Box Score Game Book
"Inside Wofford Football"
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Wofford football team left the state of South Carolina for the first time this season and defeated Western Carolina 42-24 at Whitmire Stadium. The Terriers jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back as Donovan Johnson and Eric Breitenstein each had 100+ rushing yards. Wofford had 500 rushing yards in the contest.
The Terriers are 7-2 on the season and 5-1 in the SoCon. Western Carolina is 1-8 overall and 0-7 in conference play. For Wofford, Donovan Johnson had 10 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns, Eric Breitenstein had 16 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown. Mitch Allen added 90 yards and a touchdown, along with 4-of-6 passing. Bryan Youman also had two rushing touchdowns. The Catamounts were led by Jacoby Mitchell with seven catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Zac Brindise was 23-of-30 for 251 yards and three touchdowns.
“I think the big thing was we wanted to come up here and play well and get the first group off as quick as possible to put our young guys in,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We did that but I would have liked to see them do better, but they did okay. We got up early, but credit to their kids to keep battling. They got after us today with some physical play and hard hits. It was a tough ball game. I am proud of the preparation our kids put in with our coaches for this game.”
The Catamounts had the ball to open the game and gained two first downs before punting. On the first drive of the day for the Terriers, a 25-yard run by Donovan Johnson moved the ball inside the red zone. Eric Breitenstein capped the drive with a two-yard run to take a 7-0 lead at 5:56 in the first quarter.
Western Carolina was driving on their next possession, but Blake Wylie intercepted Zac Brindise and returned it 28-yards to the Catamount 48-yard line. Wofford added to the lead with a four-yard run by Bryan Youman for a 14-0 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter. Western Carolina had a 34-yard run by Michael Johnson on their next drive, but was forced to punt.
On the next drive for Wofford, Donovan Johnson broke a tackle and went 45-yards for a touchdown. The Terriers lead was 21-0 at 10:16 in the second quarter. Western Carolina went three-and-out and punted on the ensuing possession. Wofford fumbled a handoff and the ball was recovered by the Catamounts at 27-yard line. An apparent touchdown by Western Carolina was called by due to an illegal forward pass, but they scored on a 19-yard touchdown reception by Jacoby Mitchell to make it a 21-7 game with 6:45 left in the half.
After a 33-yard run by Mitch Allen, Donovan Johnson ran the ball in from 15-yards out to take a 28-7 lead with 4:09 remaining in the first half. The Catamounts went three-and-out and punted back to Wofford with three minutes on the clock. The Terriers gained three first downs and scored on a 15-yard run by Mitch Allen for a 35-7 advantage with 42 seconds left before halftime. The Catamounts added a 51-yard field goal as time expired to make it a 35-10 game at the break.
The Terriers opened the second half with the ball and scored on a 2-yard run by Bryan Youman on fourth down. Wofford used 6:22 on the 13-play drive to take a 42-10 lead. Western Carolina used a 41-yard reception by Jacoby Mitchell to get the ball in the red zone, but Zac Brindise fumbled the ball at the two-yard line, which was forced by Zach Bobb and recovered by Mike McCrimon in the end zone for a touchback.
With the ball back, Brian Kass took over at quarterback for Wofford. After gaining a first down, the Terriers punted for the first time in the game. The Catamounts picked up two first downs, but failed to convert on fourth-and-eleven and turned it over on downs. Wofford then went three-and-out and punted back to Western Carolina. The Catamounts scored on a 13-yard Zac Brindise touchdown pass to Gary Green with 9:44 left in the game for a 42-17 score.
The Terriers picked up two first on their next drive, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Catamounts. Western Carolina added another touchdown when Zac Brindise found Jacoby Mitchell for a 24-yard touchdown reception with 3:53 left in the game for a 42-24 tally. Wofford was able to run out the clock for the victory.
Wofford had 544 total yards, with 500 on the ground. Western Carolina had 397 total yards, 251 of which were passing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage by a 33:46 to 26:14 margin. Wofford was 7-of-11 on third downs and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Western Carolina was 8-of-15 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Each team had six penalties.
Next weekend the Terriers will host Georgia Southern at Gibbs Stadium. Game time has been changed to 1:00 p.m. due to the Republican Presidential Debate being held on campus later that night. The Eagles were 14-12 winners over The Citadel on Saturday.
Wofford vs. WCU Post-Game Notes
Eric Breitenstein rushed for 112 yards, the eighth time this season with over 100 yards. The only game he has not rushed for over 100 yards was at Clemson. It marks his 18th career 100+ rushing game, which is second in school history behind Shawn Graves (25).
The 500 rushing yards marked the third time this season with over 400 rushing yards (443 vs. Samford and 465 vs. Elon). The 500 yards are the tenth-most in school history and the most since 501 yards, also against WCU, in 2010.
Blake Wylie had the fourth interception of his career in the first quarter.
Donovan Johnson rushed for 136 yards in the contest on ten carries. It was the third 100+ rushing game of his career and second this season.
With one rushing touchdown, Eric Breitenstein has 42 for his career. He is second in school history behind Shawn Graves (72).
Wofford has won six in a row against Western Carolina and have scored at least 35 points in all six wins.
Game captains were Mitch Allen and Eric Eberhardt.
Attendance was 4,770 at E. J. Whitmire Stadium.
