Box Score Game Book (pdf)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Wofford College football team rallied with two touchdowns in the final five minutes to defeat Charleston Southern 34-23 at CSU Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Down three with ten minutes to play, the Terriers responded with two touchdown runs by Eric Breitenstein to secure the win.

The Terriers are 1-1 on the season and the Buccaneers are 1-1. The Terriers were led by Eric Breitenstein with 97 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Rucker and Brad Nocek each added touchdowns. Brenton Bersin had 55 receiving yards as both Mitch Allen and Brian Kass shared time at quarterback. The Buccaneers were led by Anthony Chalmers with 71 receiving yards and a touchdown. A.J. Toscano was 25-of-41 for 229 yards.

“A lot of our execution was really good and in spots it was really bad,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “Some of that being bad was because Charleston Southern did a great job with their execution. We did not tackle well as a defense and gave up a big play on a halfback pass by not being assignment sound. In the second half of the ball game we played much better defensively. Offensively I saw some things that I really liked, especially the run game inside the tackle box. We were able to get on the perimeter and make some big plays. We threw the ball well and had some missed opportunities and hopefully we can get to where we never miss one. The kicking game was okay, nothing spectacular but we did enough to win. Charleston Southern is a good team and they know how to win. They are competitors and their coaches do a great job schematically. We knew it was going to be tough.”

The Buccaneers had the ball to open the game and drove 80 yards to score the first points of the game on a six-yard touchdown reception by Deon Lee from A.J. Toscano at 9:18 in the first quarter. Wofford was forced three-and-out on their first possession and punted.

With the ball back, Charleston Southern gained one first down before Blake Wylie picked off a pass by Toscano and returned it 38-yards. The Terriers were able to convert the turnover into points with a 30-yard field goal by Christian Reed with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, the Buccaneers gained two first downs before punting. The punt went only three yards, giving the Terriers the ball back. Brian Kass came into the game and picked up two passing first downs, going 15-yards to Brenton Bersin and 31-yards to Joseph Inman. The drive ended with a 29-yard field goal attempt by Christian Reed that was wide right.

After gaining four first downs on their next drive, the Buccaneers also missed a field goal when John Paglia was wide left from 40-yards. On the first play of the ensuing Wofford drive, Mike Rucker went 77-yards down the far sideline for a touchdown at 5:49 in the second quarter to take a 10-7 lead.

On the next drive by Charleston Southern, they gained only one first down before punting. Wofford was able to gain a first down on a pass from Mitch Allen to Brad Nocek, however a fumbled exchange gave the ball back to the Buccaneers. After lining up for a36-yard field goal attempt with 46 seconds left, the holder fumbled and it was recovered by Stephon Shelton. Wofford had to punt after going three-and-out with only 24 seconds left in the half, but three incomplete passes by Charleston Southern ended the half with Wofford holding a 10-7 lead.

To open the second half, Wofford fumbled but recovered and were forced to punt. The Buccaneers were able to gain one first down and John Paglia tied the game at 10-10 with a 45-yard field goal with 10:16 on the clock in the third quarter.

Wofford got the ball back and with Brian Kass under center Donovan Johnson gained 33-yards on a carry for a first down. The drive ended for the Terriers with a 39-yard field goal by Christian Reed to take a 13-10 lead at 7:53 in the third quarter.

The Buccaneers were able to take the lead with a halfback pass from Gerald Stevenson to Anthony Chalmers who was alone at the goal line with 4:43 remaining in the third quarter. The point after was wide, giving Charleston Southern a 16-13 lead. Wofford opened their next drive with a 29-yard run by Eric Breitenstein. The drive was capped with a 26-yard touchdown run by Brad Nocek to regain the lead at 20-16 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.

After trading punts, Charleston Southern was able to put together a drive with four first downs that was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by DeMarcus Moon to take a 23-20 lead with 10:58 left in the fourth quarter.

Wofford went three-and-out on their next drive, primarily due to a 15-yard penalty for a chop block. After a three-and-out by Charleston Southern, the Terriers got the ball back with nine minutes left in the game. Mitch Allen completed a 40-yard pass to Brenton Bersin for a first down. A penalty again moved the ball back, but a completion to Devin Reed gained back the penalty yards. Mitch Allen ran the ball to the eight-yard line for a first down. Eric Breitenstein scored a one-yard touchdown with 5:59 left in the quarter for a 27-23 lead.

The Charleston Southern offense was then forced three-and-out by the Terrier defense, giving the offense the ball back with 4:16 left in the game. Wofford used the running game to take over three minutes off the clock and Eric Breitenstein scored from one-yard out with only 1:09 left on the clock. The Buccaneers fumbled on their final drive of the game, which was recovered by SeQuan Stanley to wrap up the game.

The Terriers had 467 total yards, with 334 on the ground. Charleston Southern had 376 yards, 256 of which were passing. The Buccaneers had the time of possession advantage. Wofford was 2-of-10 on third downs. Charleston Southern was 8-of-18 on third down and zero-of-one on fourth down.

Wofford will play the home opener on September 18 at 7:00 pm against Union (Ky.) before the open week.

Wofford vs. Charleston Southern Post-Game Notes

The interception by Blake Wylie in the first quarter was the first of his career.

Brad Nocek scored his first career rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

The offensive line allowed their first sack of the season in the second quarter.

After not completing a pass in the opener at Ohio, the Terriers had six completions against the Buccaneers.

Game captains for Wofford were Mike Rucker and Jamar Reaves.

Attendance was 3,297 at CSU Stadium.