Furman 24, VMI 21
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Jon Croft Hollingsworth kicked a 42-yard field goal with just over four minutes remaining to lift Furman past VMI, 24-21, in Southern Conference season opening action for both schools Saturday afternoon at misty Paladin Stadium.
Hollingsworth’s game winning kick, which followed last Saturday’s game deciding, 55-yard fourth quarter field goal in Furman’s 16-15 victory over UCF, capped the Paladins’ comeback from a 14-0 first half deficit.
The victory improved Furman (2-2, 1-0 SoCon) to 11-0 all-time versus VMI (1-3, 0-1 SoCon) in Paladin Stadium and marked the 12th consecutive triumph over the Keydets in Greenville since 1979.
Furman fell behind 14-0 in the first half after the Keydets’ Derrick Ziglar followed up a 44-yard pass completion from quarterback Al Cobb to Dontae Mauck with a 1-yard scoring run, and Cobb connected with Matthew Nicholson on a 3-yard scoring strike midway through the second period.
The Paladins got on the board just prior to intermission on a 1-yard plunge by fullback Ernie Cain that ended a 12-play, 73-yard drive and made it 14-7.
Furman’s defense and special teams fueled the comeback in the first minute of the second half, forcing a punt that was blocked by junior defensive end Brian Ross, who scooped up the ball and covered the short five yards to the end zone for the touchdown. Hollingsworth’s PAT tied it a 14-14.
Furman checked VMI on its next three possessions, forcing an interception and two punts before the Paladins’ offense fashioned a 12-play, 57-yard drive for the go-ahead score, which quarterback Reese Hannon delivered with a 4-yard run with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Keydets ended Furman’s 21-point run on the ensuing possession, covering 75 yards on 16 plays for Ziglar’s second touchdown of the contest, a 2-yard run that tied the game at 21-21 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.
VMI threatened on its next possession, moving to the Furman 20, but on a second and nine play cornerback Reggie Thomas intercepted a Cobb pass at the Paladin 12 and returned it to the 50. His fumble on the play was recovered by teammate Carl Rider at the Keydet 46, and eight plays later Hollingsworth converted his game deciding 42-yard field goal.
Brian Ross forced the Keydets to turn the ball over on downs by tackling Cobb on a fourth-and-10 play from the Paladin 45 with 3:49 to go. The Paladins then drove to the VMI 27 before being stopped short on a fourth down play with 48 seconds remaining.
The Keydets advanced their own 47 before a sack, an incompletion, and penalty sealed the game’s result.
Furman, which outgained VMI 322-279 in total offense and posted a 15-minute advantage in time of possession (37:55-22:05), managed just 125 yards rushing on 40 carries. Quarterback Reese Hannon completed 22-of-40 passes for 197 yards.
Cobb threw for 235 yards and a touchdowns, connecting on 21-of-42 passes, but he was picked off twice and sacked three times.
Furman’s bottled up the Keydet running game, limiting it to 44 yards on 27 carries.
Rodney Anderson headlined the Paladin defense with a career high 11 tackles, a tackle for-loss, and one of Furman’s eight pass deflections in the contest.
VMI linebacker Allen Cratsenburg topped all defenders with a 15 tackles.
Chattanooga 21, Presbyterian 0
CLINTON, S.C. - The 8th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs defense was in shutdown mode in a 21-0 win at Presbyterian in a non-conference matchup. The Mocs are now 3-1, while the Blue Hose fall to 1-3 on a rainy night in Bailey Memorial Stadium.
It was more than an impressive performance from the defense in the first shutout since a 51-0 win at Western Carolina last season. The Mocs allowed their hosts a meager 117 yards of total offense, a miniscule eight in the second half.
Offensively, Chattanooga rolled up 400 yards with a season-high 293 on the ground. Jacob Huesman led the way with 132 yards, followed by running backs Derrick Craine and Richardre Bagley with 82 and 74, respectively. The unit ran up yards while controlling the clock for 38:30.
