WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – On a rainy Saturday evening, the Wofford College football team was defeated 23-6 by William & Mary at Zable Stadium. The Tribe, ranked #4 in the nation, scored first and had a 20-6 lead at the half. The Tribe added a field goal in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Wofford opens the season at 0-2, while William & Mary is 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the CAA. The Terriers were led by
Ryan Ingram who had 58 rushing yards on 12 carries. The Tribe was led by Darius Wilson with 12-of-24 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown. Malachi Imoh added 90 rushing yards.
"I saw a lot of improvement with our team in the game," said head coach
Shawn Watson. "There were spots tonight that the offensive line did better. We are going to get a couple guys back this week so that will make a difference for us. I love these kids and they have done everything that we have asked them to do. I think our defense is really coming together and I see a lot of good things out of them.
Ryan Ingram and
Kyle Parsons both had a nice night running the ball. We just have to keep working. We can't wait to be back at home next week after two tough ones on the road."
The Tribe had the ball to open the game and after four rushing first downs had a two-yard touchdown run by Bronson Yoder for a 7-0 lead at 8:58 in the first quarter. After Wofford went three-and-out on their opening possession,
Eli Purcell sacked the Tribe quarterback on third down which forced a three-and-out punt. Wofford took over at the 29-yard line after a 12-yard return by
Amir Annoor.
Bridger Jones got the Terriers on the board with a 44-yard field goal with 4:00 on the clock in the first quarter.
The Tribe had a 45-yard run on the next drive, but they had to punt on fourth-and-16. Wofford then went three-and-out. With the ball back, the Tribe was stopped by a stout Terrier defense and they settled for a 40-yard field goal for a 10-3 advantage with 11:28 left in the first half. The Terriers gained a pair of first downs before facing a fourth-and-one that was converted with a 22-yard run by
Ryan Ingram. The drive stalled in the red-zone and Wofford added a 29-yard field goal by
Bridger Jones for a 10-6 score with 5:04 on the clock. The Tribe answered with a pair of big plays, one for 27-yards and one for 40-yards to move the ball inside the five-yard line. They scored on a two-yard touchdown pass for a 17-6 lead with 2:54 remaining. The Tribe then sacked Wofford twice on their next drive, forcing a punt. With the ball back, William & Mary added a 42-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half for a 20-6 lead.
To begin the second half, Wofford went three-and-out and punted. William & Mary completed passed for 23-yards and 25-yards before lining up for a field goal. They ran a fake, which was stopped by
Chuck Smith and Wofford took over. The Terriers had a pair of first down runs to move across midfield, but they had to punt. After the Tribe had one first down and punted, Wofford was able to get to midfield on a 20-yard catch by
Alec Holt along with a roughing the passer penalty on the play. The drill stalled and Wofford punted. With the ball back, the Tribe drove into the red-zone, but had to settle for a 30-yard field goal after a pass breakup by
Jalen Marshall to push the lead to 23-6 at 6:52 in the fourth quarter. After another three-and-out by Wofford, the Tribe gained one first down before punting. Wofford took over with 2:22 left in the game and picked up a rushing first down by J.T. Smith. The Terriers still had the ball when time expired on the 23-6 final score.
Wofford had 156 total yards, with 103 rushing yards. William & Mary had 382 total yards, with 185 of those passing yards. Wofford had nine first downs to 20 for William & Mary. Wofford was 1-of-13 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. William & Mary was 5-of-13 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down. Wofford was called for eleven penalties and William & Mary was called for six in the game. The Tribe had a 32:44 to 27:16 time of possession advantage.
Wofford vs. William & Mary Post-Game Notes
This was the third meeting between the two teams, with all three taking place in Williamsburg. The Tribe will make a trip to Spartanburg next season.
Offensive lineman
Santana Haynes-Goodman earned his first career start.
In the last ten meetings against ranked opponents, Wofford is 0-10 dating back to the 2019 NCAA FCS Playoffs.
On defense,
Maximus Pulley led the Terriers with 11 tackles.
Brandon Maina,
Eli Purcell and
Benny Radicia had sacks.
Wofford will host the home opener next Saturday against Presbyterian College.
Game captains were
Ryan Ingram,
Jalen Marshall,
Isaiah Wadsworth, and
Kyle Watkins.
Attendance at Zable Stadium was 8,579.
