BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Wofford College football team ran for 490 yards and had over 600 yards of total offense as they defeated Gardner-Webb 45-14 on Saturday night at Spangler Stadium. The Terriers averaged 9.3 yards per play and five different players scored touchdowns.
 
Wofford opens the season 3-1 overall, while the Runnin' Bulldogs are 1-4 on the season. The Terriers were led by Andre Stoddard with 20 carries for 200 yards and two touchdowns, while Lennox McAfee had 12 carries for 131 yards and a touchdown. Joe Newman was 4-of-7 passing for 103 yards and two touchdowns. The Runnin' Bulldogs were led by quarterback Jordan Smith with 14-of-25 passing for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
 
"A win is a win," said Wofford head coach Josh Conklin. "We wanted to take care of business up here and we did. I was encouraged by our players demeanor as we came off the field in that they felt like they did not play to their best ability. That is encouraging to see. I am excited about that mentality. When you look at some of the offensive and defensive numbers that we put up tonight, you see that we got after it pretty well. We did what we needed to do and we move forward."
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs had the ball first and had two first downs. Weston Rountree intercepted a pass that bounced off the intended receiver's hands. After two first downs, Lennox McAfee ran 34 yards to move the ball inside the ten. Andre Stoddard capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run as the Terriers took a 7-0 lead at the 7:35 mark in the first quarter. After Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted, Wofford added a touchdown when Joe Newman found Blake Morgan in the end zone with a 17-yard completion. Wofford had a 14-0 lead with 2:45 left in the first quarter.
 
On the next drive by Gardner-Webb, they gained a first down, but them on third down a sack by Robbie Armstrong forced a punt. Joe Newman hit T.J. Luther for a 49-yard completion and then a personal foul moved the ball inside the 20. A fourth-and-three run came up short and Gardner-Webb took over on downs at the six-yard line. After one first down, a tackle for loss by Billy Hinton and a sack by Thad Mangum forced another punt. On the first play after the punt, Joe Newman fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Runnin' Bulldogs. They had a seven-play drive that was capped by a touchdown pass to Jayln Cagle to make it a 14-7 game at the 6:35 mark of the second quarter. Wofford wasted little time responding as Andre Stoddard went 54 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead with 4:45 left in the first half. Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted. The Terriers had a 21-yard field goal by Luke Carter to end the half with a 24-7 lead.
 
T.J. Luther had a 53-yard kickoff return to begin the second half. After a first down, Joe Newman found Luther for a 35-yard touchdown pass and Wofford had a 31-7 lead with 12:46 on the clock in the third quarter. The Runnin' Bulldogs answered with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Braylin Collins to cut the lead to 31-14 with 8:50 on the clock. Wofford gained one first down on the ensuing drive before a pair of penalties forced the first punt of the game for the Terriers. Gardner-Webb then had a first down before having to punt. Wofford drove inside the ten-yard line, but a fumble was recovered by the Runnin' Bulldogs at the five-yard line with 14:56 remaining in the game. After a three-and-out, the Terriers took over at midfield. Lennox McAfee broke several tackles on the way to the end zone on a 41-yard run. Wofford had a 38-14 lead at 11:40 in the fourth quarter.
 
After a three-and-out by the Runnin' Bulldogs, Nathan Walker had a 35-yard run which set-up a four-yard touchdown run by D'mauriae VanCleave as Wofford took a 45-14 lead. Another three-and-out, this time with the help of sacks by Joe Beckett and Thad Mangum, forced a punt. Wofford had the ball back with 6:45 left in the game and Jimmy Weirick entered the game at quarterback. The Terriers were able to gain three first downs and run out the clock for the victory.
 
Wofford had 643 total yards, with 490 rushing yards. Gardner-Webb had 203 total yards, 165 of which were passing. Wofford had a 27 to 13 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 6-of-11 on third downs and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Gardner-Webb was 4-of-12 on third down. Gardner-Webb was called for five penalties to four for Wofford. Wofford had a 35:14 to 24:46 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Gardner-Webb Post-Game Notes
The 54-yard touchdown run by Andre Stoddard was the longest of his career. With 200 rushing yards, he had the Terriers' first 100+ rushing game of the season and it was the third of his career. It was also the first 200+ rushing game for a Terrier since the 2012 season (Eric Breitenstein, 12/12 - 247 yards).
 
Lennox McAfee added his first career 100-yard rushing game with 131 yards. It gave Wofford two 100+ rushers in the same game for the first time since November 14, 2015 when Evan Jacks (115) and Lorenzo Long (162) did it against Samford.
 
T.J. Luther scored the first touchdown of his career in the third quarter. D'mauriae VanCleave scored his first career rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
 
Jireh Wilson led the team with 8 tackles. Weston Rountree had an interception in the first quarter, giving him interceptions in back-to-back games. Thad Mangum (2), Joe Beckett and Robbie Armstrong had sacks.
 
With six PATs, Luke Carter has made 62 consecutive PATs in his career, extending his school record.
 
Game captains were Miles Brown, Blake Jeresaty, Joe Newman and Devin Watson.   
 
Attendance was 2,850 at Spangler Stadium.
 
Wofford will be back in action on October 6 at Chattanooga. The Terriers will not return home until Saturday, October 20 against ETSU as part of Homecoming weekend.