FURMAN EDGES CHATTANOOGA 45-44 IN OVERTIME;
IVORY SETS SOUTHERN CONFERENCE SINGLE SEASON RUSHING RECORD

GREENVILLE -- Derek Russell's 14-yard touchdown run in overtime lifted the NCAA I-AA fourth-ranked Furman Paladins to a 45-44 win over the Chattanooga Mocs Saturday in Southern Conference football action at Paladin Stadium.

Russell's scoring run put Furman (9-2, 6-2 SoCon) ahead 45-38 on the first possession of overtime, but Chattanooga (5-6, 3-5 SoCon) responded with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Chris Sanders to Cos DeMatteo to make it 45-44. But the Mocs' effort to win the game with a two-point pass play failed when Furman's Andre Stroman deflected a Sanders pass intended for Richmond Flowers at the goal line.

"I thought we were a little too banged up defensively to continue, and with (Louis) Ivory running from 25 yards and in, it was tough," said Chattanooga head coach Donnie Kirkpatrick. "We had the momentum and we were three yards from winning the game, but Furman is a good team. They didn't panic in the overtime period."

"That was either win it or lose it right there on the last play of the game, and Andre stepped up and made a great play," said Furman head coach Bobby Johnson. "We went man-to-man there and told our guys to stay with them and they did, and it worked out for us. We won the game and that's the most important thing."

Furman took a 38-31 lead when Louis Ivory reeled off a 45-yard touchdown run with 3:34 remaining in the game, but Chattanooga answered on its final possession in regulation, moving 65 yards in eight plays to tie the contest when Sanders, on a fourth-and-one play, connected with Ronnie Strickland on a 9-yard touchdown pass with only 21 seconds left.

The game featured 1,029 yards in combined total offense and a pair of outstanding individual performances.

In rushing for 207 yards and a touchdown, Paladin tailback Louis Ivory, the leading rusher in NCAA I-AA football, became the first player in Southern Conference history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Ivory's 200-yard performance, his fifth of the season, helped him eclipse the previous season standard of 1,932 yards set by Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson in 1998 and give him 2,079 yards on the year.

Chattanooga quarterback Chris Sanders, meanwhile, completed 32-of-47 passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns to finish his career as the Southern Conference's second all-time leading passer with 7,230 yards in only 22 games.

"Louis has been doing it for us all year, and he certainly came up big for us again today," said Johnson. "He seemed to get better as the game moved along, and he was certainly big for us in the fourth quarter. He made big play after big play when we had to have it. That's the mark of great player."

The win was Furman's first in five overtime clashes over the years and will likely guarantee the Paladins a home game in the first round of the NCAA I-AA playoffs, which get underway next Saturday. The playoff brackets will be announced Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.

Furman's ability to defeat Chattanooga looked slim in the early going as the Mocs scored on their first two possessions of the game to take a 14-0 lead following a 1-yard touchdown run by Jason Ball and a 54-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Richmond Flowers.

The Paladins got on the board late in the first period when Bear Rinehart gathered in a pass from quarterback Justin Hill and sidestepped a pair of UTC defenders to complete a 37-yard touchdown pass.

Furman knotted the game at 14-14 when Derek Russell scored his first of three touchdowns in the contest on a 3-yard run at the 4:06 juncture of the second quarter.

UTC regained the lead, however, when Matt Vick booted a 37-yard field goal with just 23 seconds left before halftime.

In the third quarter an interception and return by cornerback Richie Jackson to the Furman 32 helped the Paladins take their first lead of the game. Three plays later quarterback Justin Hill broke free on a 61-yard touchdown run at the 11:38 mark.

A 37-yard field goal by Furman's Danny Marshall extended the Paladins' lead to 24-17 before Chattanooga tied it at 24-24 on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to DeMatteo with a little over two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Paladins and Mocs traded touchdowns, setting up the overtime period.

Game Statistics