CHARLESTON – Furman freshman quarterback Trey Hedden portrayed Thomas Edison in the Paladins’ miraculous 17-16 victory over The Citadel on Saturday.

A light came on, and Hedden wasn’t the only Paladin equipped with a bulb.

Hedden, from Tampa, Fla., found Jackson Pryor — yes, freshman of Boone, N.C. — in the end zone from six yards out with 1:01 remaining, and Ian Williams’ extra point provided the margin of victory after Furman trailed 16-3 with 8:27 to play.

Then Jaylen Moson, freshman of Acworth, Ga., iced the Bulldogs by intercepting The Citadel’s Johnathan Bennett with 30 seconds left.

“I’m sort of proud of what this group did,” said Furman head coach Clay Hendrix.

You reckon?

”We’re still a work in progress,” Hendrix said to David Cobb on radio, “but, man, I am just proud of our kids.”

It was probably the greatest game in the Southern Conference’s most oft-played rivalry since the Paladins won, 17-13, in 1978 at Sirrine Stadium, and the occurrences cited above were among many necessary to bring Furman (2-3, 1-0 SoCon) back from the clutches of defeat.

On can only imagine the gnashing of teeth by the feisty faithful of The Citadel.

Hindsight will not distinguish The Citadel’s ill-fated decision to fake a field goal in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs almost put it away on Furman’s final drive when Hedden’s incompletion, initially thought to be a fumble and scoop-and-score by The Citadel, was overturned after a lengthy review. It was close.

Hedden completed 23/33 passes for 246 yards and two TDs. He got up from five sacks, which contributed to the Paladins’ rather embarrassing rushing total of 24 carries for 26 net yards.

Nine different Paladins reaped the benefits of Hedden’s aerials, led by Colton Hinton with six catches, Ben Ferguson with five and Brock Chappell with three.

Bennett led the Dogs in both rushing and passing, rushing for 67 yards and completing 11/23 for 103.

The Citadel (2-4, 0-2) opened the scoring with a 48-yard field goal by Ben Barnes with 8:39 remaining in the first quarter. The Paladins punted it away after one first down on their opening possession.

The Citadel struck again on third-and-long, busting a screen play for 48 yards, Bennett to Dervon Pesnell for a 10-0 lead after Barnes’ placement.

There it stood after a quarter, with the Bulldogs, in their robin’s-egg blue jerseys dominating on both sides of the ball, outgaining the Paladins, 122 yards to 36.

The Citadel continued to cultivate a knack for producing first downs in long-yardage situations, picking the Paladins’ defensive pockets. A defensive hold assessed Tre McLeod gave the Bulldogs a fourth-down conversion, but El Cid’s failure on a fake field goal prevented extension of the lead.

For the first time in the game from Furman’s perspective, something went right.

However, the offense remained listless, and Maurice Bonneau Jr. sacked Hedden on third down, and Williams’ 45-yard punt nonetheless gave The Citadel good field position at its own 45.

The Furman malaise continued, and even when the Bulldogs finally punted, it was fittingly of the pooch (Get it? Dogs? Pooch?) variety.

Furman averaged two yards per play in the first half, complete with two first downs. The Citadel’s 10-0 edge could easily have been greater. L’s were wild for the Paladins. Listless. Lackadaisical. Languid. Lethargic. Limp. Lackluster.

The defense was better. How could it not be?

The latter half began with another three-and-out.

Then everything changed, and the rivals switched identities.

Given the sessile nature of the Paladin offense, The Citadel’s subsequent scoring drive – capped by Barnes’ 30-yard field goal with 5:30 remaining in the third period – seemed as safe as 13-0 could be. The Furman defense was as strong as the offense was weak.

“We played really good ball, especially in the second half,” said Luke Clark. “If we can start doing that consistently, and just not beating ourselves, we can be a really, really good team.”

Suddenly, Hedden and the offense came alive, though not enough to make it a one-score deficit. The Paladins settled for a 27-yard Williams field goal with 52 seconds on the third-quarter clock. Furman marched 67 yards in 12 plays. No previous drive had advanced the ball farther than 21.

Evan DiMaggio stuffed Garrison Johnson on third-and-one, forcing The Citadel to punt, but after briefly displaying a serviceable running game, the drive ended when Hedden twice threw incomplete and was sacked on third down and 10.

Furman (2-3, 1-0) forced another punt, but Colton Hinton fumbled it, and long odds became a fat chance. Barnes’ 44-yard field goal, his third, restored the Cadets’ lead to 13.

Hedden hit Devin Hester Jr. down the right sideline for 26 yards to the Citadel 24, and three plays later Hinton pulled in 13-yarder at the 11. After a Hedden sack, another pass to Hinton for an apparent touchdown was nullified by penalty. Undaunted, Hedden hit Ferguson for the long-awaited touchdown that brought Furman within six, 16-10, with 5:39 remaining.

The victory, the fourth straight for Furman against The Citadel (2-4, 0-3 SoCon), followed the postponement of the Paladins’ scheduled league season opener against Samford due to Hurricane Helene.

In the fourth quarter, the Paladins amassed 187 yards and 10 first downs. The Bulldogs had nine and zero.

Take a look at the stats here.

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