CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – In a key Southern Conference match-up, the Wofford College football team was defeated by Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium. The score was 14-13 in favor of the Mocs at the half, but the second half was all Chattanooga as they added 17 points and held Wofford scoreless.
 
The Terriers are 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the Southern Conference, while #11 ranked Chattanooga is 7-3 and 6-0 in league play. The Mocs have secured first place in the conference and the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. Wofford was led by Ray Smith with 102 rushing yards and a touchdown. Chattanooga was led by Keon Williams with 91 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while Russ Huesman was 26-of-33 passing for 250 yards.
 
"They made big plays and they have playmakers," said head coach Mike Ayers. "Their quarterback is a special guy and defensively they did a great job against us. I don't think we created a flow like we normally do. In the first half we had some big plays and you would like to think every play has a chance to be a big play. In those plays we executed and blocked like we were supposed to. Chattanooga tightened up defensively in the second half and they beat us. They are a quality football team."
 
The Terriers had the ball first and on the third play of the game Ray Smith went down the far sideline 72 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked and Wofford had a 6-0 lead just a minute into the game. The Mocs had a 46-yard kickoff return and after gaining a pair of first downs, Keon Williams scored from seven yards out to take a 7-6 lead with 10:57 on the clock in the first quarter.
 
Wofford went three-and-out and punted, with the Mocs starting at the ten-yard line after a 58-yard punt. Chattanooga picked up two first downs before punting back to the Terriers. Wofford again went three-and-out and punted, but forced a three-and-out by Chattanooga. On the next drive by the Terriers, they gained one first down before punting.
 
Chattanooga put together a 14- play drive that ended with a five-yard lob pass for a touchdown  to Faysal Shafaat as the Mocs had a 14-6 lead with 9:07 left in the second quarter. On the next drive for the Terriers, the team gained two first downs before Lorenzo Long took a pitch from Michael Weimer and went 42 yards down the sideline. With 6:48 left in the first half, the Mocs lead was 14-13.
 
The Mocs began their next drive with a 46-yard kickoff return. After a first down, the Mocs had fourth-and-two and Tarek Odom stopped Keon Williams for a two-yard loss. With the ball back, Wofford was unable to gain a first down and punted. Chattanooga began at the 10-yard line with 2:05 left in the half. The Mocs gained a first down before back-to-back sacks made it fourth-and-22. After a punt, the Terriers took over with 25 seconds left and ran one play before halftime.
 
To open the second half, the Mocs went three-and-out and punted. Wofford was also forced three-and-out and punted, with Chattanooga beginning their next drive at the 34-yard line. A 37-yard pass completion to Tommy Hudson and another passing first down led to an eleven yard touchdown run by Keon Williams. The Mocs took a 21-13 lead with 9:01 on the clock in the third quarter.
 
On the next drive by the Terriers, they gained one first down before punting. Chattanooga put together an eleven play drive that covered 76 yards and was capped by a seven-yard touchdown run by Keon Williams. Chattanooga had a 28-13 lead with 1:05 left in the third quarter. Wofford was stopped for a loss on a fourth-and-three at inside the 30-yard line. The Mocs failed to take advantage of the short field and missed a 37-yard field goal wide left.
 
Wofford took over with 12:12 on the clock in the fourth quarter. After gaining a first down, Lucas Webb intercepted Michael Weimer and the Mocs took over at the 40-yard line. Chattanooga converted the turnover into points with a 27-yard field goal by Henrique Ribeiro as the Mocs were up 31-13 with 5:49 remaining in the game.
 
The Terriers had a first down pass to Taylor Bragg to move across midfield, but on fourth-and-eight the pass was incomplete and the Mocs took over with 3:50 on the clock. After a three-and-out, Wofford had another drive that began at the two-yard line with 2:38 left in the game. Nick Colvin converted a fourth-and-one with an eleven yard run and Michael Weimer picked up a fourth-and-one before the clock ran out on the Terriers.
 
Wofford had 311 total yards, with 231 on the ground. Chattanooga had 382 total yards, 250 of which were passing. Chattanooga had a 22 to 11 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 3-of-14 on third downs and 2-of-4 on fourth down. Chattanooga was 6-of-14 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down. Wofford had three penalties, while Chattanooga had two. Chattanooga had a 33:31 to 26:29 time of possession advantage.   
 
Wofford vs. Chattanooga Post-Game Notes
 
RB Ray Smith had 102 rushing yards on six carries. It was his second career game with 100+ rushing yards. Wofford has had seven 100+ individual rushing performances this season.
 
QB Evan Jacks (foot), S Cole Higbie (back) and CB Bernard Williams (knee) missed the game due to injury. S Zack Cole (ankle) left the contest with an injury.
 
Game captains were Brion Anderson and Michael Weimer.
 
Attendance was 9,692 at Finley Stadium.
 
Wofford will return to the field on November 15 at Furman in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN3.  The game will mark the 125th anniversary of the first meeting of the two teams in 1889.