Box Score Game box (pdf)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford football team was led by Eric Breitenstein with 247 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 23-7 win over New Hampshire in the second round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. Wofford will advance to face North Dakota State in the quarterfinals next weekend.
The Terriers are 9-3 on the season and New Hampshire is 8-4 overall. For Wofford, Eric Breitenstein had 247 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns. The Terrier defense held New Hampshire to 238 total yards and had ten tackles for loss, including five sacks, along with two interceptions. The Wildcats were led by Nico Steriti with 51 rushing yards and Sean Goldrich was 17-of-29 passing for 113 yards.
“The team we played was a real good football team,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We played hard and they played hard. They have a great scheme and are used to putting up 35 points every day. Our defense did an unbelievable job as far as stopping them. The difference in the ball game came down to the number of times that we were able to stop them. From an offensive standpoint we had a lot of plays but we not as productive as we needed to be. We got sloppy with the ball and gave them a chance to get back in it, but the defense answered the bell every time.”
The Wildcats had the ball to open the game and were forced three-and-out and punted. Wofford had a fourth-and-one, but Eric Breitenstein converted with a 54-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead with 11:51 on the clock.
New Hampshire gained a first down on their next possession, but after a sack by Alvin Scioneaux was forced to punt. Wofford moved the ball across midfield with three first downs, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Wildcats. After gaining a first down, New Hampshire punted back with 3:38 left in the first quarter. The Terriers reached the 50-yard line, but a bad snap forced a punt. New Hampshire gained four first downs before E.J. Speller forced and recovered a fumble by Sean Goldrich.
Wofford picked up a first down on a reverse by Will Irwin, but were stopped on a fourth-and-two attempt and New Hampshire took over that the 39-yard line with 11:41 left in the second quarter. After a sack by Mike McCrimon, the Wildcats punted back to the Terriers. Eric Breitenstein gained a first down, but another Wofford fumble turned the ball back over to the Wildcats. New Hampshire was moving the ball with two first downs, but Alvin Scioneaux picked off a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Tarek Odom. After gaining four first downs, Eric Breitenstein capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. The point after hit the left upright and Wofford had a 13-0 lead with 1:13 left in the first half.
On the next drive by the Wildcats, after a first down Mike Niam intercepted Sean Goldrich with 36 seconds on the clock. The Terriers tried a 34-yard field goal as time expired, but it was wide right. Wofford had a 13-0 lead at the break and were outgaining the Wildcats 297 yards to 128.
To open the second half, Wofford had the ball but Donovan Johnson was hit and fumbled. The fumble was picked up by Cody Muller, who returned it 14-yards for the touchdown. The score was 13-7 with 12:15 left in the third quarter. Wofford answered with a 45-yard run by Eric Breitenstein, and then Breitenstein went 26-yards for his third touchdown of the day. Wofford had a 20-7 lead with 9:58 on the clock.
The Wildcats gained two first downs before a tackle for loss by Mike McCrimon forced a punt. Wofford used a 33-yard run by Brian Kass to set-up a 33-yard field goal by Kasey Redfern. The Terriers led 23-7 with 2:57 left in the third quarter. On the next drive by the Wildcats, they gained one first down before punting. Wofford tried a fourth-and-15, but were sacked and turned the ball over on downs. The Wildcats gained a first down, but on fourth-and-ten were called for holding and the ball went back to Wofford.
With 10:23 remaining in the fourth quarter, Wofford took over but went three-and-out and punted, with the ball downed at the two-yard line. The Wildcats gained four first downs, but a fourth-and-six pass was broken up by James Zotto. Wofford then got the ball back with 4:20 left in the game. On fourth down, the Terriers lined up to punt. Kasey Redfern dropped the ball on the snap, but picked it up and ran for the first down. Brad Nocek added a first down run that enabled the Terriers to take a knee twice to seal the victory.
Wofford had 479 total yards, with 454 on the ground. New Hampshire had 238 total yards, 165 of which were passing. Wofford had a 25 to 17 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 6-of-15 on third downs and 3-of-5 on fourth down. New Hampshire was 8-of-17 on third down and 1-of3 on fourth down. Each team had four penalties. Wofford had a 35:27 to 24:33 time of possession advantage.
Wofford vs. New Hampshire Post-Game Notes
In the FCS Playoffs, the Terriers are now 1-3 against teams from the CAA. The home win was the first in the playoffs since 2003 against Western Kentucky. The Terriers are now 6-0 at Gibbs Stadium this season.
Eric Breitenstein now has 5,595 career rushing yards, second most in SoCon history. He is behind Adrian Peterson (GSU) with 6,559 yards. He scored his 65th career touchdown in the, which is tied for third in SoCon history.
Eric Breitenstein marked his 31st career 100+ rushing game with 247 yards on 22 carries. He is third in SoCon history in 100+ rushing games. He has rushed for over 100 yards in all but one game (Lincoln) this season. It was his sixth career 200 yard rushing game, which is also third in SoCon history.
Mike Niam and Alvin Scioneaux each had interceptions in the game. For Niam it was his third career interception. Scioneaux intercepted a pass in the second straight game and it was the third of his career.
T.J. White (concussion) left the game due to injury.
Game captains were Bryan Youman and Phillip Legrande.
Attendance was 6,346 at Gibbs Stadium.
