SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Back at home on Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team was defeated 23-21 by Western Carolina at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers had a 21-20 lead at the end of the third quarter, but a Catamount field goal with 23 seconds remaining in the game gave them the road win.
 
Wofford opens the season at 0-5 and 0-2 in the Southern Conference, while Western Carolina is 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the league. The Terriers were led on offense by Jayden Whitaker with 10-of-18 passing for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Ivory Aikens and Ihson Jackson-Anderson each had receiving touchdowns for Wofford, while Isaiah Scott added a punt return for a touchdown. Catamount quarterback Taron Dickens completed his first 46 straight passes on the way to a 53-of-56 performance for 378 yards and three touchdowns.
 
"It was another close game," said coach Shawn Watson. "We've got to finish them. I really appreciate the effort and the grind and the grit of the kids, because we played a lot of guys today in our depth. On the defensive side of the ball, they had a great plan and they really did a good job stopping the run game. We wanted to box them up, take away the RPO game, and I thought they did a really nice job stopping the run. I know he (Dickens) hit a lot of throws, but it wasn't for a lot of yards. We hit some really big plays that were important. Those were well-designed plays that were meant to attack the coverage, and we were able to hit two of those that were really big."
 
The Catamounts won the toss and elected to receive. On third down, a sack by Marion Smokes forced a punt. Wofford had fourth-and-two at midfield and Jayden Whitaker found Ihson Jackson-Anderson for a 49-yard touchdown reception. The Terriers went for two and Tanner Staton found Blake Shirley for the conversion and an 8-0 lead with 11:26 on the clock.
 
With the ball back, the Catamounts drove the length of the field. A fumble was forced at the one-yard line, but it went out of bounds and Western Carolina retained possession after a review. On second down, a two-yard touchdown pass cut the lead to 8-7 with 5:29 left in the first quarter. Wofford gained two first downs before punting. The Catamounts had two first downs before a run on fourth-and-three was stopped short, and Wofford took over at the 21-yard line. After the Terriers had one first down, they punted. Western Carolina had three first downs, including a fourth-and-five conversion, on a drive that was capped by a five-yard touchdown reception to take a 14-8 lead with 3:40 left in the first half. After Wofford went three-and-out, Western Carolina also went three-and-out. On the punt, Isaiah Scott returned it 66 yards down the near sideline to give the Terriers a 15-14 lead with 48 seconds on the clock. Wyatt Ward forced a Catamount fumble, but it was recovered by Western Carolina and the clock ran out on the first half.
 
To open the second half, Wofford went three-and-out and punted. Western Carolina had four first downs before facing fourth-and-six. A sack by O'marion Brown and Jude Tinor forced a turnover on downs, and Wofford took over at midfield. After one first down, a 40-yard field goal attempt by the Terriers was wide with 5:51 left in the third quarter. The Catamounts had four first downs and ended the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass. The two-point attempt ended with a sack by Nick Morgan and the Catamount lead was 20-15 with 45 seconds on the clock.  
 
On the first play after the touchdown, Jayden Whitaker found Ivory Aikens for an 82-yard touchdown pass. The two-point try was not successful and the Wofford lead was 21-20 with 29 seconds left in third quarter. The Catamounts had three first downs and then an incomplete pass on third down led to a field goal attempt. It was Taron Dickens' first incomplete pass of the game, a streak of 46 straight that set a new NCAA record. The 32-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Seth Foster and Wofford took over with 10:25 left in the game. After a first down, a sack on fourth-and-six turned the ball back over to the Catamounts. Western Carolina had three first downs and then converted a fourth-and-eight with 48 seconds remaining. A 34-yard field goal was good with 23 seconds left to give the Catamounts a 23-21 advantage. A fumble on the kickoff return by the Terriers enabled Western Carolina to run out the clock for the win.
 
Wofford had 241 total yards on offense, with 209 of those passing yards. Western Carolina had 466 total yards, with 378 of those passing yards. Wofford had eight first downs to 31 for the Catamounts. Wofford was 3-of-10 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Western Carolina was 8-of-17 on third down and 2-of-4 on fourth down. Western Carolina was called for five penalties, while Wofford was called for a season-low three. Western Carolina had a 38:46 to 21:14 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Western Carolina Post-Game Notes
This was the 47th meeting between the two teams, with Wofford holding a 28-19 lead in the series ... Western Carolina has won the last five meetings.
 
The two-point conversion in the first quarter by the Terriers was the first this season.
 
Isaiah Scott's 66-yard punt return for a touchdown was the first by the Terriers since R.J. Khayo had an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown against VMI in 2022.
   
The defense was led by Darius Malcom, Jr. with 17 tackles and three tackles for loss. Jalen Rambert and Wyatt Ward had 13 tackles each.
 
Wofford had four sacks in the game, including one each from Wyatt Ward, Marion Smokes and Seth Foster. The 13 tackles for loss were the most this season.
 
Five players, including four on defense, started their first career game. Wofford has had 28 players earn first career starts this season.
 
Game captains were Eli Campbell, Quincy Hughes, Brandon Maina, and Isaiah Scott.
 
Attendance at Gibbs Stadium was 3,571.
 
Wofford will play the second of three straight games at home when the team welcomes Norfolk State on Saturday, October 11, for a 1:30 p.m. contest.