Saturday's Furman-South Carolina State game marks the renewal of one of the state's youngest but most popular rivalries as the Paladins and Bulldogs clash for the 14th time since the series began in 1982. The game represents Furman's 1998 home season opener and the first of six contests Furman will play in Paladin Stadium this fall. The first 2,500 fans admitted to the Saturday's game will also receive Furman's 1998 football season poster featuring seniors Orlando Ruff and Mark Foster, highlighting Poster Day at Furman.
In a series that got its start in 1982 with a 17-0 South Carolina State win in Greenville in NCAA I-AA first round playoff action, Furman holds a 9-4 advantage over the Bulldogs and has nine of the last 11 meetings between the two schools, although the Bulldogs prevailed last year with a 17-6 win in Orangeburg.
In Greenville: Furman leads 6-1
In Orangeburg: Series Tied 3-3
Furman: Bobby Johnson (Clemson '73), 25-22-0 (.531), 5th Year at Furman, 25-22-0 (.531), 5th Year Overall
Johnson vs. South Carolina State (2-2)
S.C. State: Willie Jeffries (SCSU '60), 111-52-4 (.676), 16th Year at SCSU, 162-107-6 (.600), 26th Year Overall
Jeffries vs. Furman (2-4)
Furman: Multiple I
South Carolina State: Multiple I
Furman: 43
South Carolina State: Multiple 43
Furman (0-1, 0-0 Southern)
South Carolina State (1-0, 0-0 MEAC)
ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Sept. 13, 1997) ‹ If ever a game deserved a nightmare label, at least from the Paladins' perspective, last year's 17-6 Furman loss to South Carolina State is a consensus pick.
In a contest that saw Furman's defense register one of its best performances of the year, holding South Carolina State to 161 total yards, the biggest -- and most disappointing story of the afternoon -- was a Paladin offense that generated even less. After netting only two yards total offense in the first half, the Paladins finished the game with only 139 total yards and several missed scoring opportunities. The result was a frustrating setback for the then 10th-ranked Paladins, who lost to Bulldogs for the second straight time in Orangeburg.
Forced to insert true freshman quarterback Brent Rickman following a season ending knee injury to senior signal caller Chris Jonas on the game's second offensive series, Furman's offense wilted under the heat and change. Rickman, appearing in the first game of his career, completed only 8-of-31 passes for 66 yards. Furman's ground game fared little better, netting only 73 yards on 38 rushes.
South Carolina State, meanwhile, didn't pick up a single first down in the second half and only moved the chains five times in the game, but the Bulldogs, unlike Furman, took advantage of their few scoring opportunities to score all of their 17 points in the first half on a pair of touchdown passes by Reggie Curry and a 41-yard field goal by Cedric Oglesby.
Furman misfired on several scoring chances generated by its defense, including a fumble recovery at the S.C. State 15 (missed field goal) and a blocked punt at the Bulldog 22 (field goal).
Furman
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clemson rolled up 414 yards in total offense and converted a pair of first quarter Furman turnovers into 10 points on the way to an easy 33-0 win over the Paladins in front of 70,000 fans at Death Valley.
Trailing 7-0 following a 1-yard run by Clemson's Javis Austin at the 6:42 mark of the first quarter, Furman's offense set up another Clemson score when quarterback Justin Hill fumbled following a sack by the Tigers' Adrian Dingle at the Paladin 13. Four plays later David Richardson booted the first of four Tiger field goals to give Clemson a 10-0 advantage.
On its next offensive series, the Paladins turned it over again when a high snap from center was recovered in the end zone by Clemson's Chris Jones at the 3:37 juncture to make it a 17-0 game.
Clemson added points in each of the final three quarters and rode a strong defensive effort, limiting Furman to 125 total yards, to take the win, its 27th straight over the Paladins.
South Carolina State
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Led by running back Derek O'Neal's 75 yards and 27-yard touchdown run, South Carolina State pounded out 239 rushing yards and used a ball control offense to take a 17-7 win over Charleston Southern in the season opener for both schools on Saturday.
