By MONTE DUTTON

I have warm memories of Jimmy Satterfield, who was not always a warm man.

He was folksy, humble and patient, but on game day, he turned cold.

Satterfield grew up hard, as most in his generation did.

It took a while to figure him out. And vice-versa.

He would not take no for an answer, and no in an action infuriated him.

Playing pickup basketball games infuriated most others playing.

Dick Sheridan and Satterfield didn’t share that much – they were complementary — but they both wanted to win in everything.

I had a conversation with Jimmy at a football game not long before he died. I’m sure it had been more than 20 years. We compared notes as best two people can when a heap of people want to talk to one of them.

Jim Hunter, deceased, told a story about how competititve, David Pearson, deceased, was. When Hunter was president of Darlington Raceway, Pearson, by then long retired, was a judge in the Miss Darlington Raceway pageant.

The problem was that Pearson tried to fix the pageant so that his choice would win. He didn’t know her. They had no connection. He wasn’t in it, but he still wanted his choice to win.

Jimmy was a little like that.

Satterfield was inducted posthumously into the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame on Thursday evening at Hotel Hartness in Greenville.

Satterfield, who died on May 6, 2019, was among five in the Class of 2023, composed of Clemson running back Terry Allen, Greenwood tight end Ben Coates, South Carolina running back Harold Green, running back Stump Mitchell of The Citadel, and Satterfield, who was head coach when the Paladins won the Division I-AA (now FCS) title in 1988.

Satterfield’s son, Shaun, accepted his late father’s hall of fame plaque in front of approximately 300 guests.

A Lancaster native, Satterfield spent 21 years as a member of Furman’s coaching staff, serving as an assistant for 13 seasons (1973-85) and head coach for eight years (1986-93).  During his Furman tenure he played a key role in the program’s unparalleled success that included 16 winning seasons, nine Southern Conference Championships, and a national championship, the first by a SoCon school.  His 66-29-3 head coaching record ranks second in program history in winning percentage (.689).

He joined head coach Art Baker’s Furman staff as offensive backs coach in 1973 following a nine-year tenure at Eau Claire High School, where he was an assistant and head coach, and two seasons as head coach at Irmo .

In 1978 he was named offensive coordinator under first-year Furman head coach Dick Sheridan and played a key role in the Paladins going 8-3 and winning the school’s first SoCon football title

Fueled by high powered offenses under Satterfield’s direction, Furman proceeded to claim five more league championships over the next seven seasons and reel off four consecutive wins over NCAA I-A (FBS) foes South Carolina (1982), Georgia Tech (1983), and N.C. State (1984 & ‘85), in addition to advancing to the 1985 national championship game as part of a 12-2 season.

In 1986 he took over the head coaching reins and directed Furman to new heights, including SoCon titles in 1988, ‘89, and ‘90. The 1988 squad posted a then-school record 13 wins (13-2) en route to a national championship, capped by a 17-12 victory over Georgia Southern in Pocatello, Idaho, after which he was recognized as AFCA National Coach of the Year.

Following his Furman tenure, Satterfield served as head coach at Lexington (S.C.) High School, 1996-03.

His combined head coaching record spanning 21 seasons at the high school and collegiate level was 189-63-8.

The induction into the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame follows earlier enshrinement in both Furman and South Carolina athletic halls of fame.

Senior Sierra Tufts tossed a one-hit shutout to power Furman to a 1-0 victory over Wofford in the opening game of a three-game Southern Conference series and first-ever meeting between the schools on the softball diamond Friday at Pepsi Stadium.

The Chula Vista, Calif., native fanned a career-best 10 batters and faced just one batter shy of the minimum to improve her record to 9-8 in the circle.

After allowing a leadoff single in the top of the third inning, Tufts retired the final 15 batters she faced and did not allow a walk over seven innings. The one-hitter marked the third of her career and her seventh career complete-game shutout.

The Paladins (20-25, 5-8 SoCon) scratched across the lone run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kiley Perry lined a leadoff single through the right side for Furman’s first hit and moved to second base on Hannah Poole’s sacrifice bunt. Wofford’s Abby Greenwood fanned Kaitlyn Laudick for the second out of the inning, but Alex Rose Molinar followed by dumping a soft liner down the right field line to score Perry.

