Nov. 3, 2007
Final Stats
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jerome Felton ran for a career high 154 yards and four touchdowns to lift Furman to a 52-49 Southern Conference homecoming win over 14th-ranked Elon Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Felton, a senior fullback from Madisonville, Tenn., playing in the final home game of his career, scored on runs of 10, 7, and 1 yards before finishing off his performance with a career long 60-yard touchdown bolt to give the Paladins a 52-42 lead with 4:16 remaining in the contest.
Elon, behind freshman quarterback Scott Riddle's Southern Conference record 534-yard passing performance, made it 52-49 with a 14-yard touchdown strike from Riddle to Terrell Hudgins with 2:02 left in the game, but Furman's Ryan McKie recovered the onside kick, and the Paladins ran out the clock.
Riddle completed 38-of-52 passes and threw three touchdowns while also rushing for three scores. He was picked off three times and suffered four sacks. His 534 yards topped the previous SoCon career mark of 532 yards set by Chattanooga's Chris Sanders in a 40-35 loss to Furman in 1999.
"It was good to get the win and send these seniors out with a victory in their final home game," said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. "We made some plays in the first half and got up 24-7, but even then we knew it was far from over. Elon has a great offense, but we figured out a way to make just enough plays to win it."
"The disappointing thing is we got off to a bad start and turned the ball over three times," said Elon head coach Pete Lembo. "If you want win games in November, you've got to play your best football. If you turn it over, you won't win any games in this conference."
The victory was Furman's eighth straight over Elon and 10th in the 11-game series. The 101 combined points marked the highest scoring game in Paladin Stadium history, eclipsing the 96 points Furman and The Citadel tallied in 1994.
Felton's four touchdowns gave him 65 for his career and moved him into second place on the Southern Conference career scoring ledger with 402 points.
Terrell Hudgins tied a career high with 16 receptions for 207 yards and two scores.
Furman's William Middleton set up the game's first score with a 27-yard interception return to the Elon 14. Two plays later Felton scored on a 10-yard run to stake the Paladins to a 7-0 lead.
After both teams traded field goals, Felton capped a 9-play, 70-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to stretch Furman's lead to 17-7. Renaldo Gray wrapped up a strong first half with a 1-yard scoring plunge with 47 seconds to go in the half to give the Paladins a 24-7 advantage.
The Phoenix got back in the game with a pair of third quarter scores, including a Riddle 1-yard run and 5-yard scoring toss to Terrell Hudgins, to make it 24-21.
Furman, however, answered with the help of a 68-yard kickoff return by Mike Brown that set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Renaldo Gray to tight end Larry Hedden, and a 1-yard plunge by Felton with 2:22 remaining in the third quarter for a 38-21 advantage.
Elon clawed back and made it 45-42 following a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs by Riddle and a 44-yard scoring toss to Bo Williamson, but Furman got the game's decisive points from Felton, who took a handoff off left guard and outran the Phonenix defense for a 60-yard burst to stake the Paladins to a 52-42 lead with 4:16 to go.
Furman faces Georgia Southern next Saturday in Statesboro in a 3:30 p.m. game while Elon travels to Charleston to face The Citadel in a 1:00 p.m. contest.
