After big loss, Furman set to host Catamounts

Furman's Caleb Williams makes a tackle against
Chattanooga. Photo courtesy of Furman

Furman will try to rebound from the most lopsided Southern Conference loss it's had in Clay Hendrix's eight-year tenure as head coach when it hosts Western Carolina at 2 p.m. Saturday on homecoming at Paladin Stadium.

The Paladins lost five turnovers (officially) and didn't force any in last week's 41-10 loss to Chattanooga. The Mocs (3-3 overall, 2-1 SoCon) scored 24 points off those turnovers. That performance came weeks after being at minus-four in turnover margin for the first time ever under Hendrix in Furman's 24-20 home loss to Charleston Southern.

"We're certainly disappointed in the outcome and how we played. We just kind of continue to be our own worst enemy," Hendrix said after the game. "I told the team at halftime that I'd felt a lot better about how we played today than last week (first half at The Citadel), but we turned it over four times (in the first half). So you keep that in perspective. You can't beat anybody (doing that), especially a good team and they've got a really good, veteran team."

Even though Furman (2-4, 1-1) had the four turnovers, it wasn't like a 20-3 halftime deficit was insurmountable. After freshman quarterback Trey Hedden was intercepted three times in the first half, the Paladins turned to Carson Jones to quarterback the second half. Unfortunately for Furman, Jones could not capture that same magic he had last season at Chattanooga when he came on for an injured Tyler Huff and rallied the team to victory and the SoCon championship.

On the first play of the second half, Chattanooga's Chase Artopoeus threw a bomb to Javin Whatley for a 47-yard gain to the Furman 28. The Mocs and Paladins entered last week's game as two of the worst rushing teams in the country, but Chattanooga proceeded to churn out yards on the ground on this drive. Reggie Davis carried on each of the final five plays of the possession, capped by a two-yard touchdown run.

On Furman's ensuing possession, Myion Hicks ran for six yards on first down. Jones' first pass was complete for a one-yard loss and his third down pass was incomplete, so the Paladins went three-and-out. Furman's defense was poised for a three-and-out on the Mocs' next possession, but on 3rd-and-9, Artopoeus found Whatley running all alone down the right sideline for a 71-yard touchdown.

Furman entered Chattanooga territory for the first time since midway through the first quarter on its next possession. However the drive ended when Jones' third down pass was batted down. UTC's Marquise Freeman gathered the loose ball and held it up in the air in celebration as everyone had stopped on the play. With no whistle though, Freeman took off for the end zone and was officially credited with an interception return for a touchdown.

Replays showed that the ball had bounced off the turf, but there was never an official review. While it didn't probably matter, it's a pretty unprofessional look to not automatically review a goofy looking play that everybody had stopped on. Of course, Hedden's third interception of the first half was reviewed and the call stood despite the ball being trapped.

Nevertheless, the three touchdowns by Chattanooga less than nine minutes into the second half turned a 20-3 game into a 41-3 game and it was essentially over.

"In our three FCS losses, we've had 12 turnovers and you can't do that," Hendrix said during his weekly press conference Monday. "It hurts me to have to say it, but (Chattanooga) just got after us. Something we've taken pride in since I came back here is playing with relentless effort and playing with great physicality. We got out-physicalled Saturday."

Three turnovers or five turnovers doesn't change the fact that the Mocs dominated the final three quarters. In the first quarter, Chattanooga had a 76-68 edge in total offense and both teams had 17 plays apiece. The rest of the way, the Mocs had 367 yards on 55 plays while Furman had 165 on 35 plays.

It was Furman's first game without noseguard Xavier Stephens, who was lost for the season after suffering an injury in the fourth quarter at Citadel the week before. Chattanooga found holes up the gut that were not there before with Stephens clogging up the middle. The Mocs finished with 199 yards rushing on 46 attempts. Davis finished with 93 yards on 22 carries to lead the way.

