#5 Wofford 49, Elon 24

ELON, N.C. - On a wet Saturday afternoon, the Wofford football team used a career day by Eric Breitenstein to win 49-24 over Elon at Rhodes Stadium. Breitenstein set a new Southern Conference single game record with 321 rushing yards in the contest as the Terriers ran for a total of 500 yards.

The Terriers open the season 4-0 and 2-0 in the SoCon. Elon is 2-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play. For Wofford, Breitenstein had two touchdowns. Brian Kass ran for 57 yards and three touchdowns and threw for one touchdown. Elon was led by Thomas Wilson who was 31-of-47 passing for 322 yards and two touchdowns. Aaron Mellette had 13 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

The Phoenix had the ball first and gained one first down before Alvin Scioneaux forced a fumble that was recovered by E.J. Speller. On the first play for the Wofford offense, Donovan Johnson ran 32 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 13:09 on the clock.

Elon used three passing first downs to move into the redzone. A pass break-up in the endzone by Blake Wylie on third down gave the Phoenix a 35-yard field goal attempt that was good with 10:21 left in the first quarter. With the ball back, Wofford once again needed only one play as Eric Breitenstein went 90 yards down the middle of the field for a touchdown and a 14-3 advantage.

On the next drive for Elon, the Phoenix gained two first downs before punting. Wofford went three and out and punted, but Elon punted back to the Terriers after one first down. The Terriers drove to the seven-yard line, but on third down a fumble was recovered by the Phoenix. Elon could not convert the turnover into points and punted. Wofford drove inside the five-yard line, but a pass was intercepted by Odell Benton in the endzone. The Phoenix gave it right back to Wofford when Stephon Shelton recovered a fumble and returned it to the 18-yard line. Brian Kass found Michael Harpe in the far corner of the endzone for a 16-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-3 lead with 5:21 left in the second quarter.

Elon drove quickly down the field and scored a touchdown as Thomas Wilson found Aaron Mellette in the endzone for a seven-yard reception. The score was 21-10 with 2:09 remaining in the first half. Wofford went the distance of the field in only 90 seconds as Eric Breitenstein had a 49-yard run and scored on a 19-yard run to give the Terriers a 28-10 lead with 29 seconds remaining in the half. Elon took a knee to send the game to halftime.

Wofford had the ball to open the second half, but gained only one first down before punting. Elon went three-and-out and punted. The Terriers had the ball back and after a 42-yard run by Eric Breitenstein, Brian Kass scored from one yard out. Wofford led 35-10 with 9:33 on the clock in the third quarter. The Phoenix drove down the field with four first downs and scored when Aaron Mellette caught a pass from Thomas Wilson that went through the hands of a Wofford defender. Elon converted the two-point attempt for a 35-18 score with 5:03 left in the third quarter.

The Terriers were three-and-out and punted on their next drive. Elon was able to drive into Wofford territory and scored on a 43-yard field goal by Adam Shreiner with 1:14 on the clock in the fourth quarter for a 35-21 score.

Brian Kass then capped a nine-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run to make it 42-21 with 11:27 left in the game. Elon gained one first down before failing to convert a fourth-and-three and turning the ball back over to Wofford. The Terriers then added a touchdown with a 39-yard run by Brian Kass to take a 49-21 lead with 8:04 remaining. A 33-yard field goal by Adam Shreiner with 2:52 left on the clock made it a 49-24 game. Wofford was able to run out the final minutes after Eric Breitenstein set the SoCon rushing mark with a nine-yard first down run.

Wofford had 516 total yards, with 500 on the ground. Elon had 410 total yards, 361 of which were passing. The Terriers had 22 first downs to 24 for the Phoenix. Wofford was 8-of-12 on third downs. Elon was 5-of-15 on third down. Each team had four penalties. Elon had the time of possession by a 30:31 to 29:29 margin.





Furman 45, Western Carolina 24

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jerodis Wiliams rushed for a career high 239 yards and two touchdowns and added a 100-yard kickoff return to power Furman past Western Carolina, 45-24, in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

The win was the seventh straight for Furman (2-3, 1-1 SoCon) over Western Carolina (1-4, 0-3 SoCon) and ninth consecutive triumph over the Catamounts in Greenville.

Williams set his new career rushing high on 18 carries, scoring on runs of 89 and two yards. He also had two kickoff returns for 131 yards, including a 100-yard bolt six minutes into the game that helped give Furman an early need it would never relinquish. The 239-yard rushing performance was the fourth highest in school history.

Hank McCloud ran for a career high 123 yards and a touchdown to help Furman roll up 389 yards on the ground and 619 total yards - the program's highest tally since 2003.

Freshman quarterback Reese Hannon recorded his fourth consecutive 200-yard passing performance by completing 13-of-21 passes for 230 yards and a 79-yard, third quarter touchdown pass to Will King.

Williams netted 42 yards on his first three carries of the game, but the Prattville, Ala., senior's 14-yard run to the Western Carolina 1-yard line on the game's opening series didn't set up a score, but rather a fumble that rolled out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.

After the Catamounts drove 74 yards in 10 plays for a Richard Sigmon 23-yard field goal, Williams took ensuing kickoff and raced 100 yards for a touchdown six minutes into the game.

Williams' followed up his first score with an 89-yard touchdown bolt - the second longest run in Furman history - less than a minute into the second quarter and tallied again, on a 2-yard plunge, at the 6:42 mark of the period to give the Paladins a 21-3 lead.

Hank McCloud's 20-yard touchdown run around right end with 3:28 remaining in the half stretched Furman's lead to 28-3.

The two teams traded scores before intermission, with Western Carolina's Michael Vaughn tallying on a 3-yard touchdown run followed by a 39-yard field goal by Furman's Ray Early on the final play of the first half.

Furman put the game away with a pair of third quarter touchdowns. Sophomore safety Marcus McMorris stepped in front of a pass by Catamount quarterback Eddie Sullivan and returned it 52 yards to give the Paladins 38-10 lead, and later in the quarter King connected with Hannon on a 70-yard touchdown pass play over the middle to push the Paladins' advantage to 45-10.

Sullivan led Western Carolina, passing for 220 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 104 yards on 16 carries.