Box Score Game Book (pdf)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Wofford College defeated The Citadel 43-17 on Saturday afternoon at Hagood Stadium. Wofford had five different players score touchdowns in the game as the Terriers defeated the Bulldogs for the eleventh straight season.
The Terriers improve to 3-6 on the season and 2-4 in the SoCon, while The Citadel is 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the conference. Wofford was led by Stev Davitte with 96 rushing yards along with 5-of-6 passing for 68 yards. Mitch Allen had 79 yards rushing and 50 yards passing, while Michael Scott added 87 rushing yards. The Citadel was led by Terrell Dallas with 73 rushing yards and Andre Roberts was held to eight catches for 50 yards.
“Quite frankly we executed well today and we did what we are capable of doing,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “I think there were a couple things that were huge plays. The punt that set up our opportunity to get the safety was one. We were able to kick field goals and Christian Reed did an unbelievable job. We played good defense, we played good offense and we had a sound kicking game. It was a great day. We played a really good football team in The Citadel. A lot of folks might have thought that the dog was dead, but we came down here and played like we are capable.”
The Citadel went three and out on their first drive, as did the Terriers. On the next drive by the Bulldogs, they gained four first downs but had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Sam Keeler at 7:05 in the first quarter. Wofford was able to put together an eight-play drive that included a 23-yard catch by Devin Reed on third down and was capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Mitch Allen for a 7-3 lead at 3:23 in the opening quarter.
On the next drive by the Bulldogs, Keaton Thompson forced a fumble by Bart Blanchard that was recovered by Allen Smith at the 33-yard line. Wofford moved the ball inside the 20 with a 14-yard reception by Justice Joslin. The drive ended with a 39-yard field goal by Christian Reed for a 10-3 lead at 13:39 in the second quarter.
The Wofford defense forced a three-and-out by the Bulldogs. The Terriers gained two rushing first downs and gained 15-yards on a personal foul by The Citadel to move the ball inside the twenty. Another rushing first down set up a five-yard touchdown run by Mike Rucker at 7:58 in the second quarter for a 17-3 lead.
The Citadel used a 46-yard kickoff return to start their next drive. The Bulldogs converted a fourth-and-one to keep the drive moving and capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown pass from Bart Blanchard to Alex Sellars to make it a 17-10 game with 1:44 left in the first half.
Wofford went three-and-out and punted with 1:01 left in the half to the six-yard line. On the first play for The Citadel, Gary Blount forced a fumble in the end zone for a safety. Mike Rucker returned the punt 37-yards to The Citadel 40-yard line. Brenton Bersin caught a 17-yard pass from Stev Davitte for a first down at the 20-yard line. Wofford added a 32-yard field goal by Christian Reed with five seconds left for a 22-10 lead at the half.
The Terriers opened the second half with a 28-yard run by Michael Scott. Wofford added two more first downs before Mitch Allen found Brenton Bersin in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown catch. Wofford had a 29-10 lead at 11:57 in the third quarter. The Terrier defense used a sack by Eric Eberhardt to force another three-and-out for the Bulldogs.
On the next drive for the Terriers, Stev Davitte had a 49-yard run for a first down. However the drive ended with a fumble on a bad pitch and the Bulldogs recovered. The Citadel returned the favor after gaining three first downs when a bad exchange put the ball on the ground and Jonathon Sharpe recovered for the Terriers.
Wofford was able to convert the turnover into points when a nine-play, 67-yard drive was capped by a 25-yard touchdown run by Stev Davitte to take a 36-10 lead with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Citadel replaced Bart Blanchard on the following drive with Tommy Edwards. After converting a fourth-and-one, Edwards was intercepted by Kendall Bratcher. Wofford was able to turn the turnover into points once again when Michael Scott scored on a 16-yard touchdown run. The Terriers had a 43-10 lead with 10:19 left in the fourth quarter.
For the next Citadel drive, Miguel Starks entered at quarterback. The Bulldogs got to the Wofford 20-yard line before turning it over on downs. Wofford started a drive with 5:26 left in the game with Chris White at quarterback. The Terriers gained one first down before turning the ball over on downs with 2:07 left in the game. The Citadel added a touchdown with 37 seconds left when Starks found Cam Turner for a 9-yard reception to make it a 43-17 game. The on-side kick went out of bounds and Wofford took a knee to end the game.
The Terriers had 450 total yards of offense, with 320 coming on the ground. The Citadel had 274 total yards, with only 102 rushing. Wofford was 7-of-11 on third downs, while The Citadel was 3-of-11. The Citadel had a slight lead in time of possession.
Wofford will return to Gibbs Stadium for the final home game of the season against Samford at 1:30 pm.
Wofford vs. The Citadel Post-Game Notes
Senior tight end Johnson Richardson caught his first career pass in the second quarter for a gain of five yards.
The safety in the second quarter was the second this season for the Terriers.
Stev Davitte had a career-high 96 yards rushing to lead the team.
Kendall Bratcher picked off his second career pass in the fourth quarter. He had one interception last season.
Game captains for Wofford were Keaton Thompson and Clark Gaston.
Attendance was 15,155 at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
