Three-way tie for SoCon crown
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — D’mauriae VanCleave took a pitch in the backfield, skirted around the left side and ran 67 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal Wofford’s 45-21 victory over Presbyterian in nonconference action Saturday afternoon.
The win should give the Terriers a little momentum heading into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Wofford (8-3) finished the regular season tied atop the Southern Conference standings at 6-2 with East Tennessee State University and Furman, and they were 1-1 against each other within that group. ETSU beat Furman 29-27 on Sept. 22 but lost 30-17 to Wofford on Oct. 20, a week after Furman beat Wofford 34-14.
While all three share the SoCon title, Wofford earned the league’s automatic bid into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs via the conference’s tiebreaker rules.
Against Big South member Presbyterian (2-8), which lost for the seventh straight game, Wofford forced three turnovers and won the offensive yardage battle, 456-346. › Samford 28, ETSU 27
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Devlin Hodges ran for three touchdowns and surpassed Steve McNair for the most passing yards in an FCS career as Samford denied the Bucs (8-3) the outright SoCon title.
Hodges finished 40-of-53 for 404 yards to give him a career mark of 14,584. McNair set the previous mark of 14,496 at Alcorn State from 1991 to ‘94.
Samford (6-5, 5-3), which came into the game with just one win in five road contests this season, has now beaten the Bucs in five of the six meetings between the programs.
Quay Holmes scored on a 6-yard run to put ETSU up 10-0 in the first quarter, but Hodges scored from the 9 early in the second to put the Bulldogs ahead. Former Cleveland High School quarterback Austin Herink had back-to-back touchdowns runs as ETSU went back on top, 24-14, but Hodges’ 2-yard touchdown run and Mitchell Fineran’s extra-point kick tied the game at 24 with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
J.J. Jerman’s 39-yard field goal with 1:48 left in the period put ETSU up 27-24, but Hodges scored from the 2 with 11:15 left to put Samford up for good.
Herink was 18-of-34 for 186 yards and carried eight times for 64 yards and two touchdowns. › Furman 35, Mercer 30
MACON, Ga. — Harris Roberts threw five touchdown passes as Furman won for the sixth time in seven games and clinched a share of the SoCon title.
Roberts was 16-of-23 for 189 yards, and Devin Wynn ran for 135 yards on 28 carries for the Paladins (6-4). Jake Walker and Ryan DeLuca caught two touchdowns passes apiece, and Avery Armstrong had one.
Harrison Frost and Kaelan Riley combined for 16-of-37 passing for 231 yards and three touchdown passes for Mercer (5-6, 4-4). › North Carolina 49, Western Carolina 26
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Nathan Elliott passed for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and Javonte Williams rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns for the Tar Heels (2-8), who ended a six-game losing streak.
North Carolina amassed a season-high 654 yards in its first win since Sept. 22, when it defeated Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division champion Pittsburgh 38-35.
Western Carolina (3-8) ended its season with its eighth consecutive loss.
Tyrie Adams passed for 290 yards and rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns for the Catamounts, and Will Horton made field goals of 43, 45, 33 and 26 yards. › Old Dominion 77, VMI 14
NORFOLK, Va. — Matt Geiger scored three touchdowns and Jeremy Cox and Kesean Strong added two apiece to lead the way as Conference USA member Old Dominion (4-7) set a new program record for points. The 77 points also tied a league record and that total is tied for the second-highest by a Football Bowl Subdivision team this season.
The Monarchs led 49-0 at halftime and outgained VMI (1-10) in total yards, 509-288. The Monarchs also tied a program record with seven rushing touchdowns.