CULLOWHEE, N.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team was defeated 36-29 by Western Carolina University at E.J. Whitmire Stadium. During intermittent sun and rain, Wofford had the advantage after a touchdown and two-point conversion early in the fourth quarter at 29-26. The Catamounts tied things with a field goal and took the lead on a touchdown with 2:53 remaining.
 
Wofford is now 2-7 on the season and 2-4 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina is 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Jimmy Weirick with 17-of-35 passing for 269 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Ingram added two rushing touchdowns. Carlos Davis led the Catamounts with 16-of-24 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns, along with 15 carries for 78 yards.
 
"I thought we played really well - especially on defense - for the first three quarters," said interim head coach Shawn Watson. "The guys did a nice job of keeping them out of the endzone and it was a battle, which we knew it was going to be. The offense did a nice job of answering and we had a solid day for the first three quarters. Then the weather came in on us and we gave them a short field, which hurt ourselves. These are all things that we can fix. These kids have given us everything and we are going to get the things fixed to win the next two games."
 
The Catamounts had the ball to open the game and had four rushing first downs before a 33-yard field goal made it a 3-0 lead with 10:11 on the clock. Wofford had a 24-yard first down run by Kyle Parker to cross midfield, but had to punt. The Catamounts went three-and-out, with a tackle for loss by Anthonie Lattany on third down forcing the punt. The Terriers had a first down on a pass interference call and then Dylan Djete was down at the two-yard line after a 49-yard completion from Jimmy Weirick. Ryan Ingram went the final two yards to give Wofford a 7-3 lead with 2:50 left in the first quarter. Western Carolina had a pair of first downs and then punted. The Terriers began the ensuing drive at the 17-yard line, with Devin Mathews catching a first down pass and then drawing a pass interference call for another first down. The drive stalled and Wofford punted.
 
With the ball back, Western Carolina had two first downs to move across midfield. They added three more first downs and then faced fourth-and-one from the four-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the ball back to the 19-yard line and the Catamounts had a 36-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-6 with 7:20 left in the second quarter. Wofford went three-and-out and punted on the following drive. The Catamounts had two first downs and then picked up a first down when Harrison Morgan was called for targeting. After another first down, Jalynn Williams scored from one-yard out. The two-point run failed and the Catamount lead was 12-7 with 1:07 remaining in the half. After a first down run by Nathan Walker, Kyle Pinnix had a pair of first down catches with the second going for 29-yards. Jimmy Weirick then found Pinnix for a 13-yard touchdown completion with four seconds left to take a 14-12 lead.
 
The Terriers opened the second half with the ball and they drew another pass interference call. After a 23-yard catch by Jacob Ritchie and a 29-yard catch by Landon Parker, Nathan Walker scored on a two-yard run for a 21-12 lead with 12:55 on the clock. Western Carolina responded by converting a fourth-and-six with a run and then scoring with an eight-yard touchdown pass to make it a 21-19 game at the 9:20 mark. Wofford gained one first down on their next drive before punting. The Catamounts took the lead on a 73-yard touchdown pass from Carlos Davis to Raphael Willams with 4:27 left in the third quarter as the score was 26-21. The Terriers then had a 28-yard first down pass to Dylan Djete and two first down passes to Kyle Pinnix. On fourth-and-two from the ten, Nathan Walker picked up the first down. After a pass interference call in the endzone, Ryan Ingram scored a touchdown from two-yards out and Wofford regained the lead at 27-26. On the two-point conversion attempt, a pass from Kyle Watkins to Jimmy Weirick pushed the lead to 29-26 with 14:03 on the clock.
 
On their next drive, the Catamounts used a long kickoff return and a 37-yard first down pass to move inside the 20-yard line. David Powers intercepted Carlos Davis as he was hit by John Boyles at the 19-yard line and the Terriers took over. Wofford was unable to pick up a first down and punted. Western Carolina had a pair of rushing first downs and then had a 34-yard completion to move to the five-yard line. After three runs failed to score, the Catamounts tied the game at 29 each with a 19-yard field goal with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter. With the rain coming down hard, the Terriers went three-and-out and punted. Beginning the drive at the 40-yard line, the Catamounts had two first downs and then scored on a six-yard touchdown run by Jalynn Williams for a 36-29 lead with 2:53 remaining. Wofford faced a fourth-and-one with 1:12 left on the clock and Ryan Ingram picked up the first down. On fourth-and-ten with 38 seconds, a holding penalty added 15 yards on the down. The pass was broken up with 12 seconds left and the Catamounts took over. They took a knee to end the game.
 
Wofford had 349 total yards, with 269 passing yards. Western Carolina had 515 total yards, with 268 of those passing yards. Wofford had 19 first downs to 27 for Western Carolina. Wofford was 4-of-13 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth down. Western Carolina was 4-of-10 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Wofford was called for seven penalties and Western Carolina was called for eight in the game. The Catamounts had a 31:59 to 28:01 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Western Carolina Post-Game Notes
Wofford and Western Carolina have met 44 times, with the Terriers holding a 28-16 lead in the series. Western Carolina has won back-to-back meetings for the first time since 2014 and 2015.  
 
Kyle Pinnix had his first touchdown reception in the second quarter. He had a passing touchdown last season against the Catamounts and had a rushing touchdown at North Carolina in 2021 as well. He led the team with five catches.
 
The interception by David Powers in the fourth quarter was the first of his career and the third of the season for the Wofford defense.
 
Eli Purcell, David Powers, Jalen Marshall and John Michael DiRoberto each had seven tackles to tie fore the team lead. Brandon Maina had a sack.
 
Wofford will host VMI next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the final home game of the season.
 
Game captains were Landon Parker, Eli Purcell, Jon Schaffer and Jimmy Weirick.
 
Attendance at Whitmire Stadium was 10,107.