Paladins Fall Short at Wofford 31-13.

The Furman Paladins travelled up I-85 to take on their archrival, the Wofford Terriers, on Saturday, Oct. 18.

Photo courtesy of Furman athletics.

Elena Davidson, Sports Editor

October 24, 2025

The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry was renewed for the 99th time last Saturday, Oct. 18, when Furman visited Spartanburg, S.C. — the home of the Wofford Terriers.

The Terriers bested Furman 31-13, due in part to Wofford capitalizing on Furman’s offensive mistakes. Wofford’s defense tallied five sacks and intercepted Furman’s sophomore quarterback Trey Hedden three times.

In the first quarter, the Terriers struck first as sophomore quarterback JT Fayard threw for a touchdown, putting Wofford up 7-0.

With 10:47 left in the second quarter, Furman responded. Hedden hit sophomore wide receiver Devin Hester Jr. for a touchdown. The Dins then elected to go for two but were unable to convert. Wofford led 7-6.

The next Wofford score came after Hedden threw an interception. Fayard threw his second touchdown of the game to extend the Terrier lead to 14-6.

Then, with 42 seconds left in the half, Wofford’s junior running back Ihson Jackson-Anderson rushed the ball one yard for another Terrier touchdown. Wofford was up 21-6 as the game’s first half came to a close.

In the third quarter, the Dins seemed to spark back to life. Redshirt sophomore AK Burrell stepped in front of a pass from Fayard. On the ensuing possession, Furman sophomore running back Gavin Hall ran into the endzone with 5:10 left on the clock, leaving the Dins trailing 21-13.

In the fourth quarter, Furman’s offense began to make costly mistakes. At 12:06 left in the quarter, Wofford’s sophomore linebacker Javario Tinch picked off Hedden and took the ball to the endzone for a 66-yard score, extending Wofford’s lead 28-13.

Then, Wofford sophomore kicker Sam Spence booted a 42-yard field goal — the final dagger for Furman as the Terriers won 31-13.

In the game, Hester led all receivers with 82 yards on six receptions. Hedden threw for 257 yards.

Furman was without three wide receivers due to injuries: freshman Evan James, redshirt sophomore Ja’Keith Hamilton and redshirt junior Ethan Harris.

Next Saturday, Oct. 25, Furman will host The Citadel at 2 p.m. for the Homecoming game.

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About the Contributor

Elena Davidson, Sports Editor

Elena is a sophomore Communications major and Visual Strategy minor. She’s the Vice President of Public Relations for Furman’s Panhellenic Council and is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha. Elena also works for Furman Athletics in the Sports Information Department. When she’s not stressing in the Paladin Stadium press box or editing sports articles, she’s probably rewatching Supernatural, crying over sad basketball TikTok edits, or trying to forget she thought she was naturally blonde until she was 12.