"This was the game you really needed him (Stephens)," Hendrix said. "I looked out there early in the game and six of our front seven (on defense) were freshmen."

For what it's worth, Furman also had one of its more successful games on the ground with 130 yards in what was one of its better efforts with the RPO. Hicks finished with 67 yards on 15 attempts and had the Paladins lone touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Evan DiMaggio led Furman's defense with a 14 tackles. The defense was further decimated when Luke Clark left with an injury. While his season isn't over, he is expected to miss Saturday's game against Western Carolina.

"It's been a tough year, but tough times don't last. Tough people do," Hendrix said. "We're just trying to hang in there and get better with our young guys. ... It is what is is and everybody deals with it."

Being without your top pass rusher is less than ideal when facing the Catamounts (3-3, 2-0), who are one of only two teams without a loss in SoCon play. Western quarterback Cole Gonzales is ninth in the country in total offense (282.8 yards per game). He has 1,528 yards passing and 169 rushing this year and road environments haven't exactly intimidated him. Gonzales had a season-high 340 yards passing in the Catamounts' 46-35 loss at Montana. He rushed for a season-high 75 yards in their 38-21 loss at N.C. State.

Gonzales is third in Western Carolina history with 44 career passing touchdowns. He's fourth in career passing (5,667 yards) and total offense (6,186).

"We've got a really, really good, really talented team coming in here. We're never going to out-talent either of these teams (Chattanooga or Western)," Hendrix said. "They've played a really tough schedule. That's why their record isn't as good, very similar to Chattanooga. ... We've got to get back to attacking on defense."

Furman enters crunch time portion of schedule

Furman freshman Jackson Pryor hangs on to the game-winning score
in the Paladins' 17-16 win at The Citadel. Photo courtesy of Furman

Ready or not, Furman has arrived at the "make or break" portion of its 2024 football schedule. When the Paladins host No. 23-ranked Chattanooga Saturday at 2 p.m. Saturday, there won't be as much on the line as the previous few meetings, but it will be a major chapter in how this season turns out for both teams.

After Chattanooga, Furman hosts a Western Carolina team still receiving votes in both FCS polls and then has a bye in the final week of October. Victories the next couple of weeks could very well catapult the Paladins back into the rankings heading into the final month of the season.

Polls are something Furman can't control though. What both teams would desperately like to finally control Saturday is the line of scrimmage. In a statement that's probably never been able to be made in the middle of October, Saturday is a matchup of two of the worst rushing offenses in the country. The Moccasins (2-3, 1-1 Southern Conference) rank 114th, averaging 91.2 rushing yards per game, while the Paladins (2-3, 1-0) are 119th at 81.6 per game. Chattanooga averages 2.7 yards per carry and Furman averages 2.5. Every other team in the SoCon averages more than 3.1.

Running game struggles are just the beginning of similarities for these teams. Each opened the season with extremely lopsided losses to semi-pro Southeastern Conference teams. Each one is coming off low-scoring road wins in league play last week. While Furman scored a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes to pull out a 17-16 win at The Citadel, the Mocs got a big 17-10 victory at East Tennessee State.

"I think the start to their season really affected them. I actually talked to (UTC coach) Rusty (Wright) after week one when they played Tennessee and we played Ole Miss and had similar results," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said at his weekly news conference Monday. "Then they turn around and play Georgia State (a 24-21 loss). Guess what? Georgia State beat Vanderbilt and we all know what Vanderbilt just did (a stunning win over No. 1 Alabama last Saturday). Then they play Mercer (a 10-3 loss) and they could've easily won that game.

"People try to compare scores, but you really can't. Every game is a little different and matchups are always a bit different."

In the history of Paladin Stadium, no visiting team has left with more wins than Chattanooga's eight. Furman has won three in a row in the series and six of the last eight meetings though. Last season in Chattanooga, Carson Jones came on in relief of an injured Tyler Huff and led the Paladins to a 17-14 win that clinched the SoCon championship.