The Bulldogs, who controlled the football for 37:52, posted 75 offensive plays compared to 37 snaps for Charleston Southern. The game, however, was not decided until early in the fourth quarter when O'Neal reeled off his 27-yard touchdown run at the 14:43 mark.
South Carolina State totaled only 273 total yards, but a strong Bulldog defense helped deliver the win, limiting Charleston Southern to only 171 yards in total offense.
FURMAN SUFFERES 17TH SEASON OPENING SHUTOUT...Furman suffered its 17th season opening shutout in 93 years of competition when it dropped a 33-0 decision to Clemson last Saturday. The first school in South Carolina (along with Wofford) to begin playing football, Furman since 1889 has rolled up a 465-373-38 record over the years. A member of the Southern Conference since 1936, Furman has captured nine league championships (1978-80-81-82-83-85-88-89-90) ‹ the most of any current Southern Conference member school. Furman was also the first conference school to win an NCAA I-AA national championship when it captured the title in 1988 by defeating Georgia Southern (at the time an NCAA I-AA independent), 17-12, to culminate a school best 13-2 season.
BOBBY JOHNSON: YEAR FIVE...The 1998 season marks Furman head coach Bobby Johnson's fifth year at the helm of a Paladin program and 21st season of service to the university. After suffering through a 3-8 season in 1994 (the program's first losing season since 1979 and worst record since 1972), Furman rebounded in 1995 to finish 6-5. A year later Johnson directed the Paladins to a 9-4 record and into the NCAA I-AA playoffs ‹ the program's first playoff appearance since 1990. Furman went 7-4 last year and finished third in the Southern Conference for the third consecutive year. Johnson's four-year head coaching record is 25-22 (.531), and his last three teams have combined to post a 22-14 slate (.611). Johnson's 21-year tenure at Furman includes work as defensive backs coach, assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, and head coach. The Paladins' record during that span (1976-80; 82-92; 94-present) is 157-75-7 (.672) and includes 17 winning seasons, eight Southern Conference championships and one NCAA I-AA title.
JOHNSON'S FIRST WIN VS. S.C. STATE...Furman head coach Bobby Johnson recorded his first victory as a collegiate head coach when his Paladins knocked off South Carolina State 26-21 in Greenville, on Sept. 10, 1994. In that contest, Paladin defensive back Andre Hentz turned in a record breaking performance, recovering three fumbles and intercepting two passes, including a game saving pickoff at the goal line in the game's waning seconds.
CROSBY SURE TO REMEMBER '96 S.C. STATE GAME...Furman senior tailback Ernest Crosby (Greenville, S.C.) will need little prodding, if any, to recall the last time South Carolina State paid a visit to Paladin Stadium, for on that eventful afternoon Crosby turned in the finest performance of his career when he ran for a Furman Paladin Stadium record 243 yards and four touchdowns in leading Furman to a 27-13 win. Crosby's scoring runs against the Bulldogs covered 17, 41, 46, and 58 yards and helped him capture Southern Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors.
KEITH GOES FOR CAREER HIGH VERSUS CLEMSON...Reaching new performance plateaus is becoming a regular event for Furman junior strong safety John Keith (Newnan, Ga.), who in the final game of the 1997 season set a school record for longest interception return when he returned a pickoff 99 yards in a 43-21 Furman win. On Saturday, in the Paladins' season opener against Clemson, Keith notched a team leading, career high 19 tackles against the Tigers. Included in his work against Clemson was a tackle-for-loss and a caused fumble. Keith's previous career high tackle total was 12, which he notched last year in a 17-16 loss at Western Carolina.
HOME SUCCESS...Furman heads into this Saturday's season opening home game against South Carolina State having captured 10 of its last 11 home games dating back to the 1995 season. The Paladins, whose only loss in their last 11 home contests was a 58-28 defeat to East Tennessee State last year, sport an 82-23-1 overall record (.778) in Paladin Stadium.
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRE-SEASON POLLS...Furman was a consensus fourth place pick in a pair of Southern Conference pre-season polls conducted by league head coaches and media.
