In a low-scoring battle, big plays ruled the day as Furman (4-5) beat SoCon foe Georgia Southern (4-4) 16-14 on Saturday. Furman jumped ahead on the first play from scrimmage when Tanner Skogen completed a 75-yard pass to Andrej Suttles for a touchdown. It was Skogen’s only pass of the game, and it was six more passing yards than Georgia Southern had the entire game (69). The point after touchdown was blocked, putting the Paladins up by six.
Georgia Southern responded immediately with a 14-play drive that ended with a rushing touchdown from Eagles’ running back Nardo Govan. The score put Georgia Southern up 7-6, but it was their only lead of the game as Furman continued to pile up big plays. A fumble by Eagle’s back Cam Lewis was recovered by the Paladins and ended another of Georgia Southern’s long drives. The fumble recovery shifted momentum to the Paladins, which was punctuated by a 54-yard touchdown pass from Reese Hannon to give the Paladins the lead going into halftime.
Georgia Southern surged back following the halftime break. The Eagles began the third quarter with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown by Irving Huggins. The surge wasn’t enough, however, as Furman managed to kick an early fourth quarter field goal that put the Paladins up for good. Georgia Southern missed a fourth quarter field goal of their own, and a fumble with less than two minutes to go sealed the victory for Furman.
Both teams managed to gain a nearly identical amount of yardage, with Georgia Southern gaining 352 yards and Furman just passing that with 354 yards. The main difference was in how the yards were gained. Georgia Southern only passed twice and rushed the ball 58 times. They dramatically outgained Furman on the ground, ripping up 283 rushing yards. Four different Eagle’s rushers had more than 40 yards on the ground. Furman, by comparison, had a much more balanced offensive attack with 225 passing yards and 129 rushing yards.
Furman running back Hank McCloud once again led all rushers with 102 yards on 17 carries. Sophomore QB Hannon finished 12 of 18 for 150 yards. The win gives Furman a 4-5 record and a 3-2 record against Southern Conference opponents. They next face the Samford Bulldogs at home for homecoming weekend.