In the top of the sixth, Tufts got some help from her defense as centerfielder Ashlee Lykins made a diving grab to erase Olivia Lenzen to start the frame. The righthander got the next two batters on a ground out and line out before setting the Terriers (16-19, 6-7 SoCon) down in order in the seventh inning to secure the victory.

Greenwood (6-12) suffered the loss for Wofford despite giving up just one run on three hits over six innings. She retired 12 of the first 13 batters she faced before Perry’s single to open the bottom of the fifth.

The Paladins and Terriers play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.

With the score tied at 3-all, junior Marissa Pennings overcame a 5-4 third-set deficit to defeat Margaret Jaraczewski, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), at No. 5 singles to lead Furman to a 4-3 victory over Samford on Friday in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Furman (12-12, 6-1 SoCon) advances to the finals of the league championships for the seventh consecutive time.

The Paladins take on No. 1 seed East Tennessee State Saturday at 1 p.m. with the winner earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The Paladins and Bucs are meeting in the title match for the seventh straight tournament. Furman has won five.

Men’s tennis season came to an end Friday with a 4-2 defeat to No. 2 seed Samford in the semifinals at Champions Club in Chattanooga.

Furman closes out with a 13-12 overall record. Samford improves to 15-7 and advances to Saturday’s championship match versus top-seeded East Tennessee State.
The Paladins struck first by clinching the opening point with wins in both completed doubles matches. Ben Cahill and Emil Westling, playing at the No. 2 spot, got things started by winning their 10^th match of the season with a 6-4 triumph over Santiago Arredondo and J.B. Pickard. Cole Burnam and Connor Laymon finished the year undefeated, winning their fourth straight match and securing the point for Furman with a 6-3 victory against Will Gray and Darcy Nicholls.

Elijah Poritzky gave Furman a 2-0 advantage at No. 1 when the first team All-SoCon selection topped Giddens in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, for his ninth win overall and fourth straight to end the season.
The Bulldogs answered by winning four consecutive matches.

Furman won its quarterfinal, 4-2, over Wofford.

The Paladins won both completed doubles matches to claim the opening point and take a 1-0 lead over the Terriers (7-12). Cole Burnam and Connor Laymon began things with a 6-1 triumph in the No. 3 match over Will Fullett and Ian Rasheed. The duo of Ben Cahill and Emil Westling, playing at No. 2, followed by outlasting Alex Horn and Ashe Ray, 6-3.
Wofford rallied back in singles play with victories at Nos. 3 and 5. Laymon, playing in the No. 6 match, held off Horn in three sets, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2, to secure the win for the Paladins.

Men’s golf competes in the Southern Conference Championship Sunday through Tuesday at The Oconee Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga.

The Rees Jones-designed course, which is serving as the site of the championship for the fourth straight year, plays at par-72, 7,174 yards.

The Paladin lineup includes senior Walker Crosby, sophomore Harris Barth, junior Will Morlan, junior Trey Diehl, and senior Ross Funderburke.  Sophomore Clark Akers will travel as an alternate.

Led by Dylan Schubert’s third-place finish in the 5,000 meters, multiple Furman runners posted NCAA East Preliminaries qualifying times Friday at the Wake Forest Invitational at Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Senior Carson Williams recorded an Olympic qualifying time as an unattached athlete in the 3,000 Steeplechase at the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, Va.

Also on the women’s side, senior Megan Marvin recorded a season-best time of 4:18.13 in the 1,500.  She placed 28th while notching the 45th-best time in the region.

Williams posted a personal-best time of 8:29.05 in the Steeplechase at Virginia, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which will be held June 21-30 in Eugene, Ore.

Select members of the Furman team will compete at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, Calif., on April 26.

Volleyball head coach Michelle Young announced the addition of six newcomers who will be joining the Paladins for the upcoming season.
They consist of Rebekah Buchholz, Hayley Dionis, Tennyson Gorman, Quinn Morrissey, Ashley Stein, and Campbell Woods. The six student-athletes hail from the states of Connecticut, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Buchholz is a 6-1 middle blocker from Lancaster, Ky. Dionis is a 5-4 libero/defensive specialist from Greenwich, Conn., Gorman is a 6-3 middle blocker from Franklin, Tenn. Morrissey is a 5-11 setter from Tampa, Florida, Stein is a 6-1 outside hitter from Easley, and Woods is a 6-2 opposite from Glen Allen, Va.

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