Furman 30, South Carolina State 20
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Jairus Hollman returned a punt a school record 91 yards for a touchdown and later scored on a 34-yard interception return to power Furman past South Carolina State, 30-20, in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) first round playoff action at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Furman (8-5), the Southern Conference’s champion, league’s automatic qualifier, and winner of five straight games, will travel to Fargo, North Dakota, to play top-ranked and two-time defending national champion North Dakota State next Saturday in a 3:30 ET game that will be televised by ESPN3.
Hollman, a sophomore nickel back and second team All-Southern Conference choice, got Furman on the board in the first quarter when he fielded a short punt at the Furman 9-yard line and sprinted up the field in front of the Paladin bench before cutting back to the middle of the field on the way to the end zone.
The return, which cut S.C. State’s lead to 7-6, marked the longest punt return in Furman history.
The Atlanta, Ga., product, who was credited with a game high 11 tackles, including three for-loss, polished off his outstanding defensive performance in the third quarter with a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown that gave the Paladins a 27-13 lead.
His “pick-six” represented Furman’s fourth of the campaign.
The Paladins used a 50-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Reese Hannon to Ryan Culbreath midway through the second quarter to take a 13-10 advantage, but S.C. tied the game with a Nick Belcher 23-yard field goal on the first series of the second half.
Furman responded on the ensuing possession, using a 53-yard run by running back Tanner Skogen to help cover 77 yards to the end zone. Quarterback Reese Hannon’s 1-yard touchdown sneak on fourth down put the Paladins up, 20-13, following the conversion.
At that point Furman’s defense — and Hollman — turned in the game deciding play when he stepped in front of pass by Bulldog quarterback Richard Cue, collecting it at the S.C. State 34 and racing untouched into the end zone for a 27-13 lead.
S.C. State pulled to within a score following a 4-yard touchdown pass from Adrian Kollock to Austin Smith with 13:22 remaining in the game, but the Paladins had the last say on the scoreboard, moving 48 yards in nine plays to set up a 32-yard Ray Early field goal that increased the advantage to 30-20.
Furman’s defense forced punts on the Bulldogs’ final two possessions, and the Paladins ran the clock out, taking a knee at the S.C. State 3-yard line to end the contest.
Skogen, a sophomore running back who entered the game with only 56 career rushing yards, stepped in for banged up junior Hank McCloud to run 13 times for a career high 116 yards, nearly all of it coming in the second half. The Paladins registered 216 yards on the ground and finished with 283 total yards.
Furman’s rushing success helped take the pressure off its passing game, which faced a South Carolina State defensive unit that entered — and exited — the contest with a nation leading 62 sacks.
Carl Rider and Marcus McMorris joined Hollman in notching 11 tackles apiece, and Gary Wilkins finished with seven stops, including two for-loss, and a sack.
The victory was Furman’s first playoff triumph since 2005 and improved the Paladins’ all-time playoff record to 18-14.
Jacksonville State 55, Samford 14
JACKSONVILLE, Ala.—The 18th-ranked Samford football team fell behind early and never could catch up on its way to a 55-14 loss at 20th-ranked Jacksonville State in the first round of the Division I-FCS Playoffs Saturday night at Burgess-Snow Field.
With the loss Samford ends its season with a record of 8-5. The Bulldogs won a share of the Southern Conference title with a 6-2 league mark. The playoff appearance was the first for Samford since 1992.
Jacksonville State improves to 10-3 with the win. The Gamecocks will advance to take on McNeese State in the second round of the playoffs next Saturday in Lake Charles, La.
“Obviously, this was very disappointing for us,” Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. “Congratulations to Bill (Clark) and Jacksonville State. They have a good football team. I didn’t think we played our best, we should’ve been more competitive today. But, sometimes that’s the way it goes.”
For Samford in the loss, Jeremiaha Gates rushed 13 times for 63 yards, while Stanley Robinson rushed six times for 27 yards. Gates also caught three passes for 29 yards. The Bulldogs were playing without injured starting tailback Fabian Truss.
Senior quarterback Andy Summerlin completed 7-of-24 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Kelvin Clay had one catch for 37 yards and a touchdown. Defensively for Samford, Jaquiski Tartt led the way with 12 tackles. Justin Cooper had 11 tackles, and Trey Wesley and Justin Shade had nine tackles each.
For Jacksonville State, DeMarcus James rushed 22 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Eli Jenkins rushed 12 times for 115 yards and a touchdown, and he completed 11-of-19 passes for 115 yards and a score. Defensively for JSU, Rashad Smith had eight tackles, including 1.5 sacks.
Jacksonville State jumped on top first. James scored on a two-yard run off of a direct snap to give the Gamecocks a 7-0 lead with 11:00 to go in the first quarter.
The Gamecocks added to their lead when Jenkins ran for a 72-yard touchdown to make the score 14-0 with 8:30 left in the first period. JSU made the score 17-0 when Griffin Thomas kicked a 37-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Jacksonville State’s Telvin Brown scored on a 47-yard touchdown run to make the score 24-0 with 8:47 to go in the second quarter. James scored his second touchdown of the game, this one from one-yard out with 2:42 to go in the second quarter to make the score 31-0. JSU added one final score before halftime when Miles Jones scored on a 12-yard run with 1:27 left to send the Gamecocks to halftime with a 38-0 lead.
Early in the third quarter, JSU’s Brown scored on a 67-yard run to make the score 45-0 with 14:37 left in the quarter. Samford put its first points on the scoreboard when Summerlin hit Clay for a 37-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 45-7 with 11:31 left in the third quarter. JSU’s Thomas kicked a 47-yard field goal with 6:41 left in the third quarter to push the Gamecocks’ lead to 48-7.
JSU added one fourth-quarter score when Robert Gray scored on a one-yard run to make the score 55-7 with 6:34 to go. Samford’s Tony Philpot put the final points on the scoreboard when he hauled in a pass on a trick play from Karel Hamilton with 2:36 to go to make the final score 55-14.
As a team, Samford managed just 201 yards of total offense, while Jacksonville State rolled up 482 total yards. The Gamecocks rushed for 367 yards, while holding Samford to just 93 yards on the ground.