The teams had a rematch at Paladin Stadium in round two of the FCS playoffs, which Furman won 26-7. While Huff returned for the Paladins that day, Mocs' starting quarterback Chase Artopoeus missed the game due to injury.

In the Mocs' last trip to Greenville in the regular season, then No. 24-ranked Furman defeated then No. 7 Chattanooga, 24-20, in 2022. That began a stretch of three out of four losses to end the season for the Mocs.

"They're the same team I thought they were before the season. ... They've got talent. They've got size and length, and do a good job of coaching," Hendrix said. "We will have to absolutely have our best week (of practice). I think they're the most complete team we will have played, outside of the opener.

"You look at those (SoCon) scores from last week. It was a bunch of close games and I think it's going to be like that every week. You've got to find ways to win close games." 

After further review

Furman found a way last week in the fourth quarter thanks to a dominant defense and an offense that went up tempo to finally spring to life. Freshman Trey Hedden threw both of those touchdowns in the final six minutes, including a six-yard pass to freshman tight end Jackson Pryor for the game-winner with 1:01 left. Furman finished with 28 yards rushing, marking its lowest rushing output in a victory in the last 50 years.

Prior to that pass, that struggling rush offense actually made it first-and-goal after three consecutive running plays beginning with an eight-yard keeper by Hedden. On the go-ahead score, the Paladins lined up in an I-formation and faked a toss to the left before Hedden rolled to his right. The expectation had to have been that the backup tight end (Pryor) might be wide open in the end zone, but he wasn't. Unfazed by that, the freshman still made the throw and Pryor made a great catch and held on while he was folded up like an accordion.

"Trey made some big plays down the stretch. He's a confident guy and is getting better and better," Hendrix said. "I couldn't really see (the game-winning score) on the sideline. Until seeing the tape, I didn't realize how good of a throw and how good a catch it was. True freshman to true freshman. That was the second game Jackson's ever played in and he just continues to show up."

A welcome distraction

Pryor is a native of Boone, N.C. and his home was actually safe enough to return to two weeks ago when Hurricane Helene's aftermath led to Furman's home game against Samford being called off. 

Most of the Paladins were able to make it back home that weekend. One who couldn't though was starting left tackle Eli Brashier, who's from Black Mountain just outside of Asheville. An emotional win Saturday capped off an emotional week for him.

"It's honestly been a gift having football here and being a distraction from what's going on at home," Brashier said Monday. "Being able to have my mind somewhere else has helped so much. Just having a goal and focusing on that has helped."

Fill the Din Bin

Furman, along with Ingles and Harvest Hope, is looking to support those impacted by Hurricane Helene by having the community fill the "Din Bin" prior to Saturday's game. Fans are asked to help fill the Smith Dray Moving Paladin Football equipment truck, which will be located at the Ingles Fan Zone at Paladin Stadium beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday. Donations will be accepted until Saturday's kickoff at 2 p.m.

Needed items included travel size toothpaste, toothbrushes, paper towels, beef jerky, buckets, peanut butter, deodorant, rags, canned vegetables, canned meat, dry beans, fruit pouches, pasta, rice, bar soap, gloves, baby food, tampons/pads, bleach, diapers, flashlights, wipes, coolers, bottled water, socks and batteries.

Two late touchdowns power Paladins past Citadel

Furman's Luke Clark celebrates after a sack during the Paladins'
17-16 win at The Citadel Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

CHARLESTON - Much like real life the past week, Furman's offense spent much of Saturday afternoon in the dark. But when the lights finally came on, the Paladins shined bright like a diamond (F). Freshman quarterback Trey Hedden threw a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes as Furman rallied from a 16-3 deficit for a 17-16 win over rival The Citadel at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

After putting up 93 yards of total on offense on 30 plays over the first three quarters, Furman upped the tempo and had 181 yards on 27 plays in the fourth quarter. While the Paladins' defense kept them in the game for much of Saturday, it was especially outstanding in the fourth as Citadel was held to nine yards on 13 plays.

