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Pittsburgh Rallies To Nip Furman, 41-38
Sept. 25, 2004
PITTSBURGH, PA. -- Josh Cummings' 37-yard field goal in the first overtime period lifted the Pittsburgh Panthers to a 41-38 win over NCAA I-AA second-ranked Furman Saturday at Heinz Field.
Cummings' game winning boot came after Furman's Josh Beckler missed a 37-yard field goal on the Paladins' overtime possession.
The Panthers' overtime heroics spoiled the upset bid by Furman (3-1), which scored 24 unanswered points to build a 31-14 third quarter advantage. The Paladins led 38-24 with 10 minutes to go in the regulation, but Pittsburgh (2-1) rallied for a pair of late fourth quarter touchdowns to tie the game and force overtime.
"We gave it our best, shot every bullet we had," said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. "They just made one more play than we did, and a lot of times that's how games are decided."
Furman lost the services of three playmakers only five plays into the contest. On the game's first possession, the Paladins' superb starting safeties, Cam Newton and Shelton Riley, both suffered ankle sprains and never returned. On the Paladins' first possession of the contest, senior wide receiver Brian Bratton crashed hard into an end zone retaining wall following a 17-yard touchdown catch. He returned to action in the second half, but midway through the third quarter, Paladin All-Southern Conference and league preseason defensive player-of-the-year Mike Killian sustained a fractured fibia, which will sideline him for four to six weeks.
Still, with the game tied at 38-38 in regulation and with Pittsburgh in possession of the ball, Furman narrowly missed making a game deciding play when linebacker William Freeman sacked Panther quarterback Tyler Palko at the Panther 33. Palko, who fumbled on the play, was able to recover the ball with 51 seconds remaining, allowing Pitt to run out the clock and force overtime.
Pittsburgh outgained Furman 479-423, but the Paladins averaged an impressive 6.6 yards per snap against the Panthers, who entered the game having yielded an average of only 13.5 points and 277.5 yards per game in 24-3 win over Ohio and a 24-17 loss to Nebraska.
Paladin quarterback Ingle Martin paced Furman's offensive attack, completing 13-of-25 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns. Daric Carter led all Furman rushers with 83 yards on 17 carries, and the junior from Fuquay-Varina, N.C., added a 42-yard touchdown catch from Martin. Isaac West caught seven passes for 127 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown reception, and also threw a 43-yard scoring strike to Brian Bratton, who finished the contest with two TD receptions.
Defensively, the Paladins got a game high 15 tackles from Freeman, who also racked up three tackles-for-loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble. Cedrick Freeman added 11 tackles and a sack, and Killian collected 10 tackles prior to his game ending injury.
For the second consecutive week, Furman's special teams set up the game's first score. A high snap over Pittsburgh punter Adam Grassle's head was downed at the Panther 19. Two plays later Ingle Martin connected with Brian Bratton in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown touchdown pass at the 12:35 mark for a 7-0 Furman lead.
Pittsburgh answered with a 10-play, 86-yard drive that ended when Panther quarterback Tyler Palko tossed a 30-yard scoring strike to Joe Delsardo with 6:54 to go to knot the game at 7-7.
After an exchange of possessions, Pittsburgh linebacker Malcolm Postell stepped in front of a Martin pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown to put the Panthers ahead 14-7 with just under two minutes to go in the first period.
Martin and the Paladins responded with an efficient, big-play second quarter, outscoring the Panthers 17-0 to take a 24-14 halftime lead.
The 6-foot-3 signal caller his second touchdown pass of the contest when he found a streaking Daric Carter down the right sideline for a 42-yard scoring strike to cap a 5-play, 80-yard drive two plays into the second quarter.
Furman's defense stepped up with an impressive goal line stand on Pittsburgh's ensuing possession. After the Paladins were flagged for defensive holding, giving Pittsburgh a first and goal at the 2, Furman surrendered only a yard on three straight Panther rushes. On third down Paladin safety Andrew Thacker stopped Kirkley just short of the goal line, and on fourth down Palko fumbled the handoff with Paladins in the backfield to end the scoring threat at the 9-yard line.
From there the Paladins needed slightly less than two minutes to again reach the end zone. A 10-yard pass from Martin to Isaac West gave Furman a first down at the 20. After a 5-yard run by Daric Carter to the 25 and an incomplete pass, Martin connected on an outside screen to West, who turned and outraced the Pittsburgh defense for a 75-yard touchdown pass and run to put Furman up 21-14 with 6:43 left in the first half.
Furman finished off its strong first half with a 14-play, 40-yard drive that resulted in 43-yard Scott Beckler field goal to make it 24-14 only 21 seconds prior to intermission.
Furman's offensive run continued in the third quarter, as the Paladins took the second half kickoff and, using a pair of personal foul penalties on Pittsburgh, fashioned a 13-play, 80-yard drive to stretch the advantage to 31-14 following a 1-yard scoring plunge by freshman fullback Jerome Felton at the 10:00 mark.
Pittsburgh answered with an 11-play, 50-yard drive that netted a 27-yard Josh Cummings field goal to cut the Paladin lead to 31-17 with 5:18 to go the third period.
The Panthers made it 31-24 on an 8-yard scoring toss from Palko to Steve Buches with 11:33 to go in the contest.
Furman came right back with another big offensive play. After a Cedrick Gipson run gave the Paladins a first down at the Pittsburgh 43, Isaac West took an option pitch from Martin and floated a 43-yard touchdown pass over the Panther defense to a wide open Brian Bratton to regain the 14-point advantage at the 10:47 juncture to stretch the Furman advantage to 38-24.
The Panthers, however, tallied touchdowns on their next two possessions - the first on a 1-yard run by Raymond Kirkley and the second on a 38-yard hookup from Plako to Buches - to tie the game at 38-38 with 3:44 to go.
The Paladins failed to pick up a first down on the ensuing possession. Forced to punt with 2:47 left, Furman's defense held and forced Pittsburgh to punt on their final drive in regulation.
In overtime a Martin pass on first down fell incomplete and Daric Carter was tackles for a four-yard loss on second down. On third down Martin connected with Brandon Mays for a 9-yard pass to the 20, where Beckler's 37-yard field goal missed to right of the upright.
Pittsburgh's possession netted six yards to the 19, where Cummings booted the game winner.
Furman returns to action next Saturday when it returns home for the first time since its season opener to face Western Carolina in the Paladins' Southern Conference season opener. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
