Nov. 6, 2004

Stats

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jerome Felton's 8-yard touchdown run with just over a minute left in the game lifted NCAA I-AA third-ranked Furman to a 29-22 Southern Conference victory over second-ranked Georgia Southern in front of a Homecoming sellout crowd of 17,145 fans at Paladin Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Felton, a freshman fullback from Madisonville, Tenn., rolled off left guard for his 8-yard scoring run with 1:05 remaining in the game to cap a 7-play, 80-yard drive and give Furman (7-2, 4-1 SoCon) a 27-22 lead. Isaac West then took a handoff around left for the two-point conversion and a 29-22 advantage.

Georgia Southern (8-2, 6-1 SoCon) moved to the Furman 24-yard line on the game's final possession before the Paladins' Cam Newton batted down a pass in the end zone as time expired. The loss snapped the Eagles' eight-game winning streak following a 48-28 season-opening setback to Georgia.

"My hat is off to our kids," said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. "I thought we showed tremendous resolve on both sides of the football and did about as good a job on them (Georgia Southern) as anybody has this season. We slowed `em down just enough and made some big plays when we had to have them."

"It was a hard hitting football game," said Georgia Southern head coach Mike Sewak. "At the end of the game we had called two plays to try and catch them in the same coverage, but it didn't work out. We had a lot penalties that we need to work on correcting."

Furman's game winning drive came after the Paladins, trailing 22-21 at the time, forced the Eagles to punt from the 50-yard line with 3:53 remaining in the game.

A pass interference call on Georgia Southern moved the ball to 34, and on the next play quarterback Ingle Martin connected with Felton on a 18-yard pass and run over the middle to the GSU 48. Tailback Brandon Mays then ripped off a 13-yard run to the 35. Two plays later, Martin connected with Brian Bratton on a 20-yard pass to the 15, where Mays ran for seven yards to the Eagle 8-yard line to set up Felton's game winning burst.

Georgia Southern, which entered the game averaging a nation leading 51.8 points and 495.6 yards per game, outgained Furman 412 to 360 and fashioned a 36:08 to 23:53 advantage in time of possession. The Eagles racked up 85 snaps to the Paladins' 62, but Furman's defense limited the Eagles to only 10 second half points and recorded a critical stop on a fourth-and-goal play at its own 2-yard line in the third period with GSU holding a 19-18 lead. The Paladin offense, meanwhile, scored 19 points and accumulated 231 total yards over the final two quarters against the SoCon's top rated defense, which entered the contest yielding only 240.9 yards per game.

Trailing 12-10 at intermission, Furman took the second half kickoff and quickly covered 92 yards in six plays to go ahead 16-12 on a 20-yard touchdown run by Daric Carter. After Georgia Southern was penalized for offsides on the extra point, the Paladins' turned to Felton for a two-point conversion plunge to make it 18-12 at the 13:08 mark of the third quarter.

Georgia Southern answered with an 8-play, 72-yard drive to retake the lead following a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Chaz Williams at the 9:53 juncture of the third period.

The Eagles extended their advantage to 22-18 with a 40-yard Jonathan Dudley field goal early in the fourth quarter.

The Paladins narrowed the lead to 22-21 with a Scott Beckler 30-yard field goal with 7:22 to go, and then turned to its defense to halt Georgia Southern at the 50-yard line on the Eagles' next possession to set up the deciding drive.

Furman was paced offensively by Felton's two touchdown runs and two-point conversion. Martin completed 13-of-29 passes for 172 yards, and freshman tailback Cedrick Gipson headed up the Paladin ground game with 87 yards on 11 carries. Paladin senior wide receiver Isaac West claimed seven receptions for 94 yards and, in the process, moved into a tie (with Bear Rinehart, 1999-02) as the school's all-time receptions leader with 126 catches.

Georgia Southern quarterback Chaz Williams paced the Eagle attack with three touchdown runs, and Jermaine Austin led all rushers with 114 yards on 25 carries.

Leading Furman's solid defensive effort was junior linebacker William Freeman with 14 tackles. Free safety Cam Newton, linebacker Gary Nelson, and defensive end Roy Ravenell added 14 stops each for the Paladins.

Furman returns to action next Saturday when it takes on Wofford in Spartanburg in a 1:00 p.m. game. The Paladins must win their final two games, including a Nov. 20 home contest versus Chattanooga, to claim a share of the 2004 Southern Conference title (with Georgia Southern).

Georgia Southern wraps up its regular season next Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. at Florida International.