Wofford downs Furman 19-13 at Paladin Stadium

GREENVILLE, S.C. – With the game tied at 10 at halftime, the Wofford College football team held Furman University to three points in the second half on the way to a 19-13 win at Paladin Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers had a season-high 385 yards of total offense, and the defense came up with 13 tackles for loss as the Paladins were limited to 55 rushing yards.

Wofford is now 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the Southern Conference. Furman is 2-7 overall and 1-4 in league play. The Terriers were led by Ryan Ingram with 23 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown, while Kyle Watkins had five catches for 106 yards. Amari Odom was 14-of-25 passing for 212 yards. Furman quarterback Carson Jones was 21-of-33 passing for 229 yards and Colton Hinton had five catches for 7 yards.

“Anytime you win it is an awesome thing,” said head coach Shawn Watson. “It is hard to win in college football and I am proud of our kids. The football team we played today is very well-coached and I have all the respect in the world for Coach Hendrix. We knew it was going to be a fight and our kids did a great job.”

The Paladins had the ball first and had big passing plays of 24 yards and 33 yards to move inside the ten-yard line. A seven-yard touchdown run by Myion Hicks gave Furman a 7-0 lead at the 11:48 mark of the first quarter. After Wofford went three-and-out and punted, the Paladins had two first downs. A fumble was forced by Javario Tinch and recovered by Amir Annoor as the Terriers took over at the 34-yard line. After a pass interference call for a first down, Amari Odom found Kyle Watkins for a 31-yard completion. Dylan Djete ended the drive with a four-yard touchdown catch to make it a 7-7 game at 5:54 in the first quarter. The teams then traded three-and-outs. Furman had the ball back and had three first downs before having to punt.

After a first down reception by Dylan Djete, Ryan Ingram ran for a 38-yard first down. Amari Odom ran for a first down, but then a pass to the endzone was intercepted by Furman and returned to the 45-yard line. An intentional grounding penalty backed the Paladins up and they had to punt. Wofford had one first down run by Ryan Ingram before facing fourth-and-five. A pass completion was short of the line to gain and the Paladins took over on downs. Furman had one first down and then on fourth-and-one, the run was stopped by Marion Smokes. Bryce Corriston had a 20-yard completion to Kyle Watkins and Ryan Ingram ran for another first down to move inside the redzone at the two-minute timeout. Wofford took a 10-7 lead with a 29-yard field goal by Devery Cagle with 1:06 left in the half. The Paladins had two quick first downs to move across midfield and were at the 20-yard line with 30 seconds remaining. They kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired to tie the game at 10-10 at halftime.

To begin the second half, Wofford had a first down reception by Kyle Watkins and then Jordan Davis had a 45-yard reception. The Terriers took a 13-10 lead with a 38-yard field goal by Devery Cagle with 12:59 on the clock. Furman went three-and-out and punted on their next drive. With the ball back, Wofford had a first down and then Amari Odom found Kyle Watkins for a 43-yard completion to the seven-yard line. After a roughing the passer call on the Paladins, Ryan Ingram ran the ball in from one yard out to push the advantage to 19-10 with 5:54 left in the third quarter. Furman responded with a thirteen-play drive that ended with a 41-yard field goal to make it a 19-13 game with 13:36 on the clock in the fourth quarter.

Wofford went three-and-out, which was followed by a three-and-out by the Paladins. The Terriers again went three-and-out, with Furman taking over at the 45-yard line. After a 25-yard reception, Isaiah Managa and Anthonie Lattany had back-to-back sacks. Wofford got the ball back with 5:02 on the clock and had a first down reception by Carlos Anaya and a first down run by Ryan Ingram. The Terriers had to punt and the Paladins took over at the 18-yard line with 57 seconds left. On fourth-and-one with 20 seconds left, the run was stopped by Anthonie Lattany and Amir Annoor. Wofford took over and one kneel-down in victory formation secured the victory.

Wofford had a season-high 385 total yards, with 232 receiving yards. Furman had 284 total yards, with 229 of those passing yards. Wofford had 17 first downs to 15 for the Paladins. Wofford was 4-of-12 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down. Furman was 9-of-168 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth down. Furman was called for three penalties, while Wofford was called for five. Wofford had a 30:56 to 29:04 time of possession advantage.