BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Wofford College football team returned to action on Saturday afternoon with a 37-31 loss to Samford at Seibert Stadium. The Terriers scored at the end of the first half to take a 24-17 lead, but the Bulldogs scored 20 straight points in the second half. Wofford scored with four minutes remaining and forced a three-and-out, but on the final drive an interception ended the comeback attempt.  
 
Wofford is 1-2 overall and Samford is 2-2 on the season. The Terriers were led by Jamari Broussard with 79 rushing yards and Irvin Mulligan with 69 rushing yards, while T.J. Luther had three catches for 90 yards. Peyton Derrick (8-13, 101 yards) and Jimmy Weirick (6-11, 117 yards) both played quarterback for the Terriers. Liam Welch led the Bulldogs with 359 passing yards on the day.
 
"We had two drives late that ended in turnovers and you can't overcome that in any league and especially not a team like Samford that has an explosive offense," said Wofford head coach Josh Conklin. "Even with that, we still gave ourselves an opportunity to win the football game on the last drive. We have some guys hurt and guys are disappointed, but we have to continue to learn from these and we will be better for it. We have some work to do but we will get there. The things that we need to fix are fixable things."
 
The Bulldogs had the ball first and on the first play from scrimmage Darron Paschal intercepted a pass at the 44-yard line. Wofford was faced with an early 4-and-4, but Jimmy Weirick found T.J. Luther at the goal line for a touchdown giving the Terriers a 7-0 lead with 12:57 on the clock. Samford then went three-and-out and punted. Wofford had a first down on a 43-yard run by Jamari Broussard, but the Terriers ended the drive with a 28-yard field goal by Walker Gliarmis for a 10-0 advantage at the 9:25 mark of the first quarter.
 
Samford responded with a 12-play drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Chris Oladokun to make it a 10-7 game with 6:03 on the clock. After Wofford went three-and-out, Samford gained two first downs before an incomplete pass on fourth-and-short turned the ball over. Peyton Derrick entered the game for the Terriers and engineered a 12-play drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to Landon Parker. Wofford held a 17-7 lead with 10:32 left in the first half. The Bulldogs answered in just five plays with a six-yard run by Dakota Chapman to make it a 17-14 game at the 9:05 mark of the second quarter.
 
Wofford went three-and-out and Samford had two first downs before tying the game at 17 with a 41-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the quarter. The Bulldogs had a first down and then a sack by Michael Mason forced a punt. Wofford took over at the one-yard line and had a first down. A 39-yard run by Irvin Mulligan moved the ball across midfield and then a huge 45-yard catch and run by T.J. Luther set-up a one-yard touchdown run by Peyton Derrick to take a 24-17 lead with eight seconds on the clock.
 
To open the second half, Wofford had the ball first and went three-and-out. Samford scored on a 52-yard touchdown pass to Ty King to tie the game at 24 with 12:20 on the clock. The Terriers went three-and-out on the ensuing drive and the Bulldogs had a 32-yard punt return. A 51-yard pass completion set up a one-yard touchdown run by Chris Oladokun for a 31-24 lead with 8:48 left in the third quarter. Wofford was able to pick up a pair of first downs before Peyton Derrick was intercepted by Chris Edmonds and the Bulldogs took over at the 22-yard line. They were able to put together a 12-play drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal to push the lead to 34-24 six seconds into the fourth quarter.
 
On the next drive by the Terriers, Peyton Derrick had a first down and then had a 33-yard run, however the ball was punched out and recovered by the Bulldogs at the 10-yard line. After a first down, Ty King had a 59-yard reception to move the ball deep into Wofford territory. The Bulldogs settled for a 40-yard field goal and had a 37-24 lead with 10:32 left in the game. With the ball back, Wofford put together a 12-play drive that included five first downs and was capped by a one-yard rushing touchdown by Ryan Lovelace to cut the lead to 37-31 with 4:20 remaining. The Terrier defense then came up with a stop and the Bulldogs punted on a three-and-out. Jimmy Weirick completed a 31-yard pass to KeiAndre Sanders on fourth-and-28 to keep Wofford in the game. With 49 seconds left a deep pass attempt by Jimmy Weirick was intercepted and the Bulldogs took a knee to end the game.
 
Wofford had 490 total yards, with 272 rushing yards. Samford had 461 total yards, 359 of which were passing. Both teams had 19 first downs. Wofford was 7-of-15 on third down and Samford was 6-of-14 on third down. The Terriers were 2-of-2 on fourth down and the Bulldogs were 0-of-1 on fourth down. Wofford was called for nine penalties to four for Samford. The Terriers had a 36:17 to 23:43 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Samford Post-Game Notes
The Bulldogs have won six straight games against the Terriers, the longest current streak by a Wofford opponent.
 
Logan Barnes led the team with ten tackles, while Michael Mason and John Beckley each had sacks.
 
Game captains were John Beckley, Brandon Brown, Al Hogan and Darron Paschal.     
 
Attendance at Seibert Stadium was 1,176.
 
The Terriers will have the scheduled open week on March 20 before hosting VMI on March 27 at Gibbs Stadium at 1:00 p.m.