SEVEN PALADINS NAMED PRE-SEASON ALL-SOCON...In balloting by Southern Conference head coaches, seven Paladins were selected to the pre-season all-league team. They include senior center Mark Foster (Williamston, S.C.), junior offensive guard Ben Hall (Royston, Ga.), junior placekicker Jason Wells (Lawton, Okla.), senior linebacker Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.), and junior strong safety John Keith (Newnan, Ga.), who were named to the first team. Named to the second team were junior flanker Desmond Kitchings (Wagener, S.C.) and senior defensive tackle B.J. Pate (Inman, S.C.).
RUFF PRE-SEASON DEFENSIVE POY PICK...Senior linebacker Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.) was selected by Southern Conference head coaches as the league's defensive player-of-the-year. If he captures the honor, Ruff, a two-time all-conference selection, will become the second straight Paladin and sixth Furman player to earn Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors since the conference initiated the award in 1986 (prior to 1986 only one "player-of-the-year" award was accorded). Furman's five previous Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the Year honorees include: LB Jeff Blankenship (1988), DE Kelly Fletcher (1989), LB Kevin Kendrick (1990), NG Allen Edwards (1991), DE Bryan Dailer (1997).
RUFF ON THE CHARTS...Furman senior linebacker Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.), who entered the 1998 season ranked seventh on the Paladins' career tackles chart with 391 stops, heads into this Saturday's South Carolina State game with 401 career tackles following a 10-tackle performance in the Paladins' season opening, 33-0 loss to Clemson last Saturday.
FOSTER PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICA...Furman senior center Mark Foster (Williamston, S.C.) was selected to the Sports Network Pre-Season All-America team. A second team All-Southern Conference pick a year ago and pre-season all-league pick this year, Foster earned winning grades in 10 of the Paladins' 11 games a year ago and earned the highest blocking percentage (.841) of any Paladin offensive lineman in 1997. Foster has also served as Furman's long snapper the last three years.
CROSBY SETS SIGHTS ON 2,000 (YARDS)...Senior tailback Ernest Crosby (Greenville, S.C.) came into the 1998 season bidding to become only the ninth player in Furman history to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. Crosby, a product of Greenville's Christ Church Episcopal School who has totaled 1,656 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career, currently ranks 16th on the school's career rushing ledger.
WELLS MAKING HIS MARK...Junior placekicker Jason Wells (Lawton, Okla.) heads into the Paladins' home season opener against South Carolina State ranked sixth on Furman's all-time kick scoring chart with 124 points. A pre-season first team All-Southern Conference selection, Wells is coming off a strong 1997 campaign that saw him convert 11-of-14 field goals (.785%) and 30-of-32 PATs. Wells has made 18-of-31 field goal attempts and 70-of-74 PATs in two seasons of action.
IVORY IMPRESSIVE...True freshman Louis Ivory (Fort Valley, Ga.) earned the starting assignment at fullback in his first collegiate game and led Furman in rushing in the season opener against Clemson, gaining 41 yards on six carries. Ivory, who rushed for 3,100 yards and 37 touchdowns at Peach County High School, was a participant in the Georgia-Florida All-Star Game this past summer (a rarity for I-AA bound prep talent). Only 5-foot-8 and 194 pounds, Ivory is not a big back, but he has impressed Furman's coaching staff with his strong running ability and excellent lower body strength. A strained hamstring that sidelined returning starting fullback Derek Russell (Austell, Ga.) for the first week of the pre-season gave Ivory his chance, and a 62-yard touchdown catch and run in a pre-season scrimmage helped seal his starting bid.
