9TH-RANKED FURMAN DOWNS ELON 16-3
IN SEASON OPENER
GREENVILLE -- Freshman placekicker Danny Marshall booted three field goals and tailback Louis Ivory rushed for 182 yards and a late touchdown to lift nationally 9th-ranked Furman to a 16-3 win over Elon at Paladin Stadium Saturday night in the season opening contest for both teams.
Furman, which lost the 1999 season opener to the Phoenix, 24-22, narrowly avoided a second straight defeat when strong safety Shelvis Smith recovered a fumble by Elon quarterback Derrick Moore at the Paladin 10-yard line with 1:26 left and the Paladins holding a tenuous 9-3 lead.
Furman scored the gameıs only touchdown on the next play when, following a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the Phoenix, Ivory took a handoff from quarterback Justin Hill and raced 75 yards for the score with 46 seconds left in the game.
³It was a gutsy performance on their (Elonıs) part, I guarantee that, but I thought we did a good job of keeping them out of the end zone,² said Furman head coach Bobby Johnson. ³Iım very proud of our defense. Weıre very fortunate to get out this game with a win against a tough Elon team.²
Elon outgained Furman 325 to 236 yards in total offense, but the Phoenix suffered six turnovers, including four fumbles and two interceptions.
³Both teams played hard and we had opportunity after opportunity,² said Elon head coach Al Seagraves, ³but the bottom line is we gave up the football six times. We shot ourselves in the foot and weıre disappointed with the loss, but weıll learn from this and move on.²
Playing in his first collegiate contest, Furman placekicker Danny Marshall of Atlanta provided Furman with its first points of the game when he converted a 43-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Marshall later added a 29-yard field goal with only 20 seconds left in the first half to extend the Paladin lead to 6-0. Chris Loweryıs 78-yard kickoff return to start the second half set up Marshallıs third field goal of the game, a 34-yarder, that gave Furman a 9-0 lead with 13:45 left in the third period.
Elon answered with its only scoring drive of the game, moving 69 yards in 13 plays for a 27-yard field goal by Beau Wegmann with 6:40 left in the third period to make it a 9-3 game. But the Phoenix failed to register points on its last five possessions, including four that ended inside Furman territory.
Furman appeared to gain the upper hand after Elon missed a 33-yard field goal with 3:05 remaining, but two plays later the Phoenixıs Kelly Forrest pounced on a fumble by Paladin quarterback Justin Hill at the Furman 15 with 2:26 left to put Elon in position to win the contest. The Phoenix, however, squandered the opportunity when, on a third and two play from the Furman 7-yard line, Moore fumbled after a hit by Furman linebacker Marion Martin, and Paladin teammate Shelvis Smith recovered at the 10.