SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College football team defeated Mercer 42-21 on Saturday afternoon on Mike Ayers Field at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and held a 35-7 advantage at the start of the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
 
Wofford is 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the Southern Conference, while Mercer is 4-4 overall and 3-2 in league play. Wofford remains in first place in the SoCon standings. The Terriers offense, which put together 558 total yards, was led by Andre Stoddard with 119 rushing yards and two touchdowns. T.J. Luther had two catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns and Joe Newman was 7-of-12 passing for 103 yards. Mercer was led by Kaelin Riley with 12-of-26 passing for 192 yards.
 
"This was a great win for our program and there were a lot of plays being made out there today," said Wofford head coach Josh Conklin. "There were some big-time pass plays on offense and we made some explosive plays in the run game. The offense operated at a pretty high level. You don't like the turnovers we had there in the first half. The defense was pretty dominant for most of the day. We were a little disappointed in the last touchdown we gave up, but for the most part the guys responded in the right way. We got after the quarterback and had them looking for answers for most of the day. We still have some improvements to make heading into next week on both sides of the ball."
 
The Terriers had the ball first and had two first downs before failing to convert on a fourth-and-two. Mercer went three-and-out on their first possession of the game. Wofford had a first down and then picked up a fourth-and-one on a run by Lennox McAfee. They turned the ball over on downs after coming up short on fourth-and-two. After Mercer had one first down, they punted. On the first play of the second quarter, Miller Mosley found T.J. Luther for a 71-yard touchdown and the Terriers had a 7-0 lead at the 14:49 mark. The Bears had a pair of rushing first downs but turned the ball over when Wofford stopped a fake punt.
 
Lennox McAfee had a 39-yard run to move inside the 20-yard line on the ensuing drive. Miller Mosley took the ball in from 14-yards out for the touchdown as Wofford had a 14-0 lead with 9:06 left in the second quarter. The Bears picked up two first downs, but then quarterback Kaelan Riley was hit by DT Wilson and the ball came loose. Thad Mangum picked it up and Wofford took over at the 39-yard line. A pass to D'mauriae VanCleave moved the Terriers into the red zone, but a holding penalty backed the team up. Mercer intercepted a pass by Mosley and took over at the 15-yard line. A big pass play moved the ball across midfield, but the Terrier defense forced a turnover on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth-and-eight. Wofford's Andre Stoddard had two rushing first downs, but Mercer came up with an interception of Miller Mosley and they took over at the 37-yard line with 1:06 left in the half. The Bears had one first down and then punted, with the Terriers taking a knee to end the first half.
 
A 46-yard kickoff return to begin the second half gave the Bears the ball at midfield. The Wofford defense forced a three-and-out. Beginning at the eight-yard line, the Terriers had big first downs by Andre Stoddard and Lennox McAfee to move into the red zone. Andre Stoddard capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 lead at 6:35 in the third quarter. The Bears responded with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Kaelan Riley to Marquise Irvin to cut the score to 21-7 with 3:50 left in the third quarter.
 
On the next drive by the Terriers, a 50-yard touchdown pass from Joe Newman to T.J. Luther pushed the lead to 28-7 at the 2:44 mark of the third quarter. The Bears went three-and-out after a sack by Ryan Titus. Wofford put together a drive that included a conversion on a fourth-and-one and was capped by a one-yard run by Andre Stoddard. The Terriers had a 35-7 lead with 10:31 left in the game. Mercer put together a drive that ended with a 36-yard touchdown run by Tyray Devezin to make it a 35-14 game with 8:27 remaining. On the next drive by the Terriers, it took six plays to cover 66 yards as Nathan Walker scored from seven-yards out for a 42-14 lead at the 5:59 mark in the fourth quarter. Mercer had one first down when Darron Paschal tipped a pass away from the intended receiver and JoJo Tillery was there for the interception. Wofford went three-and-out and punted, with Mercer taking over at the 11-yard line. They were able to drive the field and scored with five seconds left in the game on a 25-yard reception by Tucker Cannon to make it a 42-21 game. Wofford took a knee to end the contest.
 
Wofford had 558 total yards, with 359 rushing yards. Mercer had 341 total yards, 253 of which were passing and 89 of them came on the final drive of the game. Wofford had a 24 to 20 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 3-of-9 on third downs and 2-of-4 on fourth down. Mercer was 2-of-11 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down. Mercer was called for four penalties, while Wofford was flagged seven times. Wofford had a 32:57 to 27:03 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Mercer Post-Game Notes
Wofford moves to 5-6 in the all-time series against Mercer, with all five wins coming since Mercer joined the Southern Conference in 2014.
 
At halftime, Wofford unveiled a new gateway field entrance and officially name the field at Gibbs Stadium in honor of Coach Mike Ayers.
 
Andre Stoddard had his third 100+ rushing game of the season with 119 yards and it was also the fifth of his career.
 
T.J. Luther had two touchdowns and 121 yards on two catches. It marked the first 100+ receiving game for the Terriers since Jeff Ashley had 111 against Georgia Southern in 2013. It is the 8^th 100+ receiving game for Wofford since 2001.
 
Jireh Wilson led the team with nine tackles. JoJo Tillery had his first interception of the season, giving him two in his career. Thad Mangum recorded a fumble recovery for the second straight week.
 
Game captains were Justus Basinger, Blake Jeresaty, Mikel Horton and Brandon Zamary.
 
Attendance was 6,374 at Gibbs Stadium.
 
The Terriers return to the road next Saturday with a visit to Samford on November 3. After a trip to Western Carolina on November 10, Wofford will complete the regular season on November 17 against Presbyterian College at Gibbs Stadium.