"You talk about a frustrating first half. ... Credit our kids for hanging in there and executing. ... Credit our coaches for the adjustments that were made. The way they were playing, we felt like we needed to go to some tempo on offense," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "It's always fun to win down here, but it's always fun to win period. Hopefully, this is kind of that big step we've needed to continue to grow up.

"It was a challenging week and we had some inconveniences, but nothing compared to what people are going through. Our thoughts and prayers are still with all of them. ... I'm just really proud of our kids."

Furman (2-3, 1-0 Southern Conference) trailed 13-0 late in the third quarter when its offense finally showed a pulse. The Paladins had just 36 yards of total offense and two first downs when they began a possession at their own 25-yard line with 5:30 left in the third. Furman's first trip to the red zone ended on a 26-yard field goal by Ian Williams to cut the lead to 13-3 with 52 seconds left in the quarter. Seeing as how it was still a two-score game, there may have been a thought of going for it on fourth-and-four.

Furman's defense made sure the field goal was the right decision. It forced a three-and-out on the Bulldogs' ensuing possession when Evan DiMaggio stuffed Citadel running back Garrison Johnson for no gain on third-and-one.

Citadel's next possession resulted in another three-and-out, but the punt was muffed by Colton Hinton and the Bulldogs recovered at the Furman 31. The Paladins' defense answered the bell again as Citadel had to settle for Ben Barnes' third field goal of the day. His 44-yard kick extended the lead to 16-3 with 8:27 left to play.

Hedden's first three passes of Furman's ensuing possession moved the ball from the Paladins' 22 to the Bulldogs' 24. The third of those was a perfect throw down the right sideline to Devin Hester, who made a great over-the-shoulder catch for the 26-yard gain. On second-and-18, Hinton appeared to catch a 19-yard touchdown pass but it was wiped out by a questionable illegal man downfield penalty. Two plays later, Hedden found Ben Ferguson for a 10-yard touchdown with no flags on the play as Furman cut the lead to 16-10 with 5:39 left.

After yet another three-and-out forced by Furman's defense, a 65-yard punt by Citadel's James Platte led to the Paladins beginning possession at their own 12-yard line with four minutes left. It appeared Furman's comeback effort was all for naught when Hedden was hit as he threw and officials initially ruled it a fumble that the Bulldogs returned for a touchdown. Replay showed that Hedden's arm was moving forward before the ball was knocked loose and after a review, it was ruled an incompletion.

The game was delayed further after Citadel called timeout to argue that it should've been third down after the incompletion, even though it came on a first-down play. Officials inexplicably reviewed what down it should be for a few minutes before correctly leaving the upcoming play as a second down.

After that foolishness subsided, Hedden went back to work. He hit Hinton for gains of 14 and 12 yards sandwiched around a 24-yard throw to Ferguson. After Furman entered the red zone with two minutes remaining, its beleaguered running game was called on and Hedden made a great fake handoff before taking off for an eight-yard gain. Two plays later, Grant Robinson had a four-yard run on third-and-one. The Paladins lined up in the beautiful I-formation on the next play. After Hedden faked a toss to the left, he rolled right and found fellow true freshman Jackson Pryor for a six-yard touchdown with 1:01 left. Williams' extra point gave Furman the 17-16 lead.

"That's a play that we've been working on all week. Getting those reps in makes it easier to do in the game," said Pryor, who's a native of Boone, N.C. "It's been kind of a roller coaster of emotions, but my whole family's safe. They actually made the trip down here a couple of days earlier as they were fortunate to have power back home."

Williams' fourth touchback in as many kickoffs gave Citadel the ball at its own 25 with two timeouts remaining. On first down, Luke Clark's hurry forced an incompletion. On second down, Jeremiah Jackson's hurry forced a short pass that resulted in an off-balance catch and a three-yard loss. On third-and-13, Clark's hurry led to an easy interception by freshman cornerback Jaylen Moson to seal the win.

