November 21, 2000

FURMAN CLAIMS NEAR SWEEP OF SOCON FOOTBALL AWARDS;
IVORY, BOUTON NAMED PLAYERS-OF-THE-YEAR, MOORE WINS JACOBS

GREENVILLE -- The NCAA I-AA playoff bound Furman Paladins have swept virtually all major Southern Conference individual honors this year, claiming the league's offensive and defensive players-of-the-year awards and the conference's best blocker trophy following balloting by head coaches, it was announced today.

Junior tailback Louis Ivory garnered offensive player-of-the-year and junior linebacker Will Bouton was named defensive player-of-the-year. Senior tackle Josh Moore, meanwhile, claimed the league's Jacobs Blocking Award.

"I think it's a tremendous honor for Louis, Will, and Josh that the coaches have selected them because they (the coaches) have a real appreciation for what players go through and how much they mean to a particular team," Johnson said Tuesday afternoon. "We wouldn't be near as good without them. They've put up the numbers and are very deserving of these awards."

Ivory, the leading rusher in NCAA I-AA, became the first player in conference history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season this year by totaling 2,079 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The Fort Valley, Ga., product recorded five 200-yard games, including a conference single game record 301 yards and three touchdowns in Furman's 45-10 win over defending national champion Georgia Southern on Nov. 4. A finalist for the Walter Payton Award, I-AA football's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, he averaged 189.0 yards per game and 7.3 yards per carry in the regular season. Ivory is the seventh Furman player to garner Southern Conference Offensive-Player-of-the-Year honors and first since quarterback Frankie DeBusk captured the award in 1989.

Bouton headlined Furman's defense this year with 126 tackles, 14 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery.

The Greenville product recorded a career high 19 tackles in the Paladins' 27-18 win over Wofford on Nov. 11 and was a major factor on a Furman defensive unit that paced the conference in scoring (16.2 ppg) and rushing defense (136.2 ypg). One of 16 finalists for NCAA I-AA's Buck Buchanan Award that is given annually to the nation's top defensive player, Bouton has started in 34 consecutive games and already ranks 11th on Furman's career tackles chart with 360. He is the seventh Paladin to be named defensive player-of-the-year since the conference added the defensive player-of-the-year honor in 1986. Last year Paladin free safety John Keith, now with the San Francisco 49ers, captured the honor.

Josh Moore, a native of Cross Hill, S.C., is the 10th Furman player ‹ and second consecutive Paladin ‹ to be accorded the league's Jacobs Blocking Award. A three-year starter, he played a key role in a Furman offense that averaged 33.3 points and 307.5 rushing yards per game, including Louis Ivory's record setting season rushing total of 2,079 yards. Last year Furman guard Ben Hall was the recipient of the conference's Jacobs Blocking Award.

In addition to announcing individual award winners, which also included coach-of-the-year (Wofford's Mike Ayers) and freshman-of-the-year (Western Carolina receiver Lamont Seward), the league also released its all-conference squads. A total of nine Furman players were named all-conference, including five first team selections. Furman's first team picks included Louis Ivory (RB), Chris Stewart (C), Marty Priore (OG), Josh Moore (OT), and Will Bouton (LB). Second team honorees include Trent Sansbury (TE), Donnie Littleohn (OT), Ryan Spencer (DL), and LeBryan Sperling (DL).

Furman, which went 9-2 this season and 6-2 in Southern Conference play, hosts Hofstra in NCAA I-AA first round playoff action this week at Paladin Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.