The play of the game came from the defensive side of the ball at the start of the fourth quarter. Ben Cheek dropped back for PC under a heavy rush. His pass was deflected at the line by Josh Freeman and snatched at the 44 by Toyvian Brand.
The senior headed to the right sideline crossing the goal line for his first career score.
Davis had a career-high three sacks on the night and has five in the last two games. He ended up with a career-high five tackles, one off of Cedric Nettles team-high six. The defense finished with four sacks and nine total tackles for loss.
PC was led by Chattanooga native Darrell Bridges who ran for 87 yards on 12 carries. The rest of the Blue Hose offense accounted for just 20 yards. Cheek was 5-10 passing for 38 yards with one interception, while starter Tamyn Garrett was limited to five yards on 1-8 in the air.
Donelle Williams tied his career high with 18 stops on the night. Ed Britt added 13 tackles and an interception.
Wofford 16, Gardner-Webb 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College football team shutout Gardner-Webb 16-0 on Saturday night at Gibbs Stadium The game was played in a light rain, which limited the offenses of both teams. The teams combined for 17 punts in the game and Wofford had three field goals by David Marvin in the win.
The Terriers are 2-2 on the season, while the Runnin’ Bulldogs are 1-3. Wofford was led by Lorenzo Long with 63 rushing yards and Ray Smith added 47 rushing yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Evan Jacks had 21 rushing yards and was 3-of-8 passing in his first start of the season. The Wofford defense had eight tackles for loss in the contest, holding Gardner-Webb to 149 total yards. Tyrell Maxwell led the Runnin’ Bulldogs with 45 rushing yards and 58 passing yards.
The Terriers had the ball first, but gained only one first down before punting. Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted, with Wofford taking over at the 33-yard line. The Terriers were unable to gain a first down, but got on the scoreboard with a 45-yard field goal by David Marvin with 9:51 on the clock in the first quarter.
After the Runnin’ Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted, the Terriers once again had a short field. Wofford was only able to gain one first down and David Marvin hit a 50-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead at the 4:44 mark of the first quarter. Gardner-Webb had a 43-yard kickoff return to put the ball at midfield, but punted without gaining a first down.
Wofford began their next drive on the four-yard line. The Terriers had three first downs before facing a fourth-and-two. Raymond Smith converted the first down with a 15-yard run. After two more first downs, an 8-yard touchdown run by Raymond Smith made it a 13-0 game at the 10:09 mark of the second quarter. The Runnin’ Bulldogs gained one first down before punting back to the Terriers. Brandon Goodson completed a 24-yard pass to Zach Muller, but were forced to punt.
With four minutes left in the first half, Gardner-Webb started a drive and gained three first downs punting back to the Terriers with 26 second on the clock. Wofford ran one play before the clock ran out in the first half. At the break, the Terriers had a 156 to 75 advantage in total offense.
To begin the second half, Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted. With the ball back, the Terriers gained one first down before a 53-yard field goal attempt that was wide left by David Marvin. The Runnin’ Bulldogs and Terriers both punted twice. Gardner-Webb took over at the 40-yard line with 51 second remaining in the third quarter. On the first play, Tyrell Maxwell had the ball slip out of his hand as he was throwing and it was intercepted by John Patterson at the 42-yard line. The teams traded punts again and Wofford took over at the 35-yard line with 12:11 left in the game. The Terriers gained one first down before punting.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs got the ball with 10:05 on the clock in the fourth quarter. After gaining two first downs, Tyrell Maxwell fumbled and it was recovered by Brandon Curtis at the 36-yard line. Lorenzo Long gained a first down and David Marvin added his third field goal of the game, this time from 39-yards for a 16-0 lead with 3:30 remaining. Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted, but Wofford was unable to gain a fist down and punted back to the Runnin’ Bulldogs with 1:40 left in the game. After a gain of one first down, Gardner-Webb faced a fourth-and-fifteen, with the pass incomplete. Wofford took a knee to end the game.
