SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In a game that was tied in the fourth quarter, the Wofford College football team was defeated 28-25 by Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers scored first, but were down 18-15 at the half. The game was even at 25 all after a Wofford field goal at 12:46 in the fourth quarter, but a Western Carolina field goal with 8:10 left in the game gave the Catamounts the three-point win.
 
Wofford is 0-9 overall and 0-6 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina, who is ranked 16^th in the STATS Perform FCS poll and 20^th in the FCS Coaches poll, is 6-3 overall and 4-2 in league play. The Terriers were led by Ryan Ingram with a career-high 156 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Catamounts were led by quarterback Cole Gonzales with 19-of-31 passing for 229 yards and two touchdowns.
 
"I am really proud of the way the kids played," said head coach Shawn Watson. "On both sides of the ball they played their hearts out in a physical game. We felt like we executed well on offense with Ryan Ingram gaining 159 yards which was outstanding and you are not outstanding without your offensive line and tight ends doing what they should do. Our receivers played well downfield and Bryce (Corriston) played a really good game. We have one of the better defenses in our league and we have to continue to do a great job like we did today. We were going to be aggressive all day long and we did that on special teams on the PAT and the fake punt. Overall I am pleased with the effort and resilience."
 
The Terriers had the ball first and picked up three first downs before Bryce Corriston found Jordan Davis for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Wofford went for the two-point conversion and Corriston again found Davis for an 8-0 lead with 11:29 on the clock. The Catamounts had one first down before punting. With the ball back, Wofford had three first downs and then it appeared that Corriston avoided a sack and ran for a first down. However, after official review it was determined he was down by contact and a Terriers 46-yard field goal try was short. Western Carolina took over with 1:59 left in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, the Catamounts had a ten-yard touchdown reception to make it an 8-7 game.
 
After the two teams traded punts, Wofford put together a drive that included a 20-yard pass to Cam Smith and a 36-yard pass to Dylan Djete and was capped by a 12-yard touchdown run by Ryan Ingram for a 15-7 lead at 7:32 in the second quarter. The Catamounts responded with five first downs and added a 21-yard field goal to make it a 15-10 game with 3:38 left in the half. Wofford gained one first down and then lined up to punt, but a pass on the fake was incomplete. Western Carolina took over with 1:39 on the clock and needed only four plays to score a touchdown on a 23-yard completion. They added the two-point conversion to take an 18-15 lead with 42 seconds remaining. Wofford gained one first down before the first half ended.
 
Western Carolina had the ball to open the second half and went three-and-out and punted. Wofford took advantage of 30 yards of penalties and a 30-yard completion to David Legette to bring up first-and-goal from the ten. On fourth-and-goal from the one, the run was stopped and the Catamounts took over on downs with 9:11 on the clock in the third quarter. Eli Campbell intercepted a Catamount pass at the 15-yard line and returned it to the five-yard line. J.T. Smith, Jr. took it in from three-yards out and Wofford took a 22-18 lead with 7:39 left in the third quarter. The Catamounts used a 46-yard pass to move to the five-yard line and they scored on a five-yard run to regain the lead at 25-22 with 4:56 on the clock.
 
Wofford had one first down before punting, but the returner fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Maximus Pulley at the 42-yard line. A 31-yard run by Ryan Ingram gave the Terriers a first-and-goal. Bridger Jones hit a 19-yard field goal to tie the game at 25 with 12:46 left in the game. The Catamounts drove the field as they gained four first downs, but the Terrier defense held and Western Carolina took a 28-25 lead on a 33-yard field goal at the 8:10 mark of the fourth quarter. The kick-off was out-of-bounds and Wofford began at the 35-yard line, but they went three-and-out and punted. After gaining three first downs, the Catamounts had to punt on fourth-and-13. Wofford took over on the 20-yard line with 2:37 left in the game. On fourth-and-five, a pass was incomplete and the Catamounts took over with 1:28 remaining in the game. They gained one first down and were able to run out the clock for the win.
 
Wofford had a season-high 345 total yards, with 197 rushing yards. Western Carolina had 400 total yards, with 229 of those passing yards. Western Carolina had 23 first downs to 20 for the Terriers. Wofford was 6-of-14 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down. Western Carolina was 5-of-12 on third down. Western Carolina was called for eleven penalties, while Wofford was called for seven. The Terriers had a 33:16 to 26:44 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Western Carolina Post-Game Notes
This was the 45^th meeting between the two teams, dating back to 1952. Wofford leads the series 28 to 17, with the Catamounts winning the last three games.  
 
With a career-high 159 rushing yard in the game, Ryan Ingram now has 1,100 for his career. He is the 72^nd player in school history to cross the 1,000 career rushing yard milestone.
 
Eli Campbell had his first career interception in the third quarter and Maximus Pulley had his first career fumble recovery in the third quarter as well.
 
Bryce Corriston, who missed the last five games due to injury, was 11-of-19 passing for 148 yards and a touchdown.
 
On defense, Maximus Pulley and David Powers each had eight tackles with Powers having a tackle for loss.
 
Wofford will play the final road game of the season on Saturday, November 11, at The Citadel.  
 
Game captains were Bryce Corriston, Ryan Ingram, Brandon Maina and Harrison Morgan.     
 
Attendance at Gibbs Stadium was 4,996.