Injury-riddled Wofford finds way to win

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Sometimes Wofford coach Mike Ayers can’t fathom what his team has accomplished, given the adversity the Terriers have faced all season.

Starting linebacker Michael Roach collapsed during the game at Tennessee Tech with a previously undiagnosed career-ending heart condition. In October, linebacker John Patterson fractured his C6 vertebra — a potentially devastating injury that he walked away from.

Wofford had to turn to its fifth-string quarterback because of injuries and still managed to beat undefeated Citadel, 17-3, last week and reach the FCS quarterfinals.

“It’s kind of awesome just to see the way the guys are still playing,” Ayers said. “Conducting business on a daily basis.”

The Terriers (10-3) continue their playoff trek Saturday at Youngstown State (10-3) with a national semifinals spot at stake.

Wofford had been a power in the Southern Conference, winning four league titles and reaching the NCAA playoffs six times between 2003 and 2012. But the Terriers went 17-16 the past three seasons and appeared a program in decline entering the year.

The personnel losses began in the summer when starting quarterback, senior Evan Jacks, tore an ACL in the first scrimmage of fall camp.

The most frightening incident came in the opener at Tennessee Tech when Roach went into cardiac arrest and collapsed on the bench early in the third quarter. He was unconscious, stopped breathing for 45 seconds and rushed to Cookeville Regional Medical Center where he was alert and responsive. Roach was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart walls that make it harder to pump blood, and had a procedure to place an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. He returned to campus two days later.

Backup quarterback Brad Butler started the first four games until he tore an ACL against East Tennessee on Sept. 24.

Patterson’s season-ending neck injury occurred in a loss to the Citadel on Oct. 22.

The lineup changes continued into the playoffs.

Ayers is the school’s all-time winningest coach with 197 victories in 29 seasons.