SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Saturday night at Gibbs Stadium, the Wofford College football team defeated the University of Virginia's College at Wise 49-15. The Terriers scored the first four touchdowns and the final three touchdowns in the victory.
 
The Terriers are 2-2, while UVa.-Wise is 0-4. Wofford was led by Octavius Harden with 80 yards on four carries and two touchdowns, while Evan Jacks was 7-of-10 passing for 134 yards. The Highland Cavaliers were led by Ty Ryans with 22-of-36 passing for 273 yards and James Cousins with seven catches for 136 yards and a touchdown.
 
"We have a long way to go," said head coach Mike Ayers. "We keep making the same mistakes and the same penalties. We somehow have to get it corrected. The last quarter we finally made a few plays, but right now I am concerned. We have to do a better job of getting it across to the players, because we are constantly having the same issues. We are not tackling well and had penalties on defense. We have to get better. We are young in spots and it is showing."
 
The Highland Cavaliers had the ball first and gained one first down before punting. On the first drive of the game for the Terriers, Octavius Harden ran for a 44-yard touchdown with 11:17 on the clock for an early 7-0 lead. On the next drive by the Highland Cavaliers, they again punted after picking up one first down. Wofford responded with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Evan Jacks to Bryce Motes for a 14-0 lead with 6:50 left in the first quarter.
 
With the ball back, the Highland Cavaliers gained one first down before Jaleel Green picked off a pass from Ty Ryans and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. The Terriers led 21-0 at 5:38 in the first quarter. After a UVa.-Wise punt, Evan Jacks was intercepted by Zack Blair. The Highland Cavaliers began the drive on the 43-yard line, but on fourth-and-goal from the two an incomplete pass turned the ball over on downs.
 
Wofford went three-and-out and punted back to the Highland Cavaliers. On their next drive, they gained two first downs, but a sack by Tarek Odom forced a punt. The snap went over the head of the punter and Wofford took over at the 31-yard line. Octavius Harden capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run and the Terriers had a 28-0 lead with 7:44 left in the first half. The Highland Cavaliers then capped a 13-play drive with a nine-yard pass to James Cousins with 38 seconds on the clock. The two point conversion was good to make it a 28-8 score. Wofford gained one first down before punting as time expired in the half.
 
To open the second half, Wofford gained two passing first downs before punting. The Highland Cavaliers used a 49-yard pass to James Cousins to set up first and goal from the five. Javonte Latney scored on second down to make it a 28-15 game with 8:28 left in the third quarter.
 
The Terriers used a 37-yard first down catch by Zach Muller to move the ball to the 21-yard line. After a 16-yard run by Octavius Harden, Lorenzo Long scored from two yards out. Wofford had a 35-15 lead with 3:54 on the clock in the third quarter. On the next drive for UVa.-Wise, they converted a fourth-and-two but Chris Armfield then intercepted a pass and returned it 60-yards to the seven-yard line. Nick Colvin scored on second down from seven yards and Wofford had a 42-15 lead with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.
 
The Highland Cavaliers then went three-and-out and punted. Wofford gained a first down on a pass interference call, but failed to convert on fourth down. On the next drive by the Highland Cavaliers, they went three-and-out and punted with 8:56 left in the game. With the ball back, the Terriers went down the field and scored on a five-yard run by Michael Weimer to take a 49-15 lead with 4:30 on the clock.
 
On the final drive of the game by the Highland Cavaliers, they converted a fourth-and-one to keep the ball. On fourth-and-nine, Jeremy Eubank was intercepted by Brion Anderson with 1:18 left in the game. The Terriers ran the ball three times to run out the clock on the victory.
 
Wofford had 414 total yards, with 267 on the ground. UVa.-Wise had 307 total yards, 279 of which were passing. UVa.-Wise had a 22 to 20 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 5-of-9 on third downs and 0-of-1 on fourth down. UVa.-Wise was 5-of-16 on third down and 2-of-5 on fourth down. Wofford had six penalties for 48 yards to ten for UVa.-Wise. UVa.-Wise had a 31:31 to 28:29 time of possession advantage.   
 
Wofford vs. UVa.-Wise Post-Game Notes
 
Wofford has won both meetings in the series against UVa.-Wise.
 
Bryce Motes caught his first career pass, a 43-yard touchdown, in the first quarter. Logan Christian led the team with three catches, the first of his career. R.J. Taylor added his first career reception as well.
 
Jaleel Green's interception was the first of his career and it was also his first touchdown.
 
The Terrier had nine players carry the ball, but the team did not have a 100+ rusher for the first time this season.
 
Wofford had a season-high four sacks and ten tackles for loss in the game.
 
There were no significant injuries in the game, however several players were held out.
 
Game captains were Will Irwin and E.J. Speller.
 
Attendance was 7,108 at Gibbs Stadium.
 
Wofford returns home on Saturday, October 4 for the first Southern Conference game of the season. The contest will air on ESPN3 and begin at 1:30 p.m.