Furman football springs back into action with season opening win
For Furman it was worth the wait.
The Paladins crushed Western Carolina 35-7 Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium in their first game in 448 days.
Furman fell behind 7-0 early before responding with 35 unanswered points. Furman outgained the Catamounts 533-109 in the first Furman football game played in February in school history. The Southern Conference is playing an eight-game spring schedule after postponing its season in the fall.
Furman improves to 1-0 (1-0) with the win, while Western Carolina falls to 0-4 (0-1). The Catamounts played three out-of-conference games in the fall, going 0-3.
“What a blessing to be out there. Gah, what a glorious day. I don’t know if you could’ve picked a better day to be out there,” Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. “Really pleased with our preparation and really pleased with how our kids played.”
In a lot of ways, it felt like a typical season opener. There were tailgaters in the parking lot, fans in the stands and a marching band to help keep everyone entertained.
Of course, there were also plenty of differences. Attendance was limited to season ticket holders, faculty, students and family members. A temperature check was required to get into the stadium and masks had to be worn. And instead of a typical season opener in the summer with temperatures approaching triple digits, it was 50 degrees at kickoff.
As for on the field, Furman looked every bit the part of its preseason No. 8 ranking.
The Paladins controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, rushing for 320 yards and allowing only 67.
Devin Wynn led the way for the Paladins with 106 rushing yards and a touchdown. Devin Abrams (57 yards) and Dominic Roberto (54) also had solid days on the ground.
“I just see happy faces everywhere around here,” Wynn said of finally being back on the field. “It’s a blessing to see and just fills everybody up with so much joy.”
Sophomore quarterback Hamp Sisson completed 14 of 22 passes for 207 yards and three scores for the Paladins. Sophomore receiver Zach Peterson was Sisson’s favorite target, catching four passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively the Paladins were completely dominant. Western Carolina’s only points were scored on a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ryan Glover early in the first quarter. The Catamounts had to drive only 12 yards for the score after an interception by Sisson.
WCU wouldn’t score again the final 55 minutes of the game.
“This game meant a lot to us. Just to even be able to play for a game meant a lot to us,” Spur Dae’one Wilkins said. “Just make sure each and every play I’m out there take nothing for granted.”
Wofford 31, Mercer 14
Wofford (1-0, 1-0) jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead and cruised past Mercer (0-4, 0-1) in its season opener. The Terriers had four different players score rushing touchdowns as Irvin Mulligan, Nathan Walker, Ryan Lovelace and Jamari Broussard all found the end zone. Mulligan led the way with 90 rushing yards and an 8-yard catch.
Defensively, Michael Mason had two sacks and forced a pair of fumbles for the Terriers.
This story was originally published February 20, 2021 at 4:47 PM.