It was a well-deserved pick for Moson, who's had some tough luck with warranted - and unwarranted - pass interference penalties this season. Unfortunately for Moson, he was injured while being tackled on the play and his right arm was in a sling after the game.

"I landed on my shoulder and they think it's my collarbone," Moson said. "I'm hurting right now, but hopefully the results come back and I'm okay."

Furman somehow only trailed by 10 at the half after a truly horrific showing in the opening 30 minutes. On the Paladins' second offensive play, Hedden ran eight yards for a first down on an option keeper. Furman had one more first down the rest of the half.

Citadel (2-4, 0-3) jumped out to a 10-0 lead two possessions in. After Barnes kicked a 48-yard field goal to open the scoring, the Bulldogs' Dervon Pesnell turned a third-and-10 screen pass into a 48-yard touchdown. The touchdown drive was assisted by an offsides penalty on a fourth-and-one play from the Bulldogs' 37-yard line. With two seconds on the play clock, Xavier Stephens moved forward, didn't make contact and got back with the ball never being snapped. It was ruled that his movement caused a Citadel lineman to move though, extending the drive.

For the first half, the Bulldogs had 185 yards on 43 plays while the Paladins had 34 yards on 17 plays. Citadel, which is no longer a run-heavy, ball control offense, also had a 21:49 to 8:11 advantage in time of possession.

"We played hard in the first half. We just kept hurting ourselves," Hendrix said. "Effort without execution doesn't equate. You've got to have both. ... The last thing I told them at halftime was the best thing going for us is that it was 10 to nothing. ... When we don't hurt ourselves and play confident football, we've got a chance to play with anybody."

Coming out of the locker room for the second half, it didn't look like much had changed. Furman opened the third quarter with a pair of shotgun handoffs up the middle and an incompletion on third-and-eight. Citadel took its opening possession of the half 69 yards on 17 plays, shaving more than eight minutes off the clock before Barnes' 30-yard field goal pushed the lead to 13-0.

At that point, the Bulldogs had 239 yards on 60 plays. They had 18 yards on 15 plays the rest of the way.

DiMaggio had a game-high 12 tackles, while Clark had eight, including three tackles-for-loss and a sack. Clark was officially credited with Furman's only two hurries of the day even though he was in Citadel's offensive backfield all afternoon.

"Our defense held strong the whole second half. Holding them to a field goal after that muffed punt ... helped change the game completely as well," Hedden said. "We're down two scores and they just kept giving us (the offense) a chance.

"When you're a young football team that wins a game like this, it's like 'oh my gosh, we can do it.' I think that's really going to help us moving forward. We're going to be more confident when it's time to go win football games."

Hedden withstood being sacked five times to finish with 246 yards on 23-of-33 passing with no interceptions.

Furman returns to Paladin Stadium next Saturday to host Chattanooga at 2 p.m.

Paladins set to return to action at The Citadel

Furman tight end Brock Chappell runs against
William & Mary. Photo courtesy of Furman

After having its Southern Conference opener postponed - and more than likely cancelled - last Saturday, Furman will begin conference play this Saturday at rival The Citadel at 2 p.m. When I wrote about this season being eerily similar to 2018 a few weeks ago (http://www.furmansportsreport.com/2024/09/freshman-hedden-set-for-first-start-for.html), I had no idea how stronger that feeling would become.

There doesn't seem to be a clear path for the Paladins (1-3) to be able to reschedule last week's home game versus Samford, which was wiped out by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. That would make it Furman's third game - all at home - to be cancelled during Clay Hendrix's eight-year tenure as head coach. The threat of a hurricane cancelled Colgate's trip to Greenville in 2018, while the 2020 spring COVID season finale against Wofford was called off after the Terriers ended their season early due to a decimated roster.

