By MONTE DUTTON
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The night has never shone more brightly at Paladin Stadium than on Thursday night.
The lights are brand-new.
Furman proved on Thursday night it can be good. The Paladins are not there yet. A 20-3, opening-night football victory over nearby Anderson was seldom in doubt but rife with missed opportunities.
The Furman defense limited the Trojans to a net of six rushing yards: 36 gained, 30 lost. Seventeen second-quarter points decided the game, but it was a modest output for 451 yards of offense. Furman had to settle four times for Nathan Chapman field-goal attempts, and the junior missed two of them.
What was most impressive was the tackling of the Paladins’ defense. Anderson (0-1) quarterback Wilson Edwards hit 19/31 passes, many of them, in the first half, tossed out to the sidelines. In most instances, Paladin defenders — particularly bandit Eli Lipscomb, linebacker Raleigh Herbert and cornerback Caleb Easterling — were there in a hurry and en masse.
The two head coaches, Furman’s Clay Hendrix and Anderson’s Bobby Lamb, played together in high school (Commerce, Ga.) and at Furman. They grew up on the same street. Lamb was Furman’s head coach for nine seasons (2002-10). Hendrix is in his 10th. They are among the purplest of purple bloods.
The game was scheduled because they wanted to play, and Furman needed a 12th game. Hendrix wanted a game to prepare the Paladins for a visit to Tennessee next week.
“Give Anderson a lot of credit,” Hendrix said. “There’s a lot we have to get better at. Our defense played well. We were solid up front.”
It goes without saying that rising to the challenge of Division II Anderson is a far cry from the SEC might in Knoxville.
Furman’s well-traveled quarterback, fifth-year senior Jake Garcia, completed 15/28 passes for 183 yards but impressed as much with his feet – nine carries, 51 yards – as his right arm. C.J. Nettles (10-99) and Ben Croasdale (11-67) led the rushers.
Edwards hit 19/31 for the Trojans, producing 154 yards. Kenneth Brown caught six of Edwards’ passes.
Hendrix said Furman has thus far avoided the injuries that plagued the last two seasons.
“I didn’t see a lot of missed tackles,” he said. “We came in healthy and came out healthy.”
Furman started eight fifth-year players, five seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and a freshman. It’s the way of the transfer-portal, NIL world. Six played previously at other colleges. Six is relatively modest for the age of revolving doors.
Take a look at the stats here.
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