Nov. 10, 2007

Final Stats

Statesboro, Ga. - Renaldo Gray passed for 232 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 49 yards, including a 9-yard scoring run late in the third quarter, to lift Furman to a 24-22 win over FCS 11th-ranked Georgia Southern in front of 23,373 fans at Paulson Stadium on Saturday.

Gray's game winning touchdown run capped a decisive third quarter for the Paladins, who scored twice in the period to erase a 15-10 halftime deficit and take a 24-15 lead.

Georgia Southern narrowed the lead to 24-22 on a 20-yard touchdown pass fron Jayson Foster to Dusty Reddick with 5:22 left in the game. Later, after Terrione Benefield recovered a Paladin fumble on fourth down at the Furman 49, the Eagles appeared set to claim the win by driving to the Paladin 16, but Jesse Hartley's game winning 33-yard field goal attempt missed wide right as time expired.

The win marked Furman's second straight triumph over the Eagles and third win in the last four meetings with Georgia Southern. The loss also dashed Georgia Southern's bid to claim at the least a share of the 2007 Southern Conference championship.

"I'm happy for our seniors," said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. "To win a game like this, on the road against the No. 11-ranked team, in a hostile environment, took quite an effort. I thought a big key was keeping Jayson Foster from breaking loose. He looked like Peyton Manning on a few plays, but we were most concerned with him running it, and we did a good job in that area. We also controlled the football and made some big drives in the second half."

Gray completed 22-of-34 passes for his 232 yards. He also rushed 13 times for 49 yards to finish with 281 yards total offense.

Furman outgained Georgia Southern 387-360. Sophomore tight end Larry Hedden caught a career high eight passes for 78 yards.

Trailing 15-10 at intermission, Furman took the opening kickoff of the second half and covered 80 yards in 13 plays for a 7-yard touchdown run by Jerome Felton to grab a 17-15 lead.

The Paladins built on that advantage on their next possession by moving 75 yards in 10 plays for a Gray's 9-yard touchdown run on an option keeper with 1:32 left in the third period. Scott Beckler's PAT gave the Paladins a 24-15 lead.

Furman forced a punt on Georgia Southern's opening possesion and drove 85 yards in 18 plays to the Eagle 5, where Scott Beckler converted a 22-yard field goal attempt to give the Paladins a 3-0 lead with 2:55 to go in the first quarter.

Furman forced a punt on Georgia Southern's next possession, but the Paladins failed to gain a yard on three plays from its own 18 and Jayson Foster returned a Trent Hawk 14 yards to the Furman 44. From there Foster connected on a 30-yard pass to Tim Camp to the Furman 15, and two plays later hit Raja Andrews on a 14-yard touchown strike to put the Eagles ahead 6-3. On the PAT Foster scopped up a bad snap, rolled to his right, and threw back left to Austin Watts, who broke the plane of the end zone to complete the two-point play and give GSU an 8-3 lead.

The Eagles tallied again on their next possession, covering 81 yards in six plays for a touchdown, which came on a 48-yard hookup from Foster to Andrews. Jesse Hartley's PAT extended the Eagles' advantage to 15-3.

Furman answered with an 11-play, 85-yard drive, punctuated by a 20-yard run by Renaldo Gray on an option keeper, to narrow the lead to 15-10 on a 5-yard shovel pass from Gray to fullback Brantley Kendall with 3:26 to go before halftime.

Georgia Southern's bid to extend its lead before intermission saw the Eagles move to Furman 25, but Furman's Hunter Twitty partially deflected a Hartley 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired.