As the old western theme asked, Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam? Paladin, Paladin, so … far … from … home.

And as Ringo Starr noted lyrically, You know it don’t come easy.

The Southern Conference championship won’t be wrapped up on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. when Furman (7-1, 5-0 SoCon) visits Chattanooga (7-2, 6-1), but the inside track runs through Finley Stadium.

Perhaps you’ve heard of “The Chattanooga Choo Choo.”

The Paladins are ranked second in both principal FBS polls. The Mocs are ranked 13^th by the AFCA (coaches) and 14^th by Stats Perform (media).

“I’m very excited,” said quarterback Tyler Huff. “I’ve never won anything in my life, high school (Ridgeview in Orange Park, Fla.) or my previous school (Presbyterian). We didn’t get it done last year. We slipped up. I was frustrated I couldn’t help done get it done more. This year we’ve got the opportunity, and you’re going to get it all from me. You’re going to get it all from the rest of the offense, as well. It’ll be a fun game, for sure. It’s a big test.”

Conditions have dictated that Furman play its most crucial football this fall on the road. The Paladins have already avenged their most recent conference loss with a 27-21 victory at Samford on Oct. 7 and put the title within their grasp with a 29-17 verdict at Western Carolina on Oct. 14.

The winner of Saturday’s game gets the SoCon’s automatic berth in the 24-team FCS playoffs, which get underway later this month.

In the simplest of terms, Saturday’s winner will earn the automatic berth and title of SoCon champion, but the question of whether the title will be outright for the winner or shared with others will be determined later.

“The difference last year (when Samford won the SoCon title) was we needed help,” head coach Clay Hendrix said. “We finished great and needed another team to give us some help, and no one could quite get it done. What’s difference is this is it for [Chattanooga]. It’s unusual. They’re playing their last conference game, and we’ve got got three left.”

Chattanooga, which has overcome a 41-27, season-opening road loss to North Alabama and 52-50 home setback to Western Carolina on Oct. 7, clipped VMI, 24-23, last week to position itself for a chance to hoard league marbles.  The Mocs will tee it up for a 10th consecutive week this Saturday, having only Alabama remaining on their regular-season schedule.

A win by Furman puts its hands on the trophy, and to keep other grimy ones off it would require a Paladin victory over either VMI (Nov. 11) or Wofford (Nov. 18), making Furman undefeated or the league’s lone one-loss league team.
If Chattanooga wins, the Mocs would have a path to the outright title if Furman loses to either VMI or Wofford, leaving UTC as the league’s only one-loss squad.  UTC would share the championship with Furman if the Paladins defeat both VMI and Wofford to also finish with one SoCon loss.
The possibility exists the championship could be shared by as many as four teams (Furman, Chattanooga, Western Carolina, and Mercer) with two league losses. Western Carolina and Mercer are already two down in league play.

Furman heads into Saturday’s showdown riding a six-game winning streak and 10-game run of success versus the SoCon, which includes seven consecutive road victories. The Paladins are 19-4 in their last 23 contests.
Three weeks ago Furman stared at a four-game gauntlet that loomed as a likely make-or-break stretch.  Road clashes against defending champion Samford, Western Carolina, and Chattanooga, spiced with last week’s home encounter East Tennessee, stood as an imposing barrier, but Hendrix’s Paladins have cleared three of the four hurdles, with only UTC remaining in the four-game stretch, in addition to VMI and Wofford.
UTC boasts a potent offense behind UCLA transfer quarterback Chase Artopheus, who has passed for 2,383 yards and 18 touchdowns. His success stems, in part, from an outstanding trio of wide receives — Jamoi Mayes (48 rec., 819 yds., 3 TDs), Javin Whatley (37 rec., 700 yds., 7 TDs), and Sam Phillips (47 rec., 478 yds., 4 TDs).  The Mocs can also move the ball effectively on the ground (148.4 ypg, 13 TDs), even after losing the talented Alliym Ford to a knee injury a couple of weeks ago.

Chattanooga has been known for its quality defenses, with this year being no exception.  The Mocs rank second in the SoCon — just ahead of Furman — in total defense (346.6 ypg) and are first in the league in sacks (27), with ends Ben Brewton and Jay Person ranking 1-2 in the league with seven and 5.5 takedowns, respectively.
A year ago Furman jump-started an impressive stretch drive to its season by beating Chattanooga —at the time the SoCon leader and ranked No. 7 — 24-20, in Greenville.

Quarterback Tyler Huff’s running ability (career-high 132 yards, TD), coupled with 203 passing yards and a touchdown, proved too much for the Mocs, as did an opportunistic defense that picked off a pair of passes and special teams play featuring a fourth-quarter blocked field goal by Jack Barton.

