Box Score Game Stats
MISSOULA, Montana – Wofford College traveled west and came back home with a 23-22 win over previously undefeated Montana. Wofford will host a quarterfinal game next Saturday at Gibbs Stadium.
Wofford is now 9-3 on the season, while the Big Sky Conference Champion Grizzlies end the season at 11-1. Wofford was led by Kevious Johnson with 145 yards rushing on 20 carries. Dane Romero, Andy Strickland and Michael Hobbs had touchdowns, while Patrick Mugan had a field goal. Montana was led by Lex Hilliard with 123 yards on 29 carries.
“I am proud of our players, proud of the staff and we hung together,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “The caliber of players and coaches here is something that we really admire. They are fundamentally sound and have no weakness. It was an awesome crowd that was tough and classy. We knew that to win, we were going to need to do it together. The kids kept playing and executing and the perimeter blocking was exceptional. The offense played well, and the defense came up big with limiting them to field goals.”
Montana won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. On the first play from scrimmage for the Terriers, Kevious Johnson fumbled which was recovered by the Grizzlies. The Wofford defense started strong and forced a three-and-out by the Montana offense. On the next drive by the Terriers, the offense gained one first down before Josh Collier was intercepted by Reggie Bradshaw.
The Terriers defense continued to stop the Grizzlies, as Jared McCollough came up with a sack and Montana was forced to punt again. The Terriers offense settled down and drove 80 yards in 16 plays and scored on a 31-yard field goal by Patrick Mugan. Wofford took a 3-0 lead with 1:27 left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Grizzlies were able to tie the game with a 37-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter at 14:45. Back on offense, Wofford was able to put together a nine play drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Dane Romero at 10:07.
The Grizzlies scored on their next drive when Dan Carpenter made a 25-yard field goal at 5:51 in the second quarter. Wofford was forced three-and-out on their next possession and punted. Following the punt, Montana scored on a nine yard pass from Cole Bergquist to Dan Beaudin with 24 seconds left in the half for a 13-10 lead.
Montana had the ball to start the second half. After gaining one first down, the Wofford defense held and on a fake punt prevented the first down. Following a first down gained by Josh Collier, the Terriers turned the ball over for the third time in the game when Collier was intercepted by Quinton Jackson.
After the turnover, the Terrier defense once again stepped up to the challenge and after a sack by Seth Goldwire forced a three-and-out. Wofford was able to gain three first downs, but were stopped on a fourth-and-six, turning the ball over on downs.
The Grizzlies drove to the Terriers one-yard line, but had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter for a 16-10 lead at 12:59 in the fourth quarter. After the score, Wofford was able to complete the first pass of the day, a 34-yard completion to Andy Strickland at 12:43 in the fourth quarter. The drive continued with a fourth-and-five from the six yard line when Josh Collier found Andy Strickland in the left corner of the endzone for the touchdown. The Terriers took a 17-16 lead with 7:47 left in the game.
The lead was short-lived as Lex Hilliard scored from one-yard out with six minutes to go in the game. The two-point conversion attempt was incomplete, giving Montana a 22-17 lead. Wofford responded with a six yard touchdown run up the middle by Michael Hobbs with only 32 seconds left in the game. The two-point attempt was ruled incomplete, giving the Terriers a 23-22 lead. The Grizzlies still had time, moving the ball to the 30-yard line with four seconds left. The 47-yard attempt by Dan Carpenter was wide left as time expired, giving Wofford the win.
The Terriers advance in the FCS Playoffs and will be at home next weekend against Richmond, who defeated Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. More information on the game will be released on Sunday.
Wofford vs. Montana
Post-Game Notes
The trip was the longest in Wofford football history, as the Terriers flew 2330 miles roundtrip visit to Big Sky Country.
The temperature was 13 degrees at kickoff.
Patrick Mugan’s 31-yard field goal in the first quarter was the second-longest this season by the Terriers.
Wofford entered the second half down and won for the first time this season. It marked the fourth time this season the Terriers have been behind and are now 1-3 in those games.
The Terriers had five sacks in the game, the most this season. Previously the most by Wofford this season was four against Elon.
Fenn Allen has caught a pass in eleven straight games this season.
Michael Hobbs has a touchdown run in five straight games.
Kevious Johnson had 72 rushing yards in the first half. He has moved into second place all-time at Wofford with 3,762 total yards. Shawn Graves holds the school record with 5,128 rushing yards.
Kevious Johnson had 145 total yards, his fourth 100+ rushing game this season. He also has 14 in his career at Wofford.
Attendance: 19,761
