SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College football team shutout Gardner-Webb 16-0 on Saturday night at Gibbs Stadium. The game was played in a light rain, which limited the offenses of both teams. The teams combined for 17 punts in the game and Wofford had three field goals by David Marvin in the win.
 
The Terriers are 2-2 on the season, while the Runnin' Bulldogs are 1-3. Wofford was led by Lorenzo Long with 63 rushing yards and Ray Smith added 47 rushing yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Evan Jacks had 21 rushing yards and was 3-of-8 passing in his first start of the season. The Wofford defense had six tackles for loss in the contest, holding Gardner-Webb to 149 total yards. Tyrell Maxwell led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 45 rushing yards and 58 passing yards.
 
"It was a tremendous defensive effort," said head coach Mike Ayers. "Our defense gave us the opportunity to win because we were struggling offensively. We had a couple big plays that were called back. Gardner-Webb is a physical football team and it has always been a knock-down drag-out game with them. They do an excellent job on defense and make it difficult for us. We were fortunate that our kicking game had a good night with David Marvin's field goals and Brian Sanders holding the ball on a wet night. I wish we would have been more consistent offensively, but we were consistent on defense and shut them out which is always good."
 
The Terriers had the ball first, but gained only one first down before punting. Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted, with Wofford taking over at the 33-yard line. The Terriers were unable to gain a first down, but got on the scoreboard with a 45-yard field goal by David Marvin with 9:51 on the clock in the first quarter.
 
After the Runnin' Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted, the Terriers once again had a short field. Wofford was only able to gain one first down and David Marvin hit a 50-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead at the 4:44 mark of the first quarter. Gardner-Webb had a 43-yard kickoff return to put the ball at midfield, but punted without gaining a first down.
 
Wofford began their next drive on the four-yard line. The Terriers had three first downs before facing a fourth-and-two. Ray Smith converted the first down with a 15-yard run. After two more first downs, an 8-yard touchdown run by Ray Smith made it a 13-0 game at the 10:09 mark of the second quarter. The Runnin' Bulldogs gained one first down before punting back to the Terriers. Brandon Goodson completed a 24-yard pass to Zach Muller, but were forced to punt.
 
With four minutes left in the first half, Gardner-Webb started a drive and gained three first downs punting back to the Terriers with 26 second on the clock. Wofford ran one play before the clock ran out in the first half. At the break, the Terriers had a 156 to 75 advantage in total offense.
 
To begin the second half, Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted. With the ball back, the Terriers gained one first down before a 53-yard field goal attempt that was wide left by David Marvin. The Runnin' Bulldogs and Terriers both punted twice. Gardner-Webb took over at the 40-yard line with 51 second remaining in the third quarter. On the first play, Tyrell Maxwell had the ball slip out of his hand as he was throwing and it was intercepted by John Patterson at the 42-yard line. The teams traded punts again and Wofford took over at the 35-yard line with 12:11 left in the game. The Terriers gained one first down before punting.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs got the ball with 10:05 on the clock in the fourth quarter. After gaining two first downs, Tyrell Maxwell fumbled and it was recovered by Brandon Curtis at the 36-yard line. Lorenzo Long gained a first down and David Marvin added his third field goal of the game, this time from 39-yards for a 16-0 lead with 3:30 remaining. Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted, but Wofford was unable to gain a fist down and punted back to the Runnin' Bulldogs with 1:40 left in the game. After a gain of one first down, Gardner-Webb faced a fourth-and-fifteen, with the pass incomplete. Wofford took a knee to end the game.
 
Wofford had 224 total yards, with 159 on the ground. Gardner-Webb had 149 total yards, 91 of which were rushing. Wofford had a 12 to 10 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 2-of-14 on third downs and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Gardner-Webb was 3-of-15 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down. Wofford was called for three penalties to Gardner-Webb's five. Wofford had a 34:52 to 25:08 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Gardner-Webb Post-Game Notes
 
This was the 25^th meeting between the two teams, with Wofford holding a 17-8 lead in the series.
 
Wofford has won seven straight games at Gibbs Stadium.
 
The shutout was the first by the Terriers since an 82-0 win over Lincoln on September 8, 2012. It was the first shutout of a Division I opponent since a 35-0 win over The Citadel on October 30, 2010.
 
David Marvin had field goals of 45 and 50 yards in the first quarter, and added a 39-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The 50-yarder is tied for the third-longest in school history.
 
The interception by John Patterson in the third quarter was the first of his career and Brandon Curtis had his first career fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.
 
The Terriers defense did not allow a 100-yard rusher for the 17^th straight game.
 
There were no significant injuries in the contest.
 
Game captains were Chris Armfield and Will Irwin.
 
Attendance was 6,932 at Gibbs Stadium.
 
Wofford will open the Southern Conference slate next Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at Mercer, followed by a road game at The Citadel on October 10. The next home game will be October 17 against Western Carolina.