After a long season of uncertainty and resilience, the Wofford football team made an outstanding comeback in the final two games of the season. The team was down for the first nine games, with the losing trend spanning from Sep. 2 until Nov. 4. The somber streak ended on Nov. 11, when the terriers defeated the Citadel bulldogs.
“It was a terrible game weather wise, but we found a way to win it,” said Shawn Watson, head football coach and offensive coordinator. That’s the resiliency.”
This game in Charleston, South Carolina ended with an 11-3 win. Wofford’s team prevailed despite injuries and related complications.
“I felt like we began to come together as a football team,” Watson said. “Then during the season lost significant players, (including Kyle Watkins ‘25 for the rest of the season and Kyle Pinnix ‘26 for five weeks), so we had a number of players on offense that we lost from the first game all the way through the East Tennessee state game.”
However, the Terriers did not let these obstacles stand in the way.
“No one let the injuries be an excuse,” Watson said. “We just kept working because we knew we had to improve ourselves. So the last month of the season, from the Mercer game on, I really felt like we took off as an entire football team.”
The following and final game of the season took place on Nov. 18. The terriers’ victorious feeling was prolonged as they defeated their rival, the Furman Paladins. An incredible finale to the 2023 football season, the home game was won 19-13.
“It was the same thing with the Furman game,” Watson said. (Furman was) the number two team in the country and one of the top rushing teams in the country, and we found a way, so I’ve got great character people in the program and our belief in each other, our belief in what we’re here to do.”
Though the game was at home, it took place the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and many students had already returned home to be with family. Though, the Terriers did not allow the skimmer stands to get them down.
“Alumni, people that support our region here (and) students who are in the region were able to come,” Watson said. “It really added to that win. We’re better with them… The atmosphere that students create for us when they’re there, creating ruckus and having fun is a great environment. It’s what college football is.”
The players share this positive, victorious outlook and are thankful for their coaches.
“The coaches have been great,” said Trey Baker ‘24. They love us and still coach us hard, and they just want the best for us, to be able to go out there and win a game and have a good time doing it.”
With two wins under their belt from the 2023 football season, coaching staff and players alike are excited to see what next year holds.
“The program can only go up from here. We had some good momentum coming in from the last two games. The student body is being very supportive of us through the games, being loud and having a good time,” Baker said. “The players like to see that. It makes us feel better and play better… I suspect a good season next season.”
The players continue to bask in the glory of these victories that did not come easily. Perhaps, as Baker and Watson mentioned, this is the beginning of a marvelous winning streak for many seasons to come.
