SPARTANRBURG, S.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team was able to overcome mistakes to take a 27-24 win over Gardner-Webb at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers had two turnovers and had four penalties, including two that negated touchdowns.
 
Wofford opens the season 3-0 overall, while the Runnin' Bulldogs are 0-4 on the season. The Terriers were led by Andre Stoddard with 91 yards on 16 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Brandon Goodson was 8-of-12 passing for 117 yards and a touchdown. R.J. Taylor had three catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Gardner-Webb quarterback Tyrell Maxwell had eight carries for 44 yards and competed 20-of-29 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
 
"It took everything we had," said head coach Mike Ayers. "I told our team from the beginning that Gardner-Webb is a team that is going to fight you and they are a team that is going to compete all the way to the end. They have a great coaching staff and a ton of great players. We knew going in that it would be difficult. We created some problems for ourselves, but we were able to pull it out at the end. This is a resilient group and we have been fortunate to win three games, two of them by one point and now three points. We have to correct the mistakes because if we don't correct the mistakes now they are going to catch up to us. We still have miles to travel, but we will do the best to make it right."
 
The Terriers had the ball first and after two receiving first downs Andre Stoddard ran for a pair of first downs. The drive stalled in the redzone, but Luke Carter hit a 37-yard field goal to give Wofford a 3-0 lead at 8:11 in the first quarter. The Runnin' Bulldogs went three-and-out and Wofford took over after the punt. However the Terriers also went three-and-out and punted.
 
With the ball back, Gardner-Webb went three-and-out. Wofford looked to have gained a first down on a pass to Blake Morgan, but it was ruled incomplete and the Terriers punted. The Runnin' Bulldogs put together a twelve play drive that was capped by a 30-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 9:57 on the clock in the second quarter. The Terriers answered with a twelve play drive of their own that ended with a 30-yard touchdown reception by R.J. Taylor from Brandon Goodson. Wofford had a 10-3 lead at 4:40 in the second quarter.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted, with the Terriers taking over at the 43-yard line. A Wofford pitch was fumbled and picked up by Thomas Adams, who returned it 53 yards for a touchdown. The game was tied at ten with 2:39 left in the first half. With the ball back, the Terriers took seven plays to regain the lead when Andre Stoddard scored from two yards out. The Runnin' Bulldogs ran one play before the half ended with the Terriers leading 17-10.
 
To open the second half, the Runnin' Bulldogs had two first downs before a pass by Tyrell Maxwell was intercepted by George Gbesee. Wofford's Andre Stoddard had a rushing first down and then Luke Carter hit a 32-yard field goal for a 20-10 lead at 9:40 in the third quarter. On the next drive by Gardner-Webb, they went 75 yards in 13 plays and scored on a five-yard pass to Ralph Jolly to cut the lead to 20-17 with 3:00 left in the third quarter.
 
Wofford had a 38-yard reception by R.J. Taylor for a first down and Andre Stoddard went up the middle 26 yards for a touchdown. The Terriers lead was 27-17 with 39 seconds left in the third quarter. The Runnin' Bulldogs had a pair of first downs before punting and Wofford took over at the five-yard line. The Terriers were unable to gain positive yardage and went three-and-out.
 
Taking over at the 45-yard line, the Runnin' Bulldogs scored on a 23-yard touchdown pass to Willie Jackson IV to cut the lead to 27-24 with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter. With the ball back, Wofford had a pair of first downs to move across midfield. A fumble by Andre Stoddard was recovered by Gardner-Webb with 2:35 on the clock in the fourth quarter. They gained a pair of first downs and then faced fourth-and-long with 1:11 remaining. A 50-yard field goal attempt was short and the Terriers took over. Wofford was able to run out the clock for the win.
 
Wofford had 372 total yards, with 235 rushing. Gardner-Webb had 270 total yards, 161 of which were passing. Wofford had a 19 to 17 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 8-of-14 on third downs. Gardner-Webb was 5-of-12 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Both teams were called for four penalties each. Wofford had a 31:12 to 28:48 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Gardner-Webb Post-Game Notes
 
Coach Mike Ayers reached win number 200 at Wofford (210 total). He is now 200-134-1 with the Terriers.
 
Wofford has won three straight to open a season for the first time since 2012 (five straight).

Coming off the bye week the Terriers are now 7-3 in the last ten seasons.
 
The 30-yard catch by R.J. Taylor in the second quarter was his first career touchdown reception.
 
George Gbesee's interception in the third quarter was his first of the season and first in his career.
 
Jireh Wilson led the team with seven tackles. The Terriers had a sack by Mikel Horton and five tackles for loss.
 
Game captains were Jared Jacon-Duffy, Lennox McAfee, Miles Brown and Datavious Wilson.  
 
Attendance was 7,211 at Gibbs Stadium.
 
The Terriers will continue non-conference play next Saturday with a short trip down I-26 to face Presbyterian College at 7:00 p.m.