EIGHTH-RANKED FURMAN WHIPS WILLIAM & MARY 34-10
GREENVILLE -- Junior tailback Louis Ivory rushed 27 times for a career high 232 yards and two touchdowns to lead NCAA I-AA eighth-ranked Furman (3-0) to a 34-10 win over visiting William & Mary (1-2) Saturday night.
Ivory, who bested his previous career high rushing mark of 203 yards set last year in a win over East Tennessee State, headlined a Furman ground game that rolled up 389 yards with an 88-yard touchdown run at the 7:59 mark of the third quarter to give the Paladins a 17-0 lead. The 88-yard run marked the second longest in school history.
“I was really proud of our guys, They came back in the second half and took control of the game,” said Furman head coach Bobby Johnson. “We forced some turnovers, and got some big plays out of Louis Ivory. We had an interception to stop them, and the next play Louis ran for 88 yards. That broke their back.”
“We had some shots early. We had guys open and didn’t hit them, and had some guys drop the ball,” said William & Mary head coach Jimmye Laycock. “I thought we played well defensively early and did a good job on the option and their running game, but we didn’t take advantage of opportunities. And then Ivory had the big play in the third quarter. We knew coming in that he was a big play player.”
Ivory’s record setting performance marked his sixth straight 100-yard outing and eighth 100-yard outing in the Paladins’ last nine games. Furman’s defense, meanwhile, accounted for four turnovers, including three interceptions.
Following a scoreless first quarter, Furman’s Danny Marshall connected on a 39-yard field goal to put the Paladins ahead 3-0 with 9:10 left in the first half.
After stopping William & Mary on its next possession, the Paladins moved 80 yards in eight plays to take a 10-0 lead following an 11-yard touchdown run by Ivory with 1:13 left in the second quarter.
William & Mary threatened to slice the Paladins’ advantage early in second half after moving from its 11 to the Furman 23, but the scoring opportunity ended when Tribe quarterback David Corley’s pass bounced off the shoulder pads of teammate Rich Musinski and into the hands of Paladin free safety Josh Cooper at the Paladin 12. On the next play Ivory took a handoff from quarterback Justin Hill and raced 88 yards for a touchdown to put the Paladins ahead 17-0.
A 26-yard Danny Marshall field goal at the 3:32 mark of the third quarter increased the Paladins’ lead to 20-0, and a little over a minute later the Paladins struck again when, following a fumble recovery by defensive end Clay O’Daniel at the Tribe 35, Justin Hill connected with Bryant Huguley for a 35-yard touchdown pass to make it a 27-0 game.
Furman’s Derek Russell’s 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave Furman a 34-3 lead before William & Mary registered its only touchdown of the contest on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Carty to Danny Wade on the game’s final play.
Furman opens Southern Conference play next Saturday against VMI in Lexington, Va. William & Mary, meanwhile, will play NCAA Division I foe Central Florida next Saturday in Orlando.