On Saturday, the Furman football team displayed impressive physicality and athleticism in their dominating 48-7 win against the Stetson Hatters. The standout performances of Furman’s redshirt freshmen — Trey Hedden, Gavin Hall and Billy Lewis — significantly contributed to the Paladins’ outstanding victory.
It was as if a new Furman team took the field on Saturday — gone were the frustrating turnovers and inability to get off the field on defense. The difference came in the Paladin offense’s new quarterback, freshman Trey Hedden. Offensive coordinator Justin Roper drew up a highly aggressive passing attack to spread out the Stetson secondary, allowing the gunslinging Hedden to pass for a career-high 267 yards and two touchdowns, averaging nearly 10 yards per pass.
In conjunction with Hedden’s career-best throwing game, the Paladin receiving corps, led by Joshua Harris, accounted for 339 receiving yards. Harris delivered a career-best performance, racking up 164 yards and two touchdowns — mirroring his quarterback’s breakout game and adding even more firepower to the offense. The Paladin rushing attack also performed at a high level. Multiple running backs contributed for 171 rushing yards, but true freshman Hall led the way with 72 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The Paladin defense proved too much for the Hatters, allowing only 244 yards of total offense. The Paladins created multiple takeaways by another new player in safety — Lewis. Redshirt senior linebacker Evan DiMaggio snagged another errant Stetson pass for his first interception of 2024 while adding six tackles.
The Furman Paladins will next face a crucial test in their final non-conference game on the road against the #13 William & Mary Tribe. The Tribe is coming off a road victory against Furman rival Wofford this past weekend.
For Furman to win this game, they must stop the run and force the Tribe to pass. The Tribe enjoys trickery in the rushing game, utilizing jet sweeps and read options to spread out the cornerbacks and power QB runs for third-and-short situations. A Furman victory will almost certainly come from the Paladin front seven, consisting of the defensive line and linebackers. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21 and will be on FloSports with an ESPN+ subscription. The Paladins will then return to Paladin Stadium on Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. versus rival Samford to kick off the SoCon slate.
