HOMEWOOD, Ala. – Clay Hendrix knows how to win, and he knows how to rebuild. He knows Furman University like a founding father.

Been there. Done that. Whether as a player or an assistant coach or head coach, Hendrix knows anything can happen. Coach long enough, and it will.

Recently, Hendrix has determined that his still-young Paladins have as good a shot as anyone to win the Southern Conference. Saturday’s 31-13 victory provided evidence to support that view.

Maybe, just maybe, Furman’s overtime loss to Presbyterian on Sept. 6 was a good thing. As miraculous and shocking as it was, it may have been the shock to the system the Paladins needed.

Neither Furman (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) nor Mercer (3-1,3-0) has lost since falling to the Blue Hose, who are ranked 23^rd and 24th in the  two major FCS polls.

Mercer, Furman and Western Carolina (2-3, 1-0) are unbeaten in conference play. The Citadel (2-3, 2-1) is next.

Furman’s defense forced three turnovers and registered seven sacks en route to a 31-13 victory over Samford (0-5, 0-3) on Saturday afternoon at Pete Hanna Stadium.
Furman’s fourth straight win in Homewood, a Birmingham suburb, was an example of what Hendrix has seen on the practice field.

Leading 14-7 late in the second quarter, Furman’s defense and special teams came up with game-changing plays.

Raleigh Herbert swatted a Quincy Crittendon pass up in the air, intercepted the ball and raced 47 yards for the pick-six to put the Paladins in front 21-7 with 48 seconds left in the half. Samford marched to the Paladins’ 18-yard line, but Joshua Stoneking pushed through the middle to block Ty Ippolito’s 36-yard field-goal attempt as time expired to preserve a two-touchdown halftime lead. 

 The Paladin defense stuffed Crittendon on a quarterback keeper on fourth-and-two at midfield on the opening drive of the third quarter, and Furman signal caller Trey Hedden directed a 5-play, 50-yard drive that ended with his four-yard touchdown toss to Ja’Keith Hamilton to extend the Paladin lead to 28-7.

 Furman stopped Samford on seven of its eight drives in the second half, including a pair of turnovers and two fourth-down stops to secure the victory. Stoneking finished with two of the Paladins’ seven sacks while Demetrius Baldwin and Garrison Butlerjoined Herbert in creating turnovers with a forced fumble and interception, respectively.
The Paladins’ seven quarterback takedowns gave them 16 sacks in the last two games versus Samford.

 Hedden completed 28/1 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Paladins to 377 yards of total offense. Freshman wide receiver Evan James caught seven passes for 88 yards and opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run. Kerry King added eight catches for 81 yards. Luke McLaughlin paced the Furman defense with 11 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

Crittendon led the Samford offense by hitting 28/42 passes for 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Paladins return home to Paladin Stadium on Saturday to host ETSU for Family Weekend. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and tickets are available at FurmanPaladins.com.

Take a look at the stats here.

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