers turned the ball over again with a interception of Ben Widmyer by Jeff Phillips.
Wofford’s defense held the Mocs to one first down before punting, giving the Terriers the ball back with 1:16 remaining in the half. Wofford gained two first downs but time ran out in the half.
The Terriers had the ball first to open the second half. Wofford drove 74 yards in fifteen plays and took 8:17 off the clock, with Josh Collier scoring from one yard out to take a 21-3 lead at 6:37 in the third quarter.
On the ensuing drive by Chattanooga, Wofford safety Dan Tavani intercepted Antonio Miller at the 35-yard line. The Terriers took advantage of the turnover with a two-yard touchdown run by Michael Hobbs at 2:10 in the third quarter for a 28-3 lead.
Chattanooga responded on their next drive when Antonio Miller found Joseph Pittman in the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown on the last play of the third quarter. Wofford wasted no time as Sean Lees took the kickoff return back 79 yards for the touchdown and a 35-10 lead.
The next Chattanooga drive ended when Brian Kemp intercepted Antonio Miller. After a Wofford punt, James Mitchell intercepted Miller. The Terriers once again capitalized on the turnover with a two-yard touchdown run with 6:14 remaining in the game for a 42-10 lead.
Wofford picked off the fourth pass of the game when James Mitchell intercepted Tony Pastore and returned it 16 yards to the Wofford 47-yard line. However a fumble by Austin Palmer gave the ball back to the Mocs with 2:06 remaining in the game.As time expired in the game, Tony Pastore completed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Kelvon Yancey for a 42-16 final score.
The Terriers will be off next weekend. The NCAA FCS Selection show will be held on Sunday, November 18 at 3:30 pm on ESPNU. The NCAA Playoffs will begin on November 24.
Wofford vs. Chattanooga
Post-Game Notes
The Terriers end the season with a perfect 4-0 record in the SoCon on the road this season. Wofford has won six straight SoCon road games, with the last road loss on October 14, 2006.
Kevious Johnson had 36 yards in the first half, giving him exactly 1,000 yards on the season. He rushed for 65 yards in the game, giving him 1,029 on the season. It is the 14th 1,000 yard rushing season in Wofford history, and the second by Johnson. He is only the third different player to have multiple 1,000 yard rushing seasons in Wofford history.
Josh Collier’s 62-yard run for a touchdown was the longest run of his career. He had 191 yards in the game, marking his third career 100+ rushing game and the most rushing yards in a game in his career.
Dan Tavani intercepted his second pass of the season and the sixth of his career. Brian Kemp intercepted his third pass of the season and the seventh of his career. James Mitchell had his first two interceptions of the season for three in his career.
Sean Lees scored his first career touchdown on a kickoff return in the fourth quarter. It marked the second kickoff return for touchdown this season by the Terriers (Mike Rucker vs. Charleston Southern).
Chattanooga scored first in the game, marking the fourth time this season an opponent has scored first. With the win, Wofford is now 1-3 in games where the opponent scores first.
Wofford had a commanding lead in time of possession at 37:21, a season high.
Attendance: 4,907
