CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Tyler Huff!

One could almost hear the late Larry Munson yelling it from the remote mountains of Western Carolina.

With 53 seconds remaining, guarding a six-point lead, Huff dashed 53 yards to put away the Catamounts, 29-17, on Saturday in front of an E.J. Whitmire Stadium crowd of 10,736.

As head coach Clay Hendrix said later, “It sure was a pretty sight.”

Dominic Roberto, who rushed for 154 yards, said of Huff, “Kudos to him from those not athletic enough to ever know what it feels like.”

Furman (6-1, 4-0 SoCon) has miles yet to go, but the victory of the third-ranked team in all of the Football Championship Subdivision, according to the American Football Coaches Association, over Western Carolina (5-2, 3-1), ranked eighth by Stats Perform, a media poll, put the Paladins in control of winning the conference. They’ve still got East Tennessee State and Virginia Military left to play at Paladin Stadium, and Chattanooga and Wofford to face on the road.

“They’ re so consistent,” said Hendrix of his team. “They’re not relying on the crowd to make them play well. That helps you. You put 11 out there, they put theirs, and you’ve got to go execute.

“They’ve just been consistent. That doesn’t mean you play like you want on every play, but the effort’s always consistent. It’s toughness, and it’s execution.”

Huff, the second-year graduate transfer from Orange Park, Fla., Presbyterian College and quite possibly where dreams are made, completed 13/22 passes for 174 yards, rushed six times for 89.

Western Carolina entered the game averaging 531.8 yards a game. The Catamounts quarterback, Cole Gonzales, passed for 269 yards (21/35) but matched his scoring tosses up with his interceptions. Furman piled up 334 yards rushing, led by the bruising Roberto, who pummeled the Catamounts with 154 yards and a touchdown. In addition to Huff’s 86, Wayne Anderson Jr. added 85.

The Paladins totaled 508 yards of offense to the Catamounts’ 353. Furman went ahead early, 13-0, but WCU stayed within range until Huff put the Cats away and Hugh Ryan sealed their fate with an interception in the final 13 seconds.

With the victory, its fifth straight and 10th consecutive league triumph, Furman also won its seventh in the last eight clashes with Western Carolina. Huff is 18-3 with Huff as the starter, 15-1 versus FCS opposition, and 11-0 against the SoCon.

Roberto ran a career-best 31 times, and the Paladins exceeded 300 yards on the ground for the first time since piling up 426 against the Catamounts in a 47-40 triumph last season in Greenville.

The defense sacked Gonzales three times.

Linebacker Evan DiMaggio led the Paladins with 10 tackles and two of the three sacks, giving him four the last two games.

 Seven Paladins hauled in passes, led by tight end Mason Pline, a graduate transfer from Ferris State, who had four grabs for 88 yards.

 Pline’s 10-yard scoring catch from Huff helped give Furman an early 6-0 lead.

 The Paladins followed with touchdowns on their next two possessions  — on a 16-yard strike from Huff to freshman wide receiver Colton Hinton and a Roberto 9-yard burst four minutes into the second quarter — to go up 20-7.

 Western Carolina cut the lead to 20-14 with just over two minutes remaining in the half on Gonzales’ 17-yard connection with David Smith.

After failing to convert a 32-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter, Furman watched Western Carolina move to the Paladin 18, but on a second-and-nine play. Cally Chizik stepped in front of a Gonzales pass at the pylon for his third interception of the season, halting the threat.

A 39-yard Ian Williams field goal gave the Paladins a 23-14 advantage with 7:54 remaining.

 WCU countered with its lone score of the second half, a 43-yard Richard McCollum field goal with 5:13 left, but Furman’s offense put any Catamount comeback designs to rest on the ensuing possession, covering 79 yards in eight plays, capped by Huff’s keeper around right end on a third-and-nine play with WCU’s defense keying on Roberto.

Furman outperformed Western Carolina in first downs, return yards, time of possession, third- conversions and fourth-down conversions.

 The Paladins return to Paladin Stadium next Saturday to take on East Tennessee State on Homecoming at 2 p.m.

Check out the stats here.

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