FAMINIE AND FEAST?...A year ago Furman was dealt a pair of losing hand with injuries to two of its quarterbacks. The flip side is the injuries have given the Paladins two experienced quarterbacks for the 1998 season in sophomores Justin Hill (Greer, S.C.) and Brent Rickman (Rome, Ga.). While Hill is Furman's starting quarterback, Rickman should also see action this year. Both Paladin signal callers had excellent pre-seasons and will head up what should be a much-improved, more versatile Furman offense this year. Hill, a former Shrine Bowl MVP selection from Greer High School who was sidelined in the early part of the 1997 season with a sore right shoulder, should help ignite Furman's option attack. He started in three of the Paladins' final four games (all wins) and threw for 212 yards and passed for 231 yards. In the season opener against Clemson, he completed 6-of-12 passes for 73 yards. Rickman, meanwhile, passed for 943 yards and seven TDs as a true freshman after being forced into the lineup early in Furman's game against South Carolina State (following a season ending injury to starting QB Chris Jonas).
KITCHINGS IS THE MAN...Don't fault Furman's coaching staff if they do all they can to get junior flanker Desmond Kitchings (Wagener, S.C.) the ball this year. That's because Kitchings, a pre-season all-conference pick, is Furman's fastest player and the Paladins prime passing target. A year ago he caught 30 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns as part of a receiver duo with Jody Wade (28 rec. in '97). Wade's gone now, and Kitchings is the man in Furman's receiving corps. In the season opener against Clemson, Kitchings caught two passes for 55 yards, including one for 50 yards. He's also an excellent return specialist. After taking over kickoff return duties midway through the 1997 campaign, Kitchings averaged 28.6 yards on 10 returns, and he had a 90-yard return for a touchdown in the Paladins' 43-21 win over Chattanooga in the season finale. With only 10 returns, Kitchings didn't qualify for conference (and national) rankings, but the possibility of that changing this fall is very favorable.
NEW LOOK DEFENSIVE FRONT...Furman's defensive front sported an entirely new look in the season opener against Clemson following the departure of all four starters to graduation. Against the Tigers, Furman started Bobby Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) at rush end, redshirt freshman Faamata Fonoimoana (Jonesboro, Ga.) at strong side tackle, Luke Kosman (Cincinnati, Ohio) at nose guard, and Steve Kupchinsky (Kingsport, Tenn.) at weak side tackle. In all eight Furman defensive linemen saw action against Clemson on Saturday.
LEANING ON RUFF...Furman's linebacking corps is headed up by senior Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.), the pre-season Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year. Furman's seventh all-time leading tackler with 401 stops, Ruff is the main cog in an otherwise young and relatively inexperienced Paladin defense. Sidelined for two days in the pre-season with a slight hyperextension of the knee, Ruff has proved to be a durable performer in his Furman career. Flanking Ruff at weak side linebacker is redshirt freshman Will Bouton (Greenville, S.C.), a highly mobile performer who notched 10 tackles in his first career start against Clemson. The outside linebacking slot is manned by Colin Rogers (Danville, Ky.). Another redshirt freshman, John Thrift (Hartwell, Ga.), who had 10 stops in the season opener against the Tigers, works behind Ruff and Bouton.
CORNERBACK SHUFFLE...A strained hamstring sidelined sophomore Andre Stroman (Plantation, Fla.), 10 starts in '97, for much of the pre-season, and sophomore Bryant Huguley (Valley, Ala.) has also missed valuable practice time with a leg injury. In their place, two freshmen, redshirt Richie Jackson (Cincinnati, Ohio) and true freshman Rodney Johnson (Marion, N.C.) stepped up and gained the first starts of their respective careers Saturday against Clemson. Jackson is a budding quality cover man according to the coaching staff, and Johnson, a Morehead Scholarship finalist, has excellent speed and strength. Backing them up is redshirt freshman Daniel Roberson (Plant City, Fla.) and sophomore Tarick Khadra (Ormond Beach, Fla.). Strong safety is again a strength with junior John Keith (Newnan, Ga.). Keith, a tenacious hitter, led Furman with four interceptions last year, including a school record 99-yarder in the Paladins' 43-21 win over Chattanooga. He had a career high 19 tackles, a tackle-for-loss, and a caused fumble against Clemson. The free safety slot is manned by senior Rocco Adrian (Deltona, Fla.) and Walter Booth (Gainesville, Fla.).