BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – As time expired, a field goal by Samford University gave them a 10-9 win over Wofford College on Saturday night at Pete Hanna Stadium. The Terriers had a 9-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter after three field goals, but a 41-yard rushing touchdown and a 44-yard field goal by the Bulldogs made it a 10-9 final.
Wofford is 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the SoCon. Samford is 3-6 overall and 3-3 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by
Gerald Modest Jr. with 38 carries for 197 yards. The Bulldogs were led by Gabarri Johnson with 19-of-32 passing for 219 yards.
"I really hurt inside for the kids," said head coach
Shawn Watson. "They played hard today. We did a lot of things well, and we did some things we're going to look back on, such as maximizing the red zone opportunities. I thought we had a game where we were dominant running the football, and we've got to be better in the red zone. We can't leave opportunities unscored. The defense played really well. The last drive is what they're going to remember, but overall they played really well, I'm really proud of the way the kids played and the heart that they played with."
Samford won the toss and received the opening kickoff. After one first down, a sack on third down by
Marek Marcellus forced a punt. Wofford had five first downs to move inside the ten-yard line. A pass was intercepted in the end zone by the Bulldogs and they took over with 6:12 left in the first quarter. The Wofford defense forced a three-and-out but only gained one first down on the ensuing possession and punted, with the ball downed at the one-yard line. After a rushing first down, the Bulldogs had a 30-yard pass completion.
The Bulldogs had to punt at midfield, and Wofford then had a first down on a 34-yard pass from
Terrence Honeywood to Anjuan Coleman. However, the Terriers were intercepted on the next play, and the Bulldogs had the ball at the 16-yard line. After two first downs and a pass interference call, Samford had the ball across midfield. The drive stalled and the Bulldogs punted. Wofford had three first downs and got on the board with a 43-yard field goal by
Conner Deviney for a 3-0 lead with 4:12 left in the first half. Samford and Wofford then traded three-and-outs. Samford had a 45-yard pass completion to move across midfield. A 54-yard field goal attempt was wide right and Wofford had the ball at the 36-yard line with 58 seconds left on the clock. The Terriers ran out the clock and took a 3-0 lead into the half.
To begin the second half, Samford attempted an on-side kick that was recovered by the Terriers. After two rushing first downs and a first down on a personal foul penalty, Wofford was in the red zone. The drive ended with a 31-yard field goal by
Conner Deviney for a 6-0 lead with 10:44 on the clock in the third quarter. The Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted. Wofford had two first downs before
Gerald Modest Jr. converted a fourth-and-one with a five-yard run. The drive was capped by a 34-yard field goal by
Conner Deviney for a 9-0 advantage.
The Wofford defense increased the pressure and forced a three-and-out.
Jaden Fowler had a first down reception to get the Terriers back across midfield and a
Gerald Modest Jr. added another first down. The drive stalled and a 44-yard field goal attempt was wide right with 13:31 on the clock in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs had a passing first down but had to punt and then the Terriers had one first down before having to punt. With the ball back, Samford had a 24-yard run for a first down and then a 41-yard touchdown run by Ken Cherry made it a 9-7 game with 6:56 remaining. After a kickoff out of bounds, Wofford started their next drive at the 40-yard line and
J.T. Fayard rushed for a first down on third-and-long. After a couple of Terrier penalties,
Jaden Fowler had a 23-yard catch-and-run for a first down. A first down run moved Wofford to the 28-yard line at the two-minute timeout. A 40-yard field goal was wide left with 1:05 remaining in the game. Samford took over at the 22-yard line and then converted a fourth-and-two with a 23-yard completion. A pass interference call moved the ball to the 32-yard line with 19 seconds on the clock. A 44-yard field goal as time expired gave the Bulldogs the 10-9 victory.
Wofford had 386 total yards on offense, with 227 rushing yards. Samford was held to 310 total yards, with 219 of those passing yards. Wofford had 22 first downs to 12 for the Bulldogs. Wofford was 5-of-15 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Samford was 2-of-12 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Wofford had 4 penalties for 45 yards, while Samford had four penalties for 30 yards. Wofford had a 38:28 to 21:32 time of possession advantage.
Wofford vs. Samford Post-Game Notes
This was the 24
th meeting between the two teams, with Samford holding a 17-7 lead in the series that began in 1949.
Playing a game on Halloween is extremely rare for the Terriers. Since the program resumed after the end of WWII in 1946, Wofford has played in only eight games on Halloween with a 3-5 record. Five of the eight games have been on the road (2-3).
The Wofford defense was led by
Ky'Ree Murphy with seven tackles. They combined for five tackles for loss, with a sack by
Marek Marcellus in the first quarter that was the first of his career.
Conner Deviney made three field goals in a game for the second time this season (at Elon).
Gerald Modest Jr. had 197 rushing yards, his fourth 100+ rushing performance this season and the fourth of his career. He now has 929 rushing yards on the season.
Game captains were
Gavin Batt,
Eli Campbell and
J.T. Fayard.
Attendance at Pete Hanna Stadium was 3,073.
Wofford will be on the road next week at Western Carolina before returning home on Saturday, November 14, to play East Tennessee State. Tickets are available by visiting
https://woffordterriers.com/tickets.
