HOFSTRA OUSTS FURMAN 31-24 IN NCAA I-AA FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF ACTION
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Rocky Butler passed for 262 yards and a touchdown and ran for two other scores to lift No. 11 seed Hofstra to a 31-24 win over No. 6 seed Furman in NCAA I-AA first round playoff action Saturday at Paladin Stadium.
With the win, Hofstra (9-3) advances to the quarterfinal playoff round where it will play Georgia Southern (10-2) in Statesboro, Ga., next Saturday. Furman finishes its season with a 9-3 record.
Butler completed 19-of-34 passes in the contest, but it was his longest pass of the day, a 39-yard strike to Kahmal Roy with 0:25 left in the third quarter, that gave the Pride a 24-17 lead, which it would never relinquish. Butler later scored on a 1-yard run to stretch the margin to 31-17 after Hofstra was awarded the ball at the Furman 1 following a high snap from center that sailed over the head of Paladin punter Lee Willis.
"You have to give Hofstra credit. They're a good football team and made the big plays when it counted," said Furman head coach Bobby Johnson. "We knew coming in that it would take a great effort on our part to win the game, and I thought we played hard. But we didn't play well enough to win, and I think that had something to do with them (Hofstra)."
The loss was Furman's only home defeat of the season in eight games, and it was the Paladins' second straight first round exit from NCAA I-AA playoff competition. Last year Furman dropped a 30-23 overtime decision to Massachusetts. Furman is now 11-9 overall in playoff action.
After falling behind 31-17, Furman sliced Hofstra's lead to 31-24 on Justin Hill's -yard scoring run with 7:59 remaining. After turning the ball over on downs on its next possession but forcing Hofstra into two straight punts, Furman took over at its own 24 with 1:31 remaining in the game. From there, the Paladins used a 34-yard pass play from Hill to James Thomas to help move to the Pride 20, but the possession, and Furman's cance to force the contest into overtime, ended when Justin Hiil's fourth-and-eight pass attempt to Thomas sailed out of the end zone.
Hofstra, which got 130 yards rushing from running back Trevor Dimmie, outgained Furman 442-400 in total offense. The Paladins were paced by tailback Louis Ivory, who rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. Ivory, one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award, entered the game as the nation's leading rusher after having totaled 2,079 yards during the regular season.
With the game deadlocked 10-10 at halftime, Hofstra took a 17-10 lead on its first possession of the second half, moving 60 yards in six plays before Butler scored a 2-yard sneak at the 9:32 mark of the third period.
After Furman tied the game at 17-17 on a 3-yard Louis Ivory score with 6:23 left, the Paladins failed to make good on an interception and 22-yard return by linebacker Marion Martin that gave Furman the ball at the Hofstra 35. Three plays netted minus two yards, and a punt led to the Hofstra's go-ahead touchdown drive that ended with Butler's 39-yard scoring pass that was deflected by Paladin cornerback Richie Jackson into Roy's hands.