"When Samford's team got here Friday, their hotel had no power and they were told it would be at least 24 hours without it. I get it. I wouldn't want for us to go to Birmingham with no power and nowhere to stay," Hendrix said. "And we didn't know what our campus was going to look like (last Saturday)."

Hendrix said by Friday afternoon, it was evident that Saturday was no longer an option. The possibility of playing around noon Sunday was explored, while still trying to find a place for Samford to stay. Hendrix said they even looked at eastern Atlanta with the thinking that the Bulldogs could arrive back in Greenville in a couple of hours Sunday morning.

"We just could never find them a place. We were hoping to get power back on campus Saturday night, but we didn't," Hendrix said. "After being told we'd likely get power back on Tuesday, we just decided to send our players home for a couple of days."

Hendrix said that outside of a couple of players from the Asheville area, most of the team was able to make it back home. The next task was finding a place for the coaching staff to work and Hendrix finally found one in downtown Greenville.

"The Westin (Poinsett) was great to us. They offered us a ballroom area, so we could at least have power and internet. We spent all day there Sunday and all morning Monday, thinking we'd have power (on campus) Tuesday," Hendrix said "Then we're told we may not have power until the end of the week, but they were going to try to have power in the dining hall and the PAC. I knew we could make that work to get our players fed and to be able to work and meet."

Hendrix said he thought that power situation would be manageable until Thursday, when the Paladins might go ahead and leave a day earlier for Charleston. After the players returned to campus Monday morning, they gathered in the team meeting room with the only light coming from the windows.

"I'm laying out the plan for the week and all of sudden, one side of the room lights up. Everybody was kind of quiet, just looking at each other," Hendrix said. "(Offensive coordinator) Justin Roper is in the back of the room and (special teams coordinator) Tommy Spangler is sitting on the other side of the room next to a light switch. (Roper) hollers at (Spangler), 'Coach, hit that light switch.' When he does, the other side lights up and the room erupted."

Many of the dorms also got power back that day. So outside of classes being cancelled and unusual dining hall hours, it wasn't as abnormal a week as Hendrix first expected.

"It was an interesting week," Hendrix said Thursday. "2024's been a challenge for the Furman Paladins, all the way back to January."

Another unusual moment took place as the team was preparing to leave for Charleston Friday morning. One of the bus drivers had a medical emergency, so the team ended up traveling in two buses rather than three.

In preparation this week, Hendrix said that Citadel's defensive approach is fairly similar to Samford's. A big plus this week was the fact that the offensive differences between Samford and Citadel are not nearly as night and day as they used to be.

Led by grad transfer quarterback Johnathan Bennett, the Bulldogs (2-3, 0-2) have more passing yards (955) than rushing yards (688) this season - and two more wins than they had in a winless 2023 season. Bennett, a Summerville native who previously played at Liberty, has completed 65-of-126 passes for 921 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He's rushed for 93 yards and two scores as well.

"I think the biggest difference for them this season is the quarterback. That's our sport," Hendrix said. "He just gives them some balance and has the ability to make throws. I don't think he's really a runner, but he has the ability to make plays with his feet. They kind of started this (offensive) evolution last year.

"They've got a lot of guys back from last year and they're playing better on defense. They're creating turnovers and been solid in the kicking game."

Furman is coming off a 34-24 loss at No. 12 William & Mary two weeks ago. While the Paladins had some big plays offensively, it didn't play very well overall. Yet they still had a chance for a road victory over a highly-ranked team.

While everyone was disappointed to not get to play last week, Hendrix said he was thankful to have a full week of practice each of the last two weeks. 

"We're that team that needs to practice. We need the reps. We had some curveballs this week, but we got everything in. ... We had a good week of prep. I think we've have a good week of prep every week and gotten better each week," Hendrix said. "The biggest thing holding us back is us. It's things we can fix. ... We've got to be better at the routine stuff. I think all the pieces are there.

"I think our league is wide open. I think there's some good teams that have played brutally tough schedules. ... I think it's who can play well down the stretch and who can stay healthy."