SPARTANBURG, S.C. — For a second straight week, Wofford used a special teams touchdown to lift it to a victory. This time it was an Ivory Aikens’ 97-yard kickoff return, as the Terriers held on for a 17-13 victory over Gardner-Webb Saturday at Gibbs Stadium.
With under a minute to play, Alijah Williams intercepted a pass to seal the win for Wofford, who improved to 2-0 on the young season. In last week’s season opener against The Citadel, the Terriers used a block punt, which was returned for a TD, to aid in the victory.
Quarterback J.T. Fayard was 11-of-22 passing for 120 yards, while running back Gerald Modest Jr., had 20 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown to lead the Terriers.
The Bulldogs (0-2) were led by Cole Pennington with 378 passing yards on 54 attempts, as they had a 438 to 208 advantage in total offense.
“It was just a lot of adversity that you had to get through, and you know the kids were really resilient,” Wofford head coach Shawn Watson said. “I thought the defense did a great job in the second half. We had some critical punts that were hit by Cillian [Bonner] and we had really good special teams play again.
“Gerald Modest played a really good game and ran hard. He’s just a high-effort guy that really pours his heart and soul into every moment in the game, so he played well for us. We didn’t get our receivers involved like I would like to have. We’ve got to get our passing game cleaned up so we keep moving forward.”
Aikens’ kickoff return opened the game, as it gave Wofford momentum right off the bat for a 7-0 lead.
Still ahead, 7-3, in the second quarter, Colby Alexander grabbed a 35-yard catch that moved the Terriers inside the Gardner-Webb 20-yard line. Moments later, Modest ran the football in from 9 yards out for a 14-3 lead with 2:37 left in the half.
A 90-minute lightning delay to start the second half slowed Wofford down, as the Bulldogs cut the lead to four points, 14-10, once game play resumed. A strip-sack fumble led to a Gardner-Webb TD with 4:47 left in the third quarter.
Thanks to a pass to Jack Ewell, the Terriers added a 32-yard Sam Spence field goal to extend the lead to seven points, 17-10, with 11:07 remaining in the game. But the Bulldogs responded with a 79-yard pass play and moved the football inside the 10, before the Terriers defense shut things down and held them to a 33-yard field goal with 5:37 left in the game.
After forcing a punt, Gardner-Webb got the back and drove the football inside the Terriers’ 10-yard line with under a minute to play. However, Williams intercepted a Pennington pass and returned it to the 29-yard line to seal the victory.
Things to Know
- The temperature at kickoff was 99 degrees, marking the hottest game ever at Gibbs Stadium. The previous high was 91 degrees on September 12, 2005, against Georgia Southern.
- The 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Aikens was the fifth-longest in Wofford history.
- The Wofford defense was led by Elijah Washington with eight tackles, including one for loss. Jordan Johnson recorded his first career sack and forced fumble. Williams had his first career interception.
- The win gives Wofford a 2-0 start for just the second time in the last seven seasons (2024).
Up Next
Wofford will hit the road for the first time this season when it travels to Kent, Ohio to take on Kent State. The game is set for a Noon kickoff.
–Wofford Athletics contributed to this story / photo
Team Statistics
| Game Stats | GWU | WOF |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 438 | 208 |
| Pass Yards | 378 | 120 |
| Rushing Yards | 60 | 88 |
| Penalty Yards | 9-77 | 6-62 |
| 1st Downs | 24 | 12 |
| 3rd Downs | 7-17 | 7-15 |
| 4th Downs | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| TOP | 33:51 | 26:09 |
| Scoring Play | Visiting Team Score | Home Team Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
 14:49 – WOF – Aikens,Ivory 97 yd kickoff return (Spence,Sam kick) | 0 | 7 | |
 01:20 – GWU – Bontekoe,Andrew 25 yd field goal 12 plays, 56 yards, TOP 05:05 | 3 | 7 | |
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| 02:37 – WOF – Modest Jr.,Gerald 9 yd run (Spence,Sam kick), 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 03:46 | 3 | 14 | |
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| 04:47 – GWU – Young,Randy 6 yd run (Simpson,Tyler kick), 13 plays, 62 yards, TOP 05:04 | 10 | 14 | |
| 4th Quarter | |||
| 11:07 – WOF – Spence,Sam 32 yd field goal 6 plays, 36 yards, TOP 03:09 | 10 | 17 | |
| 05:37 – GWU – Simpson,Tyler 33 yd field goal 7 plays, 82 yards, TOP 02:53 | 13 | 17 | |