Courtesy of Furman Athletics
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Eric Breitenstein rushed for 230 yards and four touchdowns to power Wofford to a 38-17 victory over FCS 18th-ranked Furman in Southern Conference football action Saturday aftenroon at GIbbs Stadium.
The game marked the 84th meeting between the two oldest football rivals in South Carolina football history.
Breitenstein, a junior fullback, scored on runs of 4 and 3 yards in the first half to help Wofford (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) take a 17-10 halftime lead. He added a 23-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to increase the Terriers’ lead to 31-10 and finished off his afternoon with a 4-yard plunge with 41 seconds left in the contest.
Wofford, the nation’s leading rushing team entering the contest, chewed up Furman (2-2, 1-1 SoCon) for 400 yards on the ground, the most allowed by the Paladins since 2005, and limited Furman’s ground attack to just 47 yards. The Terriers finished the contest with 452 total yards to the Paladins’ 251.
“You have to congratulate Wofford on a very impressive performance today,†said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “They were the aggressor from the start and played well in all phases of the game. We lacked any consistency on offense and on defense, and you can’t play like that and expect to win any football game, especially in the Southern Conference.â€
Both teams traded field goals in the first quarter before Wofford took the lead for good in the second period on the strength of two Breitenstein scoring runs, the first of which was set up by his 65-yard run to the Furman 17. Breitenstein’s second touchdown of the quarter came after James Zotto picked off a pass by Paladin quarterback Cody Worley at the Terrier 45.
Furman sliced the lead to 17-10 on a Worley 39-yard touchdown pass to Adam Mims with 3:09 to go in the first half, but the Paladins failed to carry any momentum into the second half. A punt on the opening possession of the third quarter gave Wofford the ball at their 31, and from there the Terriers used eight plays to cover 69 yards for the score, which came on a 10-yard pass from Mitch Allen to Brenton Bersin for a 24-10 lead.
The Terriers used another interception, a pickoff by Jamar Reaves at the Furman 47, to set up Breitenstein’s third score of the day, a 26-yard burst with 12:20 left in the game for a 31-10 advantage.
Worley completed 19-of-34 passes for 204 yards for the Paladins, but the senior was intercepted three times. Mims led the Paladin passing game with 10 catches for 122 yards and a score.
Wofford tallied three sacks in the contest, all by junior defensive end Ameet Pall, whose seven tackles paced the Terriers.
Kadarron Anderson led Furman with 15 tackles.
The Paladins return home to face Howard next Saturday in a noon game at Paladin Stadium.