In a series that Furman leads 31-21, the Paladins have enjoyed success in Chattanooga, and in particular Finley Stadium, where the purple and white are 10-4 all-time, though UTC won the 2021 clash, 13-3.
While much of Furman’s success this season has been due to solid play on both sides of the ball, the Paladin defense has especially played a big role.  Coordinator Duane Vaughn’s troops, who top the SoCon in scoring defense (19.9 ppg) and rushing defense (100.8), have limited their last five foes to 66 points (13.2 ppg) and 294.4 yards per outing.  Opponents have been frustrated attempting to run against the Paladins, who have yielded just 2.95 yards per rush over the last 14 games and have been unable to bank totally on the aerial game in the face of a Paladin pass rush that has accounted for 17 sacks in the last three outings. Furman also leads the SoCon and ranks fourth in FCS with 12 interceptions.
Furman’s veteran defense, with impressive depth along its defensive front, is versatile and collaborative. Across the line, the Paladins are deep and fortified.

Xavier Stephens, the junior noseguard from Roanoke, Va., and a transfer from Lehigh, said, “In high school, I was selfish, but now I understand I’ve got about four plays in me where I can give my all, and the next guy’s got about four plays where he can give his all. The rotation makes it where we can be fresh the whole game. … Depth is a big part in how well our defensive line can play.

“The way we connect at all three levels – line, linebackers, DBs – there’s no hostility. I’ve never been a part of a team where there’s that tight of a connection. We’re all on the same page at all times. That’s helped us a lot this year.”

Senior spur Cally Chizikhas intercepted four passes during the current six-game winning streak. He also had a career-high 13 tackles in the road triumph over Samford.  It was Chizik’s batted pass on fourth down a year ago that locked up the Paladins’ win over Chattanooga in Greenville.
The Paladins hope two-time All-SoCon cornerback Travis Blackshear (11 career interceptions) can return to action on Saturday after missing the ETSU game following minor surgery, and the same for All-SoCon offensive tackle Pearson Toomey, who sat out last Saturday’s action.  Toomey’s presence, in particular, could be key to get Furman’s ground game into a needed higher gear versus UTC.  Two weeks ago Western Carolina had no real answer for Dominic Roberto, who rushed for 154 yards in Cullowheee.

Huff’s ability to make plays with his feet (487 yds., 5 TDs), evident in the 29-17 win over Western Carolina (6 rushes, 89 yds., 53-yard TD run) but hardly used against ETSU, looms large as a complement to Roberto and his own passing game, which has been effective this year (1,452 yds. 9 TDs).

Evaluating the uneven performance against ETSU didn’t leave much praise from Hendrix for the Paladins’ offense. He said, “I’m not sure we really had a guy on offense play well.

“We didn’t play well. We didn’t block well, didn’t win contested balls. You can go down the table. We didn’t do anything well. Hopefully that will be good for us going forward. It’s certainly something we’ve addressed at length with our guys.”

Furman’s second-year signal caller has effectively utilized his entire receiving corps, with seven players logging double-digit receptions, led by Joshua Harris (32 rec., 296 yds., 2 TDs) and first-year performer Colton Hinton (20 rec., 215 yds., TD).
One of the bigger reasons behind Furman’s success over the last two seasons (18-4) has been ball security and ability to take advantage of opponent mistakes.  The Paladins lead the FCS this year in turnover margin (+1.50) on the strength of 17 turnovers gained versus five lost.  Over the last 21 games Furman has followed up a FCS-best 43 opponent miscues by scoring 176 points on ensuing possessions.

“I think we’ll get their best effort,” said Hendrix of the Mocs, “and I think they’ll certainly get ours.”

“It doesn’t get more exciting than playing for a championship,” said Stephens. “A ring’s a ring, but I want to go undefeated in the SoCon. It’s just the next step, the next week, the next game.”

To quote Robert Earl Keen Jr., The road goes on forever. The party never ends.

Reckon I can find 20 people who like this site enough to chip in $20 to keep it going?

Support the advertisers, and help keep the site – the game stories, the blogs, the photos – alive by making a donation to DHK Sports, P.O. Box 768, Clinton, S.C. 29325 or making a small monthly donation via Patreon. The Laurens County site is here. The Furman site is here.

Another way I can derive some revenue is if you purchase my books at MonteDutton.net. They’re quite entertaining in spite of the fellow who wrote them. Two of my novels, Cowboys Come Home and Lightning in a Bottle, are available in audio versions. The latest, The Latter Days, is about baseball.

Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.

The next Fiesta Grande open mic is Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m.