CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Football, at its best, is a battle of wills. It is a fascinating test of valor against adversity and unforeseen circumstance.

Furman misplaced a pair of 6’s it could rely upon at the deal. Captains, those two, quarterback Tyler Huff and free safety Hugh Ryan, in dependable white jerseys with the same purple numbers, gone when the game had barely started, and yet the Paladins defeated Chattanooga, 17-14, to put the Southern Conference championship in their grasp on Saturday at Finley Stadium.

“This is 38 years for me,” said head coach Clay Hendrix on post-game radio. “That’s as gutsy a performance as any I’ve seen. We were dead in the water a bunch of times over.

“I told them at halftime, hey, win the second half, we win the game. … I couldn’t be prouder of the guys just hanging in there. They never quit. They kept believing.”

Redshirt freshman Carson Jones, highly regarded but untested. who entered the game with one touchdown pass, connected with Wayne Anderson Jr. on fourth down with 44 seconds remaining in a moment as memorable as a fireworks display.

A pair of 6’s or not, the odds didn’t faze the Paladins.

Step right up. Jones could’ve been shooting ducks with a pellet gun at a county fair.

“Coach puts me in these situations in practice,” Jones said afterward. “We go through two-minute drives like that right there. We make big plays in practice. It takes opportunities to be successful.

“For the guys, the fifth-year guys who came back, they wanted this, they wanted this ring and they wanted this trophy. I didn’t want to let them down. I wanted to go in there and show what I could do, and man, our defense was special. I never had a doubt we were gonna come in and get the win today.”

What Jones didn’t know what that he was going to pen the script.

Defensive tackle Matt Sochovka told Furman Radio’s Marcus McMorris, “Are you kidding me? His first [real] game time, and [Jones] leads us to two game, two scoring drives? I have no words for this. Seven years is all worth it, you know what I mean?”

It was the seventh straight victory and the 12^th consecutive SoCon triumph for Furman (8-1, 6-0 SoCon), which nailed down the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA FCS playoffs, which must wait for two more regular-season games. The title becomes official with a victory in either, at home against Virginia Military next Saturday or at Wofford on Nov. 18.

John Wayne never dodged so many bullets.

The loss sends Chattanooga (7-3, 6-2) into its off week prior to its regular season finale versus Alabama (Nov. 18).
Yes. That Alabama. 

Trailing 14-10, Furman took over possession at midfield with 4:42 left in the fourth quarter following a Chattanooga punt. Jones, playing in place of injured starter Huff, led the Paladins on a nine-play, 50-yard march that culminated with a nine-yard catch and run by Anderson, who dove into the right corner of the end zone with 1:44 left to give the Paladins the lead. The Maryville, Tenn., product hit 6/9 passes on the drive, including a key 14-yard connection to tight end Mason Pline on a third-and-eight snap, to cover the 50 yards.

Furman’s defense limited Chattanooga to just 353 yards on 70 plays while sacking Artopoeus five times. The defense held Chattanooga to just 3/15 third-down conversion attempts and stopped the Mocs on 2/3 fourth-down conversion attempts.
 
With the Paladins trailing 7-3 and under a minute to go in the third quarter, Furman cornerback Travis Blackshear intercepted a flanker reverse pass by Javin Whatley in the end zone and returned the pick to the 46 to turn the momentum. Four plays later, Jones found Colton Hinton down the middle for a 27-yard touchdown pass to put the Paladins in front 10-7 with 14:08 to go.

Blackshear had undergone minor hand surgery a week earlier

Had things turned out differently after what happened two possessions later, Atopeoeus’s 70-yard touchdown pass might be as famous as Lookout Mountain in the area now. The quarterback, a UCLA transfer, was hit releasing a pass, which traveled less than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. It fluttered far off target, where the Mocs’ Jamoi Mayes picked it out of midair at full stride and curved unimpeded down the sideline. Chattanooga led, 14-10, with 8: 53 remaining.

Oh, the humanity.

In the game, Jones connected on 14/27 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.. Dominic Roberto rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on 15 caries. Hinton grabbed four receptions for 61 yards and a score.

Jeremiah Jackson got two of the Paladins’ five sacks. Bryce Stanfield had 1-1/2, and Luke Clark picked up one.

Furman returns home to celebrate Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day on Saturday versus the Keydets. Kickoff at Paladin Stadium is AT 1:30 p.m.

Take a look at the statistics here.

Reckon I can find 20 people who like this independent 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.