Wofford football earns 11-3 win at The Citadel

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Wofford Athletics) – During a constant rain, the Wofford College football team earned their first win of the season with an 11-3 victory over The Citadel at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Bulldogs fumbled on their first two drives and the Terriers had an 8-3 lead at the half. Wofford added a field goal in the fourth quarter and the defense came up with a fumble and interception in the final ninety seconds to secure the 11-3 win.

Wofford is 1-9 overall and 1-6 in the Southern Conference. The Citadel is 0-10 overall and 0-7 in league play. The Terriers were led by Ryan Ingram with 136 of the team’s 217 rushing yards, while Kyle Parsons had the lone touchdown in the game. The Bulldogs had 100 rushing yards by Hi’Keem Elmore to lead the team.

“I am happy for the players and coaches because they deserved a win,” said head coach Shawn Watson. “It was adverse out there with the rain and we found a way through it. The defense played lights out for us and on offense the line, tight ends and backs big a great job as we ran for over 200 yards. Our receivers did a good job down field and special teams were awesome as it was a great team win.”

The Citadel had the ball first, but on second down John Michael DiRoberto forced and recovered a fumble, giving the Terriers the ball on the 47-yard line. Ryan Ingram gained a first down, but the drive stalled and a 43-yard field goal was wide right at 11:44 in the first quarter. On the next drive by the Bulldogs, they fumbled again with a force by DiRoberto and a recovery by Maximus Pulley. With quarterback Pauley Seeley in the game due to an injury to Bryce Corriston, Ryan Ingram picked up three first downs and Kyle Parsons went the final one yard for a touchdown. The two-point attempt was good on a run by Ryan Ingram and Wofford had an 8-0 lead at 6:16 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs had one first down and then converted a fourth-and-two for a first down. After three more first downs, they moved inside the ten-yard line. On fourth-and-goal from the two, they took a delay of game and made a 25-yards field goal for an 8-3 score with 11:59 on the clock in the second quarter.

After Wofford gained a first down, they picked up a fourth-and-one on a run by Pauly Seeley. The Bulldogs came away with an interception at the 43-yard line, but went three-and-out and punted. Wofford gained two first downs on the ensuing drive, however a sack on third down forced a punt. The Citadel began their next drive with 1:23 left in the half, but the Wofford defense forced a three-and-out. The Terriers took over with 49 seconds remaining and ran out the clock.

To start the second half, the Terriers had the ball and went three-and-out. The Citadel also went three-and-out on their first possession of the second half. Wofford had one first down on a play where Ryan Ingram fumbled and Bryson Dickerson recovered the ball while it was still in the air, but the Terriers had to punt. The Citadel then had one first down and punted. Wofford had a first down run by Ryan Ingram and a Bulldog penalty added ten yards to the play. After two more first downs by Ingram and one by J.T. Smith, the Terriers had first-and-goal from the one. A false start and intentional grounding pushed the Terriers back and they had to kick a 32-yard field goal for an 11-3 lead with 14:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted, giving Wofford the ball at the nine-yard line. After a first down run by Ryan Ingram, J.T. Smith had a 43-yard run for a first down. The drive stalled and Wofford punted with the ball downed at the seven-yard line with 7:40 left on the clock. The Bulldogs passing game picked up three first downs and they ran for a first down to move the ball to the 20-yard line. On third down, another fumble by the Bulldogs was recovered by Harrison Morgan with 1:23 left in the game as they took over at the ten-yard line. The Terriers went three-and-out and punted with 1:09 remaining. After a passing first down moved the ball across midfield, they had another passing first down before John Michael DiRoberto intercepted the ball to end the drive. Wofford took a knee in victory formation to end the game.

Wofford had 263 total yards, with 217 rushing yards as the rain limited the passing game. The Citadel had 234 total yards, with 147 of those rushing yards. Wofford had 16 first downs to 13 for the Bulldogs. Wofford was 3-of-11 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. The Citadel was 7-of-15 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. The Citadel was called for six penalties, while Wofford was called for eight. The Bulldogs had a 30:28 to 29:32 time of possession advantage.

Wofford vs. The Citadel Post-Game Notes

This was the 77th meeting between the two teams, dating back to 1916. The Citadel leads the series 44-32-1, but Wofford has won the last two meetings.

The last time Wofford scored 11 points was October 26, 1987 in an 11-27 loss to VMI. The last time Wofford won a game with 11 points was an 11-6 win over South Carolina on November 18, 1901. The Terriers have never won a game with an 11-3 score.

Wofford played three of the six road games this season in the rain (William & Mary, VMI and The Citadel).

Ryan Ingram has had back-to-back games with 100+ rushing yards (Western Carolina and The Citadel). He now has 1,236 rushing yards for his career.

John Michael DiRoberto had two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception on defense.

David Powers led the team with 12 tackles, while Eli Purcell added eight.

Wofford will play the final game of the season on Saturday, November 18, against Furman at Gibbs Stadium.

Game captains were Ryan Ingram, Anthony Garcia, Eli Purcell and Chuck Smith.

Attendance at Johnson Hagood Stadium was 10,321.

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