Box Score Game Book (pdf)
BOONE, N.C. – The Wofford College football team was defeated 43-13 on Saturday afternoon by Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Four lost fumbles put a damper on the hopes of the Terriers and the Mountaineers won their sixth-straight Southern Conference title.
The Terriers, ranked fourth in the nation, are 8-2 on the season and 6-1 in the conference and the third-ranked Mountaineers are 9-1 overall and 7-1 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Brian Kass with 42 rushing yards and 4-of-11 passing with one touchdown. Appalachian State was led by Devon Moore with 115 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
“Offensively we really struggled,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “When you look at fou turnovers against a team like Appalachian State, you are going to have this type of a game. It is frustrating. I think we had a good week of preparation and our kids were mentally ready for the game. In the moment, we did not get it done. Appalachian is a great team and a lot of what happened tonight was because of Appalachian. They did a great job of preparing for us. We have one more left and we still have a shot.”
The Mountaineers got the ball first and were able to drive the distance of the field and score on an eleven-yard touchdown run by Devon Moore with 11:36 on the clock. Wofford picked up a fourth-and-one on their first drive of the game, but were forced to punt. With the ball back, Appalachian State added to the lead with a 39-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris at 14:13 in the second quarter.
Wofford had a 40-yard kickoff return by Mike Rucker, but the Terriers were forced to punt. The two teams then traded punts, with the Mountaineers getting the ball back. Brian Quick scored on a six-yard touchdown pass from DeAndre Presley to make it a 17-0 lead with 2:58 left in the half. Wofford fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up the Mountaineers at the 18-yard line. Devon Moore took it in from five-yards out for a 24-0 lead with 2:06 on the clock. The Terriers went three and out and punted, but the Mountaineers were also forced to punt on their finals series of the half.
To open the second half, Wofford had the ball but fumbled. The Mountaineers converted the turnover into points when DeAndre Presley found Brian Quick for a 24-yard touchdown pass at 13:25 in the third quarter. The Terriers fumbled again on their next possession and again the Mountaineers added to the lead when Devon Moore scored from five-yard out for a 38-0 lead with 11:22 on the clock.
On the next drive by the Terriers, the team turned the ball over on downs. Appalachian State was forced to punt, but Wofford turned the ball back over to the Mountaineers on a fumble. Appalachian State’s DeAndre Presley was intercepted by Tommy Irvin and he returned it to the 44-yard line. With the ball back, Brian Kass found Brenton Bersin on the second play of the drive for a 30-yard touchdown reception with 1:38 left in the third quarter.
The Mountaineers answered with a career-long 50-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris with 12:23 to go in the fourth quarter. Wofford was able to respond with a scoring drive as Brian Kass ran the ball in from five-yards out with 4:52 remaining in the game. The PAT was blocked and returned for two-points by Troy Sanders for a 43-13 score. Wofford forced a punt and got the ball back with three minutes to go, but were unable to score on the final drive and the final score was 43-13.
The Terriers running game was shut down as Wofford had only 189 on the ground and 275 total yards. Appalachian State had 360 yards, 168 of which were rushing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage. Wofford was 7-of-16 on third downs. Appalachian State was 7-of-13 on third down.
Next weekend Wofford will host Chattanooga in the final regular season game of the season. The game time has been moved to 3:00 pm and will air on SportSouth. The Mocs picked up a 48-14 win at Samford on Saturday afternoon. With a win, Wofford could claim a share of the SoCon title, however the Mountaineers have wrapped up the automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs.
Wofford vs. Appalachian State Post-Game Notes
The Mountaineers scored a touchdown on their first possession, ending a streak of eight straight quarters the Terriers have not allowed a touchdown.
Game captains were Trey Johnson and Arsenio Parks.
The loss by the Terriers ended an eight-game winning streak, the longest since the 2003 season.
Attendance was 28,622 at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
