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Furman Tops Nicholls State 14-12 In NCAA I-AA First Round Playoff Action
Nov. 26, 2005
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Ingle Martin passed for one touchdown and ran for another and Furman rode a strong defensive effort to secure a 14-12 win over Nicholls State in NCAA I-AA first round playoff action Saturday at Paladin Stadium.
Martin, a senior quarterback from Nashville, Tenn., completed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Justin late in the second quarter to give Furman a 7-6 lead and later scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter for the Paladins' game winning points.
The Paladin defense, punctuated by a career high 16 tackles by sophomore linebacker Andrew Jones and 15 stops by senior All-America linebacker William Freeman, limited Nicholls State, the nation's second leading rushing team, to a season low 199 yards on the ground.
Furman (10-2) will now hit the road and play the winner of Saturday evening's Richmond-Hampton game next Saturday at a time to be announced.
"The story of this game was our defense," said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. "To hold a offense the caliber of Nicholls State to 199 yards rushing and 12 points is a big deal, and our defense deserves a lot of credit for this victory. We needed that type of effort today to win, and we got it."
Furman's defense entered the contest yielding 29.2 points and 372.8 yards per game but surrendered only 271 total yards to the Colonels.
Furman forced a Nicholls State punt on the game's first possession, but the Paladins' fumbled their first play from scrimmage. The Colonels' Naton Stewart scooped up the miscue and returned it 11 yards to the Furman 23. From there Nicholls State advanced to the 17, where Alex Romero booted a 34-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
The Paladins' suffered a turnover on their second possession when Nicholls State linebacker Cory Vavala gathered in a ball knocked free from the grasp of Furman receiver Justin Stepp at the Furman 46. Using 14 plays, the Colonels moved to the Furman 1, but the Paladin defense stopped NSU shy of the goal line on third and fourth down to short-circuit the scoring opportunity.
A 70-yard Martin punt gave NSU the ball at the NSU 25, and the Colonels responded by covering 73 yards in nine plays to the Furman 2, where Romero booted a 20-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead with 11:21 to go in the first half.
Punctuated by a pair of runs by Cedrick Gipson covering 18 and 12 yards, and 17-yard run by Martin to the NSU 33, Furman finally got on the board when Martin connected with a wide open Stepp on a 29-yard touchdown strike with 1:24 to go in the first half.
Furman added to its lead on the first possession of the second half, utlilizing 14 running plays on a 15-play, 57-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Martin for a 14-6 Furman advantage at the 8:06 mark of the third period.
Nicholls State pulled to within two points at 14-12 with an 11-play, 80-yard march that included a pass interference call on a third-and-nine play from the NSU 21 and 22-yard touchdown pass from Yale Vannoy to Kenley Horton on a fourth-and-three play from the Furman 22. The Colonels' two-point conversion bid, however, failed.
Furman's next two possessions ended with a blocked 45-yard field goal attempt and fumble at the Nicholls State 36, but the Paladin defense again stepped up by halting Nicholls State on its final two possessions, forcing a punt and stopping Colonel fullback Joseph Tobias on a fourth down play a yard short of a first down at the Furman 38 with 4:52 to go.
From there the Paladin offense salted the game way by methodically covering 54 yards in 10 plays and ending the contest at the NSU 8-yard line.
