By MONTE DUTTON

Many quarterbacks throw the football for more yards than Furman’s Tyler Huff. Several ply their trade in the Southern Conference.

Not many run and pass as well, but the Paladins’ 38-14 victory over Mercer on Saturday in the Southern Conference opener for both teams demonstrated how Huff, a second-year graduate transfer from Orange Park, Fla., by way of Presbyterian College, transcends mere numbers at the helm of the Furman offense.

Huff connected on 20/24 passes for 168 yards. He and backup Carson Jones spread the love around to 10 different receivers, five of whom hauled in more than one. Joshua Harris caught five for 48 yards, Mason Pline 4-30 with a touchdown, Kyndel Dean 3-30 and Wayne Anderson Jr. 3-14, and Colton Hinton 2-17. Also etching their names into the stats were Bailor Hughes, Ben Ferguson, Myion Hicks, Kelton Gunn and Nick Cannon with a reception apiece.

The game’s leading rusher was Huff with 11 carries for a net of 82 yards. He was as much a rambling man as the late Waylon Jennings.

“I really wasn’t much of a runner athlete, honestly,” Huff said. “It’s kind of weird. Before my ACL surgery (at PC) two years ago, that kind of propelled me into becoming more athletic and run around.”

Jayquan Smith, a freshman from Braselton, Ga., rushed for 46 yards in just six carries, replete with a 20-yard touchdown. Dominic Roberto sat out most of the second half with a minor foot injury but had eight attempts for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Huff wasn’t alone. Furman (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) won first downs (24-15), rushing yards (222-144), passing yards (165-123), punts (42.2-37.8), punt returns (8.5-1.0), possession time (33:41-26:19), red-zone scores (6-6 to 1-2) and sacks (3-19 to 1-4).

Those were just the ones defined by tangible measures. The Paladins went through rough patches late in the second quarter and early in the third, but they led from Ian Williams’ 31-yard field goal 3 minutes, 23 seconds into the second quarter on. Furman didn’t have to settle for a field goal again.

Not that it was easy. The Paladins didn’t shake the Bears until late in the third quarter, when Myion Hicks’ one-yard plunge (and Ian Williams’ kick) hiked the lead to 24-0. The fourth quarter was a two-touchdown deluge that overwhelmed Mercer (2-2, 0-1), which entered the pleasant afternoon ranked 21^st in FCS.

Furman head coach Clay Hendrix said it was his team’s best performance to date, but he is not one to gloss over mistakes. The goal is getting better as the season progresses. So far, so good.

“I thought we certainly played a complete game,” he said. “It wasn’t a perfect game but a complete game.”

Furman’s most decorated offensive lineman, Jacob Johanning, settled back at right guard after missing the first three games due to injury. All of the linemen are cross-trained to play every position. Johanning, a senior from Simpsonville and St. Joseph Catholic, had figured to play center this season, but Wyatt Hughes moved over in his absence.

“Honestly, I’ll play anywhere,” Johanning said. “A lot of the decision was just not interrupting the rhythm of the offensive line. … I don’t think it’s necessarily smart to take a guy who has a lot of rust and hasn’t practiced in months and put him in that position where he’s got to do all that extra thinking (making blocking calls at center).

“I would’ve done it. I would’ve done it with a smile on my face.”

Alpharetta, Ga., senior defensive end Jack Barton deflected a Reice Griffith field-goal attempt. It was his first after blocking four a year ago.

“I’ll start with how much of a personal game Mercer is for the [defensive] line. We’ve all played Mercer and sometimes not the way we wanted to,” Barton said. “We wanted to make sure them boys felt us today. … It was personal for us.”

Mercer’s Carter Peevy completed 11/16 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. That score was a 26-yard touchdown to Ty James, who caught four passes for 83 yards on the day. Peevy, a 6-3 sophomore from Lawrenceville, Ga., rushed 13 times for 66 yards, the total reduced by 19 due to Furman sacks.

Braden Gilby, the Paladins’ senior linebacker from St. Petersburg, Fla., made six solo tackles and five assists.  Lance Wise posted three and nine for the Bears, who trail the all-time series against Furman, 12-8-2.

Furman is off next week before hosting The Citadel at 2 p.m. on Oct. 7.

Examine the statistical package here.

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