Box Score Game Book (pdf)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College defeated Charleston Southern 42-14 in the home opener at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers had 394 rushing yards in the game while Mike Rucker and Eric Breitenstein both had two touchdowns.
The Terriers even their record at 1-1, while the Bucs are 0-2. Wofford was led by Mike Rucker with 102 yards and two touchdowns and Mitch Allen with 93 yard rushing and a touchdown, plus 68 passing yards and a touchdown. Charleston Southern was led by Gerald Stevenson with 34 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards plus a touchdown. A.J. Toscano was 15-of-24 passing for 148 yards and a touchdown.
“I was pleased with the progress of the team,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We got better. The tough thing is playing these games and you loose a guy here and loose a guy there. I am concerned about the injuries. We are young and due to these injuries, we might get younger. We played a lot of guys tonight and they have to get ready. The defense came up with a lot of stops and we did not have a turnover. That gives you a better opportunity. Charleston Southern is a quality football team and I think they show that. We played pretty well tonight, and I know we played hard. We did some great things in all three phases and hopefully we will continue to get better, because we need to.
The Bucs had the ball to begin the game, but went three and out on the possession. Wofford was able to put together a twelve play drive that covered 72 yards that ended with a one yard touchdown run by Eric Breitenstein at 7:06 in the first quarter.
On the next possession by Charleston Southern, quarterback A.J. Toscano was sacked by Mike Niam, who also forced a fumble. The ball was recovered by Eric Eberhardt at the Bucs’ 24-yard line. With the short field, Wofford needed just four plays to score when Eric Breitenstein scored on a 13-yard run up the middle at 1:49 to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Charleston Southern put together an eight-play drive, but it ended when Phillip LeGrande intercepted A.J. Toscano. With the ball back, the Terriers wasted little time when Mitch Allen ran 35-yard for a touchdown at 14:51 in the second quarter for a 21-0 lead.
With the ball back, the Bucs put together a 17-play drive that covered 80 yards and ended with a two-yard run by Antwan Ivey at 6:50 in the second quarter for a 21-7 score. The Terriers went three-and-out, but the Bucs also went three-and-out on their ensuing possession.
Wofford got the ball back with 3:24 left in the half and put together a seven play drive that was capped by a four-yard run by Mike Rucker. With just 31 seconds left in the half, the Terriers had a 28-7 lead. The Bucs had one play from scrimmage before the half ended, but A.J. Toscano was sacked by SeQuan Stanley.
In the second half, both teams were forced three-an-out on their first possessions. Wofford tried a fake punt, but the pass was incomplete on their second possession of the half. The Bucs capped a scoring drive with a ten-yard pass from A.J. Toscano to Gerald Stevenson at 7:10 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 28-14. The Terriers were forced to punt on their next possession.
The Terriers were able to answer with an 80-yard run by Mike Rucker to take a 35-14 lead with 14:18 on the clock in the fourth quarter. Charleston Southern picked up a first down before being forced to punt. Wofford put together another drive, this time seven plays for 75 yards that was capped by Devin Reed catching a 23-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Allen.
Charleston Southern got the ball back with 8:55 left in the game, but was forced to punt after gaining one first down. The Terriers got the ball back at 6:29 and were able to drive to the one-yard line before time expired in the game for a 42-14 final score.
Wofford had 469 total yards of offense, including 394 on the ground. Charleston Southern had 113 rushing yards and 167 passing yards for 280 total yards. The Bucs were 5-of-15 on third down and converted two fourth down attempts. Wofford was 7-of-13 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth downs.
The Terriers will be on the road next Saturday at Wisconsin. The game will kickoff at noon ET and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, which is available on many cable and satellite providers.
Wofford vs. CSU Post-Game Notes
The Terriers have won all twelve meetings against Charleston Southern.
Wofford has won nine home openers in a row, dating back to 2001.
For Wofford, freshman Phillip LeGrande had his first career interception and Devin Reed had his first touchdown reception. Trey Diller, David Royster and Alex Dunmire had their first career catches in the contest.
Three Terriers had sacks in the game: Mike Niam, SeQuan Stanley and Ricco Braxton. Niam led the team in tackles for the second week.
Injuries for the Terriers include Eric Breitenstein (knee), Jonathon Shape (concussion) and Brenton Bersin (shoulder). Injury updates will be provided later in the week.
Austin Palmer had a career-high 31 rushing yards, while Arsenio Parks added a career-high 42 yards. Mitch Allen threw his first career touchdown pass.
Game captains were Mychael Johnson, Stev Davitte and Joe Fornadel.
Attendance was 7,017 at Gibbs Stadium.
