CULLOWHEE, N.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team was defeated 21-17 by Western Carolina at Whitmire Stadium. Playing without spectators, the game was tied at 14-14 at the half. Wofford took a 17-14 lead on the first drive of the third quarter, but the Catamounts scored a touchdown late in the third quarter for a 21-17 advantage. Wofford had the ball with under two minutes to play, but the Terriers were unable to score.
 
Wofford is now 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina is 2-3 overall and opens SoCon play at 1-0. The Terriers were led by Pauly Seeley V with 18-of-39 passing for 209 yards and a touchdown, while Ryan Ingram rushed for 87 yards. The Catamounts were led by SoCon Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Cole Gonzales with 29-of-39 passing for 257 yards with two interceptions.
 
"It was a hard-fought game but disappointing," said head coach Shawn Watson. "We played a really good first half as they fought through a lot of stuff. Western Carolina is a really good football team and we knew that. My heart breaks because we had our opportunities. We have to learn how to put things away in tight games. The defense did a great job taking them out of the red zone with a number of stops."
 
The Catamounts had the ball first and had two rushing first downs. A 51-yard run gave Western Carolina a first-and-goal from the five. A tackle for loss by John Boyles started the defensive stand that resulted in a 21-yard field goal by the Catamounts for a 3-0 lead at 11:36 in the first quarter. Wofford had a rushing first down by Ryan Ingram before being forced to punt. With the ball back, the Catamounts had four first downs to move inside the red zone. Once again, the Wofford defense held and Western Carolina added a 25-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead with 4:48 on the clock. The Terriers had first down receptions by Dylan Djete and Carlos Anaya to move across midfield. Western Carolina's Mateo Sudopi recovered a Wofford fumble at the 26-yard line with two minutes left in the opening quarter.
 
Wofford's defense forced a three-and-out and the Catamounts punted. After a first down by Dylan Djete on the first play of the second quarter, the team had a first down pass to J.T. Smith. Ryan Ingram then went 47 yards up the middle to the 10-yard line. J.T. Smith capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to give Wofford a 10-6 advantage with 10:58 on the clock in the second quarter. Western Carolina opened their next drive with a 29-yard completion. On fourth-and-one, the Terriers jumped offsides to give the Catamounts a first down. After another first down, Jaylynn Williams had a five-yard touchdown run. With the successful two-point conversion attempt, they took a 14-7 lead at 7:14 in the second quarter.
 
The Terriers faced fourth-and-one on their next drive, but a fake punt with a run by Jon Schaffer up the middle picked up the first down. Faced with another fourth-and-one, a rush was short and the Terriers turned it over on downs at the 44-yard line with 3:47 left in the half. The Catamounts had a first down and then on fourth-and-three, John Boyles tipped a pass in the backfield that fell to the turf and Wofford took over. Working the two-minute drill, Wofford had first down catches by Jordan Davis and Isaiah Scott to move across midfield. On a first down pass to Rickie Shaw, Pauly Seeley took a roughing the passer call to move the ball to the nine-yard line with 46 seconds left. Seeley found Isaiah Scott for a three-yard touchdown reception which tied the game at 14-14 with 15 seconds remaining on the clock. The Catamounts had one first down before the half ended.
 
To begin the second half, Wofford had a first down on a holding penalty in the secondary. J.T. Smith then caught a short pass and went 55 yards down the far sideline to give Wofford first-and-goal from the five-yard line. After a sack on third down, Devery Cagle gave the Terriers a 17-14 lead with a 31-yard field goal with 11:36 on the clock. The Catamounts had one first down and then on an apparent completion in the middle C.J. Coombes ripped the ball away from the receiver for the interception at the 38-yard line. Pauly Seeley picked up a first down on a third down scramble. The Terriers lined up for a 44-yard field goal, but they ran a fake that came up just short of the first down line.
 
The Catamounts took over with 8:52 on the clock and quickly moved down the field with five first downs. They regained the lead with a three-yard touchdown run for a 21-17 score with 4:02 remaining in the third quarter. After Wofford went three-and-out and punted, Western Carolina had four first downs and were inside the 10-yard line when David Powers intercepted a pass at the two-yard line. Kyle Watkins caught a pass on third down for a first down, but the drive stalled and Wofford punted. The Catamounts had a 42-yard run by Cole Gonzales to move to the ten-yard line. The 26-yard field goal attempt was wide right after being tipped at the line.
 
With 8:33 left in the fourth quarter, Wofford took over at the 20-yard line and had one first down before punting. The Catamounts had three first downs and then attempted a 53-yard field goal with 1:36 left that was wide right. With the ball at the 36-yard line, Pauly Seeley ran across midfield for a first down. The Terriers had fourth-and-six with 51 seconds remaining. The pass was broken up and the Catamounts took over on downs.
 
Wofford had 355 total yards, with 216 receiving yards. Western Carolina had 475 total yards, with 257 of those passing yards. Wofford had 19 first downs to 27 for the Catamounts. Wofford was 8-of-17 on third down and 1-of-4 on fourth down. Western Carolina was 8-of-15 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down. Western Carolina was called for five penalties, while Wofford was called for four. Western Carolina had a 30:41 to 28:34 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Western Carolina Post-Game Notes
This was the 46^th meeting between the two teams, with Wofford holding a 28-18 lead in the series. Western Carolina has won the last four games.  
 
Isaiah Scott had his first career touchdown reception on a 3-yard catch in the second quarter. C.J. Coombes had his first career interception in the third quarter. David Powers had his fourth career interception in the fourth quarter.
 
David Powers led the defense with eleven tackles, while Jalen Marshall had ten. O'marion Brown had two tackles for loss.
 
The Terriers will return home on Saturday, October 12, when VMI visits Gibbs Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. contest.
 
Game captains were Ryan Ingram and Brandon Maina.  
 
The game was played without spectators due to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to the western North Carolina area.