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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College defeated Furman 35-10 on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Terrier defense stopped the Paladins on fourth down five times and Ben Widmyer scored two rushing touchdowns and added a passing touchdown for Wofford.
The Terriers are 9-2 on the season (7-1 SoCon) and Furman is 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the Southern Conference. Wofford was led by Dane Romero with 97 yards and one touchdown, while Ben Widmyer had 80 yards rushing with two touchdowns, plus 125 yards and a touchdown passing. The Wofford defense had two sacks and Jason Leventis led the team with nine tackles. Furman was led by Jordan Sorrells with 226 yards on 25-of-39 passing.
“I thought our kids played really hard and really well,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “Furman is a very opportunistic team and offensively they will try to exploit you in different areas, but we were sound. I thought our defensive front did a great job against a big offensive line as far as creating pressure. Offensively we tried our best to keep the ball away from them. We went for it on fourth down and that is just part of our mentality. Being 9-2 with all of the kids that we lost last year, as a staff we kind of wondered what we would be like because you are replacing all those seniors with freshmen. We were blessed with a great group of freshmen coming in and they have played a ton of football for us and done a great job. It was a great game for us and I will take 9-2.”
The Paladins had the opening kickoff and put together a five-play scoring drive that included a 55-yard run by Mike Brown. Brantley Kendall capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run at 12:44 in the first quarter. The teams then traded three-and-outs with punts.
With the ball back, Wofford converted two fourth-downs on a drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown run on a direct snap to Dane Romero. The score was tied at 7-7 at 2:30 in the first quarter. The Terrier defense forced the Paladins to punt after picking up just one first down on their next drive.
Wofford then was able to go 80 yards in twelve plays as Ben Widmyer found the end zone on a 19-yard run to take a 14-7 lead at 10:20 in the second quarter. Furman was able to drive to the Wofford four yard line, but on fourth-and-two, the Terrier defense stopped the rush.
With just three minutes to go in the half, Wofford drove 97 yards in 2:27 to score on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Ben Widmyer to Andy Strickland for a 21-7 lead. The Paladins had 36 second to work with in the half. They were able to score on a 32-yard field goal that bounced off the right upright and in by Matthew Cesari as time expired for a 21-10 score at the half.
The Terriers opened the second half with the ball. In nine plays, the Terriers scored with a four-yard run by Mike Rucker for a 28-10 lead. On the next drive by the Paladins, they were able to drive inside the 20, but turned it over on downs when James Mitchell and Layton Baker came up with a big stop.
Wofford was forced three-and-out on their next drive. Furman was then able to pick up a couple first downs, but once again were stopped by the Wofford defense on fourth-and-four and turned it over on downs. With the ball back, the Terriers were able to add to the lead with a four-yard touchdown run by Ben Widmyer at 11:44 in the fourth quarter.
Furman was able to drive inside the Wofford 20 again, but on fourth-and twelve the Paladins completed the pass but were stopped short and turned it over on downs on the four-yard line. With the ball back, the Terriers picked up one first down before having to punt and Furman got the ball back with 3:15 left in the game.
The Paladins moved the chains once before turning the ball over on downs again with 1:48 left in the game. After one first down by Mitch Allen, the Terriers were able to run out the clock for the 35-10 victory.
Wofford had 438 yards of total offense, while Furman had 365 total yards. Wofford had the ball for 31:17, while Furman had possession for 28:43. The Terriers were 3-of-3 on fourth down, while Furman was 1-of-6. Wofford was 4-of-4 in the red-zone.
Up next, the Terriers will await the NCAA FCS Selection Show on Sunday night at 7:00 pm on ESPNU. Wofford will watch the announcement in Leonard Auditorium in Old Main on campus.
Wofford vs. Furman
Post-Game Notes
The Terriers have defeated Furman in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1970 and 1971 seasons.
Dane Romero had 97 yards on the ground, giving him 991 yards on the season. It ended a streak of three-straight 100-yard games for Romero. His touchdown in the first quarter was his 19th rushing touchdown this season, fourth all-time at Wofford.
Ben Widmyer had his third two-touchdown game of the season. He has 10 rushing touchdowns this season. He also has 10 passing touchdowns. The 10 passing touchdowns in a season are tied for the third-most in school history and most since 1988.
Widmyer completed 8-of-11 passes on the day. He has a 66.3 completion percentage on the season, which is currently the best in school history in a single season. His 190.35 passing efficiency is also best in school history for a single season.
The Wofford offensive line did not allow a sack for the eighth game this season.
With the win, Wofford has a 9-2 record. It is the seventh-straight season the Terriers will have a winning overall record. The 7-1 conference record is the second-best in school history to the 8-0 mark in 2003.
The game marked the final regular season game for 20 Wofford seniors. They have an overall record of 31-15 in the last four seasons.
Attendance was 9,654 at Gibbs Stadium.
