Nov. 15, 2004

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman wide receiver Isaac West has been named Southern Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week for his performance in Saturday's 31-24 win over Wofford, the league announced today.

A 6-foot, 186-pound senior from Augusta, Ga. (Butler H.S.), West caught six passes for 132 yards and, in the process, became Furman's all-time receptions and receiving yards leader. His 62-yard reception to the Wofford 6-yard line late in the fourth quarter set up the Paladins' winning touchdown with 2:38 left in the game. Earlier in the contest, he had a key 14-yard catch on a fourth down play to sustain a drive that led to the Paladins' first touchdown of the contest.

Furman's victory snapped Wofford's 13-game home winning streak and marked the Paladins' fifth win in the last six games with the Terriers.

West, who entered the game tied with Bear Rinehart (1999-02) as Furman's all-time receptions leader, now has 132 catches in his career. His 132 yards in receptions in Saturday's contest propelled him past Chas Fox (1982-85) into first place on the school's receiving yards ledger with 2,142. His 848 receiving yards this year (on 52 catches) rank second only to Rinehart's school season standard of 892 yards set in 2002.

West is the first Paladin wide receiver to capture league offensive player-of-the-week accolades since 1996, when Josh Cole took home similar honors following a 31-14 Furman victory over VMI. He collected a SoCon Freshman-of-the-Week tab in 2001 following a two-touchdown performance in a 28-22 victory over Appalachian State.

Winners of four straight, Furman, now 8-2 overall and 5-1 in Southern Conference play, remains No. 2 in this week's Sports Network NCAA I-AA poll. The Paladins, who return home this Saturday to take on Chattanooga in the SoCon regular season finale for both teams, can secure a share of the 2004 league title and earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA I-AA playoffs beginning on Nov. 27 with a victory over the Mocs. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.