FURMAN CLOSES OUT TWO-A-DAYS
WITH SPIRITED SCRIMMAGE

GREENVILLE -- The Furman football team closed out its stretch of two-a-day pre-season practices Thursday night with a spirited 45-minute scrimmage that drew raves from head coach Bobby Johnson.

"That's the way your always want to close out two-a-days, with a physical, hard-nosed scrimmage" Johnson said as his team exited the lighted Paladin Stadium field. "There was some hitting going on, a lot of intensity, and a lot of improvement on both sides of the football. That's very encouraging."

Highlighting the scrimmage was a 15-play, 70-yard scoring drive by the No. 1 offense against Furman's No. 2 defense. Fullback Derek Russell scored the touchdown with a 1-yard touchdown plunge, but the drive also featured strong running by backup freshman tailback Toreico O'Neil (23 yards) and solid passing by quarterback Justin Hill, who completed all three pass attempts for 22 yards.

"I thought Justin looked good. He hadn't had a lot of work, so we wanted to get him in there live and give him some reps under pressure," Johnson added. "I thought our young defense stacked up okay against one of the best offensive lines in the conference. They had a chance to stop them on a couple of third and short situations but didn't wrap up. With more work and experience, they will make the plays."

Late in the scrimmage backup quarterback Billy Napier connected with reserve receiver Andy Rump for an 18-yard scoring strike. Napier hit on 2-of-6 pass attempts for 31 yards. The scrimmage ended after freshman kicker Danny Marshall converted two 42-yard field goals. Marshall is battling senior Jonathan Sproul for placekicking duties.

"We'll turn our complete attention to Elon starting tomorrow. It will help to get some of our players back and with some fresher legs I think we'll be in position to improve even more as a team."

Furman will practice once on Thursday beginning at 3:20 p.m. The Paladins open the season at home on Sept. 2 against Elon at 7:00 p.m.

Notes: Wednesday marked the return of junior defensive lineman Steve DeBeer, who had been sidelined for the past week with a concussion. DeBeer worked exclusively at defensive end during the scoring drive.