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By Stan Olenik
For Hometown News
The Wofford Terriers put three touchdowns on the board before Samford was able to make a first down as the Terriers topped the Bulldogs 28-7. The win keeps the Terriers FCS playoff hopes alive with only a game next Saturday standing in the way of a return trip to the post-season tournament.
Quarterback Ben Widmyer converted a fourth down and two on the Terrier 29 yard line in the first three minutes of the game to get Wofford moving. A series of short gains by Widmyer, Dane Romero and Mike Rucker led to a Stev Davitte three-yard touchdown run to give Wofford a quick 7-0 lead.
“We went for it on fourth down because we didn’t want them to have the ball that much,” said the Wofford head coach. “They have a great tailback and are big and physical and have an outstanding offense,” said the coach.
But Samford was not able to keep their offense on the field until late in the second quarter. Wofford controlled the ball for almost 25 minutes in the first half while Samford maintained possession for less than five minutes on the clock.
Keeping the ball on the ground the Terriers ran over Samford and put more points on the board. Romero followed Davitte’s score with a pair of two-yard touchdown runs to give Wofford a commanding 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Defensively the Terriers limited Samford to only two first downs in the entire half. “Defensively we came together today. The kids fit the defense well, we pressured the quarterback well and in the secondary, the guys were in place and knocked balls loose. It was a fun game to watch,” said the coach.
Wofford opened the second half scoring quickly. Samford tried to catch the Terriers off guard by starting the half with an onside kick attempt. Hunter Hobson recovered the kick and gave the Terriers great field position at the Samford 39 yard line.
This time the Terriers scored quickly. Wofford needed only three plays to add to their lead. Ben Widmyer hit Justice Joslin on a 38 yard scoring pass to give the Terriers a 28-0 lead.
“We had to have a great day on both sides of the football today and we had a great day,” said Ayers. The win boosted the Terriers record to 8-2 for the season and 5-1 in the Southern Conference.
Romero led the Terrier ball carriers with 124 yards and two touchdowns. It was the fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season for the senior and the fifth 100-yard game of the year. Rucker added 118 yards while Widmyer completed six of his 12 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.
The ninth ranked Terriers will host Furman to complete the regular season at noon on Saturday. A victory over the 7-4 Paladins would most likely earn the Terriers an at-large bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Last year Wofford earned the Southern Conference automatic bid to the playoffs and beat Montana on the road before dropping a second round game to Richmond.
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