Wofford had 224 total yards, with 159 on the ground. Gardner-Webb had 149 total yards, 91 of which were rushing. Wofford had a 12 to 10 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 2-of-14 on third downs and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Gardner-Webb was 3-of-15 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down. Wofford was called for three penalties to Gardner-Webb’s five. Wofford had a 34:52 to 25:08 time of possession advantage.
Louisville 45, Samford 3
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville football team jumped out to a big lead early on its way to a 45-3 win over Samford Saturday night at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
Louisville totaled 562 yards of offense, to 201 yards for Samford. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and passed for 212 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
For Samford, Karel Hamilton had five catches for 51 yards. Samford played two quarterbacks in the game. Starter Michael Eubank completed 7-of-9 passes for 51 yards and one interception. Devlin Hodges also played, completing 10-of-21 passes for 79 yards and two interceptions.
The Samford defense was led by Justin Cooper with nine tackles. Jamerson Blount and Shaheed Salmon had one interception each.
Louisville scored touchdowns on each of its three first-quarter possessions, with the first two being set up by Samford turnovers. On Samford’s opening drive, Keith Kelsey recovered a Samford fumble and returned it to the Bulldogs’ 17-yard line. Three plays later, Jackson scored on a 14-yard run for a 7-0 Louisville lead with 13:23 left in the first quarter.
On Samford’s next possession, Louisville’s Trumaine Washington intercepted a Eubank pass, giving the Cardinals the ball at their own 20-yard line. On Louisville’s ensuing drive, Jackson scored on a 13-yard run for a 14-0 Cardinal lead with 9:13 left in the first quarter. On the Cardinals’ third possession of the quarter, Brandon Radcliff scored on a two-yard run with 4:54 left in the opening period to make the score 21-0.
Samford got on the scoreboard on its first possession of the second quarter. Anthony Pistelli booted a 32-yard field goal to cut the Louisville lead to 21-3 with 10:17 left in the second quarter.
Louisville’s John Wallace kicked a 50-yard field goal with 6:15 left in the second quarter to push the Cardinals’ lead to 24-3. The Cardinals added one final score before halftime when Reggie Bonnafon hit Micky Crum for a three-yard score to make the score 31-3 with 31 seconds left before halftime.
Louisville got the second-half scoring started early in the third quarter. Jackson hit James Quick for a 36-yard touchdown with 10:11 left in the third quarter. The score pushed Louisville’s lead to 38-3.
The Cardinals’ L.J. Scott added a two-yard touchdown run with 12:56 left in the fourth quarter to make the score 45-3.
With the loss, Samford drops to 2-2 on the young season. Louisville improves to 1-3 with the win.
Charleston Southern 33, The Citadel 20
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel football team fell to Charleston Southern on Saturday night inside Johnson Hagood Stadium 33-20.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead after a Dominique Allen seven-yard touchdown run and Eric Goins’ first field goal of the season. But Charleston Southern would answer with two minutes remaining in the second quarter with Mike Holloway breaking a 31-yard run. The PAT was blocked by Dee Delaney to keep the score 10-6.
The momentum swung back in The Citadel’s favor after Delaney returned an interception 44 yards for the score. Delaney moved into a tie for 11th on The Citadel’s all-time interceptions list with the pick. It was the Bulldogs second interception returned for a touchdown this season.
The Buccaneers wasted no time in the second half, scoring just one minute into the quarter after Holloway found the end zone again on an eight-yard run. The three-play, 72-yard drive made the score 17-13 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The two teams would swap field goals for the remainder of the third quarter, with Goins drilling his second field goal of the game from 45 yards out. The field goal was a result of a fake punt orchestrated by Goins who completed a seven-yard pass to Tevin Floyd on 4th-and-3.
It was all CSU in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns and adding another field goal to make the final 33-20.