SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Punctuating a 76-yard game-winning touchdown drive with under half a minute on the clock to procure a thrilling road victory over Wofford on Saturday night, the Presbyterian College football team silenced the home side of the stands at Gibbs Stadium in a 23-20 heartstopper.

Soaring to the win behind herculean performances by sophomore quarterback Tyler Wesley and senior tight end Worth Warner, the Blue Hose obtained their first win against the Terriers since 1994. PC collected 405 yards of total offense, notching 13 points in the second half (none sweeter than Wesley's dagger to Warner with 28 ticks on the clock).

The second win in a row for second-year head coach Steve Englehart, Saturday's determined W brings the blue and garnet to their BYE week on a mountain of momentum.

Both Warner and Wesley put up career-best outings in front of a rambunctious crowd of nearly 4,000. The renewal of a century-long feud that had been on hold for the past five seasons, Presby's eleventh-hour stunner signifies the biggest win in the school's brief time associated with the Pioneer Football League.
 
FINAL SCORE – Presbyterian, 23 – Wofford, 20
RECORDS – Presbyterian (2-1) – Wofford (0-3)
LOCATION – Gibbs Stadium (Spartanburg, S.C.)


 
NOTABLES
 
- Launching 281 yards with his arm and adding an extra 28 on the ground for good measure, Wesley surpassed his individual best in total yardage that was submitted seven days earlier in a 31-point smashing of Virginia-Lynchburg.

- As spectacular as Englehart's second-year star was in Spartanburg, Warner shone perhaps even brighter by hauling in 117 yards on seven grabs beside his game-winner. The Raleigh native calculated two 30-yarders against the Terriers and converted a do-or-die 4^th-and-10 for an 18-yard scamper to paydirt as time dwindled for the opponent.

- In just his third game with the program, transfer safety Anthony Thornton remained a pest all night long with 10 tackles. Malek Horlback and Alex Herriott synced up for 12 at six each as PC stymied Wofford to a 5-of-14 conversion rate on third-down situations.

- Punting only three times and receiving a mere two penalties in the entire 60-minute window, the Blue Hose stayed in front of their Palmetto rival for nearly the entire bout until trailing by four and later seven in the early stages of the last stanza.

- That's when PC's perseverance took over and allotted them a 10-point come-from-behind 4^th quarter. During the final series that chewed up nearly six minutes, Wesley and co. converted a trio of fourth-downs on their way to delivering the final blow.

- Continuing to turn heads by his efficiency during his debut semester in Clinton, Mack Mikko was an instrumental piece in assembling the three-point triumph. He would split the uprights from 41, 32, and 37 yards away in three consecutive quarters to help PC stay in front and eventually seize the W.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
 
- It took a single snap for Presbyterian to put points on the board after a missed field goal try from the Terriers on the opening possession, with Englehart drawing up a flea flicker to a wide open Deverious Abercrombie for a 66-yard touchdown. The second career catch for the Greenville, SC product, it would be the first of dozens of highlights later to come.

- A bone-crunching sack from Horlback, the third of his promising career, gave the ball right back to the Blue Hose in short order. Deciding to punt near midfield, Englehart brought Ezra King into the mix for the first time in 2023, a former Wofford Terrier himself.

- King promptly pinpointed a perfect boot inside Wofford's 10-yard line, a 40-yarder that prevented the home side from making any noise with undesirable field position.

- PC ended quarter number one with the 7-0 edge, expanded upon after Mikko hit on a 41-yarder early in the second. That kick was the first made field goal from at least 40 yards away by any Blue Hose player since 2017.

- Wofford finally concocted an answer to the 10-0 hole with a 3^rd-down quarterback draw that ended up advancing 70 yards to the house. Englehart's club looked to respond with another FG attempt from Mikko, although the Terriers' D inserted their way past the line of scrimmage and deflected the projectile.

- Unable to follow-up on the opportunistic special teams play with a three-and-out, Wofford assumed another fortuitous outcome when an errant snap on a PC punt formation led to an interception. Presby's defense protected the end zone, however, and limited their Palmetto neighbor to a game-tying field goal instead of other designs on six points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
 
- That 10-10 deadlock remained until halftime, although the Blue Hose weren't willing to surrender the advantage just yet thanks to a 33-yard laser to Jordan Irizarry and a 17-yard burst from JB Seay that set up Mikko for his second make of the evening on the first series of the 3^rd.

- The elusive lead that had escaped Wofford to that point became a reality after an 11-play, 56-yard drive that wrapped on a 2-yard leap to the end zone. Presbyterian would play catch-up from there until the aforementioned late-game magic.

- A truly tumultuous last chapter began with the Blue Hose again performing exquisitely with their backs against the wall, keeping the deficit to a single score at 20-13 by forcing the Terriers to go for a field goal at the six-yard line.

- From there, another Mikko connection from 37 whittled the lead down to four. It would be the last time that the Blue Hose were content on red zone trips with only three points as a consolation.

- Hoping to play a bit of keep-away and deter PC from getting a chance at the victory, Wofford whimpered to a pair of three-and-outs in their last two drives, opening the door for an anxious but ultimately euphoric closing sequence.

- Time and time again in the 76-yard journey that started with 5:43 on the board, the Blue Hose seemed as if defeat was imminent until Wesley pulled out the proverbial lifejacket. The first of these instances was on a 4^th-and-10 close to midfield where the improvising QB vanished from a crowd and dove past the line to gain.

- For the second straight time, a scramble from Wesley got the job done with a must-reach destination of 10 yards ahead.

- Following numerous timeouts from both sidelines that further dramatized the moment, a fourth-and-six sling to Warner's hands was Wofford's demise on the night.
 
UP NEXT
 
- PC will have an extra week to enjoy the ecstatic aftermath of Saturday's win with an upcoming BYE on the horizon. Once the resting period closes, the Blue Hose will make a first-time-ever visit to Indianapolis for an encounter against Butler on the final day of September.

- In what will serve as the PFL opener for both competitors, a 1:00 PM kickoff will be in the cards from the Hoosier State capital.