KENT, Ohio – The Wofford College football team had the lead in the third quarter before Kent State scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 36-15 win on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Dix Stadium. The Terriers took advantage of a turnover and big special teams plays for a 15-14 lead headed to the fourth quarter, but the Golden Flashes took control in the final fifteen minutes.
Wofford is 2-1 and Kent State is 1-1 to begin the season. The Terriers were led by
Gerald Modest Jr. with 14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Ethan Drumm and
J.T. Fayard combined to go 13-of-27 for 115 yards passing. The Golden Flashes were led by Dru DeShields with 16-of-25 passing for 248 yards and a touchdown.
"We played a really good first half," said head coach
Shawn Watson. "The guys played hard with great effort and competing at a really high level. It was really good to see both sides of the ball, and special teams was outstanding again. We did not play a good fourth quarter, but it really started in the third quarter. We've got to do a much better job on offense of staying on the field on third down because it came down to a third down game. They scrambled around and made some plays on third down to stay on the field. Long story short, I was proud of the way we played that first half because it was spirited, it was gutty, and the kids played with great effort. And then the second half, we had to finish the fight. We're here to make it a fourth quarter fight, and we did. Now we didn't finish, and that's something we got to look at ourselves in the mirror."
The Golden Flashes had the ball to begin the game and after a first down they completed a 40-yard pass on third down. Another first down was followed by a 12-yard touchdown run by quarterback Dru DeShields for a 7-0 lead with 10:23 on the clock. Wofford was sacked on their first play from scrimmage and went three-and-out. Kent State had a three-and-out and the Terriers took over at the 15-yard line.
Gerald Modest Jr. ran for a first down run, but Wofford had to punt. The return was muffed by Kent State and recovered at the 24-yard line by
Corey Williams. A first down catch by
Jack Ewell moved the ball inside the red zone and a 28-yard field goal by
Sam Spence made it a 7-3 game with 3:20 left in the first quarter.
Kent State had one first down on their ensuing drive before facing a fourth-and-four. The pass was incomplete, turning the ball over on downs to Wofford at the 39-yard line. The Terriers went three-and-out and punted with the ball downed at the two-yard line. After a first down by penalty, the Terrier defense came up with an interception by
Wyatt Ward. With
Ethan Drumm at quarterback, Wofford had two first downs and then
Gerald Modest Jr. capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run for a 10-7 lead with 9:29 left in the second quarter.
The Golden Flashes had one first down before punting back to the Terriers. Wofford went three-and-out, but the punt by
Cillian Bonner was downed at the one-yard line. Kent State had one first down but then had to punt. The ball was fumbled by the punter and recovered in the endzone for a safety and a 12-7 lead. The kickoff was returned by Ivory Aiken to midfield, with a personal foul penalty moving the ball to the 35-yard line. An interception was returned 63 yards for a touchdown, giving the Golden Flashes a 14-12 lead with 1:50 left in the half. With the ball back, Wofford had two first downs and then
Sam Spence hit a 50-yard field goal for a 15-14 lead at the break.
On the opening drive of the second half, Kent State intercepted the Terriers. Wofford returned the favor when
Javario Tinch picked off a pass. With the ball back, a pass interference call and a 35-yard catch by
Isaiah Scott moved the team across midfield. After a Wofford punt, the Golden Flashes had four first downs, but a 43-yard field goal attempt hit off the right upright and was no good with 4:12 left in the third quarter. The Terriers had one first down and punted. On third down, Kent State had a 63-yard completion and added another first down to end the third quarter. The drive ended with a five-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion for a 22-15 lead with 14:21 left in the fourth quarter.
The rain finally subsided, but Wofford went three-and-out and punted. Kent State used another big play to move across midfield. A 20-yard run by quarterback Dru DeShields pushed the lead to 29-15 with 8:27 remaining in the game. Wofford again went three-and-out and punted. Kent State had a first down and then a 30-yard completion was followed by a ten-yard touchdown run for a 36-15 advantage with 4:16 remaining. The Terriers' offense was stopped once again and they punted. The Golden Flashes went three-and-out and punted, but a penalty on the play gave them a first down and they took a knee to end the game.
Wofford had 173 total yards on offense, with 115 passing yards. Kent State had 448 total yards, with 253 of those passing yards. Wofford had 10 first downs to 21 for the Golden Flashes. Wofford was 0-of-12 on third down. Kent State was 11-of-19 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down. Wofford had nine penalties for 70 yards, while Kent State had eight penalties for 55 yards. Kent State had a 37:22 to 22:38 time of possession advantage.
Wofford vs. Kent State Post-Game Notes
This was the first meeting between the two teams. The game was the 29
th all-time meeting against an FBS opponent.
Wyatt Ward had his first career interception in the second quarter.
Javario Tinch had his second career interception in the third quarter.
The 50-yard field goal by
Sam Spence was the longest of his career. It is tied for the seventh-longest in school history.
The Wofford defense was led by
Wyatt Ward and
Logan McCloud with nine tackles each.
Game captains were
Eli Campbell,
Clayton Hixon, and
Isaiah Scott
Attendance at Dix Stadium was 7,887.
Wofford will be on the road next Saturday at Chattanooga before returning home on September 26 to host SoCon newcomer Tennessee Tech. Tickets are available by visiting
https://woffordterriers.com/tickets.
