Box Score Game Box (pdf)
"Inside Wofford Football"
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Homecoming, the Wofford College football team defeated Elon 48-28 on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers ran for 465 yards and six touchdowns in the contest, including 217 yards and four touchdowns by Eric Breitenstein. Wofford also took advantage of a blocked punt, muffed punt return and an interception, all of which resulted in touchdowns for the Terriers.
The Terriers are 6-2 on the season and 4-1 in the SoCon. Elon is 4-5 overall and 2-4 in conference play. In addition to Breitenstein, the Terriers were led by Mitch Allen with 100 yards and two touchdowns, while Brenton Bersin added 73 rushing yards and 13 receiving yards. Mike Niam led the team with eight tackles. The Phoenix were led by Thomas Wilson, who was 27-of-35 passing for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Aaron Mellette had nine catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
“We did some real good things and we did some not so good things,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We made some mistakes and I am not going to be critical of the play because I appreciate the effort, but we have to make sure we correct the problems we have and then keep going on. We worked really hard this week on the kicking game as far as coverage, punt protection and creating the punt block. When you work hard, good things happen. We got the blocked punt and all of a sudden it is a different ball game. I thought Mitch (Allen) did an awesome job. He had a couple of shots early, but there was too much juice in the veins. I think that for the most part we did a great job on defense and we stopped the run to make them one dimensional. It is a great day when you win on Homecoming. There was a lot of work put in during the week by the kids and the staff and I am proud of the way they came out and handled the game.”
The Terriers took the opening kickoff and after two first downs were faced with a fourth-and-one. Eric Breitenstein ran right up the middle for 27-yards to score on the play and give Wofford a 7-0 lead with 12:19 on the clock. Elon was forced three-and-out on their first possession of the game.
Wofford was forced three-and-out, with Elon getting the ball back with 8:51 left in the first quarter. The Phoenix drove down the field, picking up five first downs and Dontay Taylor capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run. The score was tied at seven with 2:36 on the clock. The Terriers were able to gain two first downs, but failed to convert on fourth-and-four.
Elon then was able to take the lead when Thomas Wilson found Aaron Mellette for a 39-yard touchdown reception. The Phoenix led 14-7 with 12:17 remaining in the second quarter. Wofford gained only one first down before punting the ball back to Elon. The Terrier defense then forced a three-and-out and the Phoenix punted.
Eric Breitenstein then used a 49-yard run to get the Terriers inside the ten yard line. He finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14 with 7:32 left in the second quarter. Elon gained 36-yards on a pass to A.J. Harris, but back-to-back sacks by the Terriers forced a punt. However Wofford went three-and-out and punted to give the ball back to Elon with 2:35 left in the half.
The Terriers came up with the first turnover of the game when Thomas Wilson was intercepted by Blake Wylie and returned 22-yards. Eric Breitenstein added an 18-yard run, then scored from three-yards out for a 21-14 lead with 43 seconds remaining in the half. Elon ran one play to end the half.
To open the second half, the Phoenix had the ball, but went three-and-out and punted. Wofford turned the ball over on downs after a pass on fourth-and-six was incomplete. Elon then was able to tie the game on a 47-yard pass from Thomas Wilson to Jeremy Peterson with 6:37 on the clock in the third quarter. Wofford was then forced three-and-out and punted. However the fair catch was muffed by David Wood and caught in the air by Michael Harpe at the 18-yard line.
The turnover was converted to points when Eric Breitenstein scored from four yards out to take a 28-21 lead with 3:41 left in the third quarter. Elon then gained two first downs before being forced to punt. Alvin Scioneaux blocked the punt and it was picked up by Qay Bell, who returned it 42 yards for the touchdown. Wofford had a 35-21 lead with thirty seconds left in the third quarter. After forcing a three-and-out for Elon, the Terriers responded with a 61-yard touchdown run by Mitch Allen. The PAT was wide, giving Wofford a 41-21 lead with 12:40 left in the game.
Elon was able to answer with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Thomas Wilson to Aaron Mellette with 11:27 on the clock, which made it a 41-28 contest. Wofford gained three first downs, including a 30-yard run by Brenton Bersin, to set-up a one-yard touchdown run by Mitch Allen. The Terriers had a 48-28 lead with 6:04 left in the game. Elon was able to gain one first down on their next drive, but turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert a fourth-and-one. Wofford was able to run out the remaining 3:47 of the game to pick up the win.
Wofford had 478 total yards, with 465 on the ground. Elon had 363 total yards, 342 of which were passing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage by a 32:38 to 27:22 margin. Wofford was 7-of-16 on third downs and 2-of-4 on fourth down. Elon was 4-of-13 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Wofford had one penalty, while Elon had two.
Next weekend the Terriers will travel to Western Carolina for a 3:00 p.m. contest that will be televised on the SoCon Sports Network.
Wofford vs. Elon Post-Game Notes
Eric Breitenstein rushed for 217 yards, the seventh time this season with over 100 yards. The only game he has not rushed for over 100 yards was at Clemson. It marks his 17th career 100+ rushing game, which is second in school history behind Shawn Graves (25). It is his third career game with 200+ rushing yards.
Mitch Allen had 100 rushing yards in the game. It was the sixth 100+ rushing game of his career and third this season.
Eric Breitenstein has rushed for 1,027 yards this season. It is the second straight season he has rushed for over 1,000 yards.
Wofford is 42-21-2 in Homecoming games. Mike Ayers is 18-6 in Homecoming games.
The 465 rushing yards were the 12th most in school history. It was the second time this season with over 400 rushing yards (443 vs. Samford).
Qay Bell scored his first career touchdown on a return of a blocked punt. Blake Wylie had the third interception of his career in the second quarter.
With four rushing touchdowns, Eric Breitenstein has 41 for his career. He is second in school history behind Shawn Graves (72).
At halftime, Wofford officially retired the #51 jersey worn by Jerry Richardson. The three-time All-South Carolina, and two-time All-American, still holds school records for career touchdown receptions with 21, season touchdown receptions with 9, and most receiving yards in a game with 241. He is also the founder/owner of the Carolina Panthers. It is only the second football jersey retired at Wofford, along with the #1 of Shawn Graves.
Game captains were Mitch Allen and Eric Eberhardt.
There were no significant injuries in the contest.
Attendance was 8,611 at Gibbs Stadium.
