CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Wofford College football team was defeated 26-10 by Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The Catamounts scored first and took a 16-0 lead, but the Terriers scored the next ten points to make it a 16-10 game in the third quarter. The Catamounts scored the final ten points of the game.
Wofford is 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the SoCon. Western Carolina is 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by
Gerald Modest Jr. with 71 rushing yards, giving him 1,000 for the season.
Kaeden Gilstrap was 9-of-18 passing. The Catamounts were led by Lex Thomas with 23-of-35 passing for 237 yards.
"The kids played with good effort," said head coach
Shawn Watson. "I thought our defense again played a really good game. They were stingy, and we couldn't get going offensively. We just did not play a clean game at all. We had way too many penalties, and again got down in the tight red zone and didn't get points. You just can't do that, not in this league. The defense took the ball away twice a day and gave us good field position. We've got to get our bearing straight on offense."
Wofford had the ball to open the game and had one first down on a pass interference call before punting. The Catamounts had one first down and punted, with the Terriers then having one first down and punted. Western Carolina had four first downs, including a 28-yard reception, to move inside the five. A three-yard touchdown run gave the Catamounts a 7-0 lead at the 4:18 mark of the first quarter. On Wofford's next drive, they had one first down before punting. Western Carolina had a 13-play drive with four first downs that was capped by a 47-yard field goal for a 10-0 with 13:42 left in the second quarter.
The Catamounts went three-and-out and punted. Wofford had one first down after a penalty, but a sack on third down forced a punt. Starting across midfield, Western Carolina had two first downs before an 11-yard touchdown run for a 16-0 lead, as the point after was missed at the 7:10 mark of the second quarter. With the ball back, a sack on third down by Western Carolina forced a Terrier punt. The Catamounts went three-and-out and punted.
Kaeden Gilstrap came into the game for the Terriers and had a rushing first down to move across midfield. After a
Tay Franklin first down run, Gilstrap scrambled for a first down inside the 20-yard line. On fourth-and-one from the seven,
Gerald Modest Jr. ran to the one-yard line for a first down. A false start backed the Terriers up five yards and on a touchdown run by Gilstrap, a holding penalty erased the score and Wofford settled for a 34-yard field goal by Conner Deveney to make it a 16-3 game with one second left in the half. Western Carolina threw an incomplete pass to end the half.
Western Carolina used an 83-yard kickoff return to the four-yard line. On third down,
Javario Tinch had a strip-sack with the fumble recovered by
Nicholas Mathious at the 18-yard line. Wofford had one first down before a fumble was recovered by the Catamounts. They went three-and-out and punted. With Wofford taking over at the 10-yard line, three first downs moved the ball across midfield. After a pass interference call,
Terrence Honeywood ran for a 26-yard touchdown as Wofford cut the lead to 16-10 with 6:49 on the clock in the third quarter. The Catamounts had four first downs and then had a 33-yard field goal to make it a 19-10 game with 2:44 left in the quarter. Wofford and Western Carolina traded three-and-outs with punts.
The Terriers began the fourth quarter with the ball at their four-yard line.
Gerald Modest Jr. had a first down run, but a couple penalties ended the drive with a punt. The Catamounts had three first downs and a one-yard touchdown run increased the lead to 26-10 with 9:26 left on the clock. Wofford had a first down on a roughing the passer call and then
Terrence Honeywood caught a first down pass to move across midfield. A penalty and back-to-back sacks pushed the Terriers back and they punted. Western Carolina fumbled, which was forced by
Ky'Ree Murphy and recovered by
Zayd Rogan at the 23-yard line. A targeting call on Western Carolina gave Wofford a first down. A penalty for 12-men on the field on fourth-and-one gave the Terriers a first down at the three-yard line. After two delay of game penalties and back-to-back sacks, Wofford had a fourth-and-goal and the run was short and the Catamounts took over on downs with 1:18 left in the game. Western Carolina took a knee twice to end the game.
Wofford had 264 total yards on offense, with 146 rushing yards. Western Carolina had 332 total yards, with 237 of those passing yards. Wofford had 21 first downs to 19 for the Catamounts. Wofford was 4-of-16 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Western Carolina was 4-of-13 on third down. Wofford tied a school record with 16 penalties for 115 yards, while Western Carolina had 10 penalties for 108 yards. Wofford had a 33:52 to 26:08 time of possession advantage.
Wofford vs. Western Carolina Post-Game Notes
This was the 48
th meeting between the two teams, with the Terriers holding a 28-20 lead in the series that began in 1952.
The Wofford defense was led by
Wyatt Ward with eleven tackles, followed by
Logan McCloud and
Elijah Washington with eight each. The Terriers had four tackles for loss.
Gerald Modest Jr. had 71 rushing yards, giving him exactly 1,000 rushing yards on the season. He is the 20
th player in school history to have 1,000 or more rushing yards in a season.
Javario Tinch had his first solo sack of the season in the third quarter and forced his third career fumble.
Nicholas Mathious recovered his first career fumble.
Ky'Ree Murphy forced his first career fumble and
Zayd Rogan recovered his first career fumble in the fourth quarter.
Game captains were
Gerald Modest Jr.,
Aiden Morris, and
Alijah Williams.
Attendance at E.J. Whitmire Stadium was 9,524.
Wofford will return home on Saturday, November 14, to play East Tennessee State. Tickets are available by visiting
https://woffordterriers.com/tickets.
