November 3, 2001
FOURTH-RANKED GEORGIA SOUTHERN
STOPS
SECOND-RANKED FURMAN 20-10
STATESBORO, GA. -- Quarterback J.R. Revere totaled 130 yards in offense and scored two touchdowns to lift the NCAA I-AA fourth-ranked Georgia Southern Eagles to a 20-10 win over the second-ranked Furman Paladins in Southern Conference football action Saturday at Paulson Stadium.
Revere, a senior who did not start in Georgia Southern's two previous games due to injuries, ran for 77 yards and threw for 53 more in helping the Eagles (8-1, 6-1 SoCon) bounce back from last week's 19-16 loss to unranked East Tennessee State. The defeat snapped a six-game season winning streak by Furman (6-2, 5-1 SoCon) and avenged the Eagles' 45-10 loss to the Paladins last year in Greenville.
Revere's 1-yard touchdown run with 10:33 to go in the game gave Georgia Southern a 17-10 lead, and the Eagles later got a 42-yard field goal from Scott Shelton with 2:28 left to make it 20-10.
Revere's go-ahead touchdown was set by a fumble recovery by the Eagles' Corey Middlebrooks at the Georgia Southern 23-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter. Furman had driven 57 yards in eight plays and appeared to be in position to take command of the game, but Middlebrooks pounced on a fumbled exchange between Paladin quarterback Billy Napier and fullback Corey Tant. From there, Georgia Southern moved 77 yards in nine plays for Revere's decisive score.
"The fumble was big, but I don't think it was the nail in the coffin," said Furman head coach Bobby Johnson. "We had chances to get back in the game after that but didn't make the plays."
After an exchange of possessions, Furman took over at the Georgia Southern 49 with 7:34 left following a short Eagle punt. After Napier connected with James Thomas for 12 yards and a first down to the Georgia Southern 30, the Paladins failed on three successive pass plays before a tipped Napier fourth down pass was intercepted by Georgia Southern's Derrick Butler and returned eight yards to the Eagle 27.
From there the Eagles moved 48 yards in seven plays for Shelton's 42-yard field goal that effectively sealed the victory.
"I'm so proud of our team," said Georgia Southern head coach Paul Johnson. "They didn't get down when Furman got the momentum and kept their heads in the game."
The contest featured two of the most prolific running backs in NCAA I-AA in Furman's Louis Ivory and Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson, and duo, as expected, delivered solid performances. Ivory, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner, ran 23 times for 122 yards and a touchdown while Peterson, the 1999 Payton Award recipient, recorded 24 carries for 158 yards.
Ivory's touchdown run, which covered 23 yards on a draw play with less than a minute lefft in the first half, tied the game at 7-7.
Furman broke the 7-7 deadlock by taking the second half kickoff and moving 71 yards in 10 plays for a Danny Marshall 30-yard field goal. The Eagles, however, came back to knot the game at 10-10 with a 35-yard field goal by Shelton with 4:13 left in the third quarter, capping a 14-play, 57-yard possession.
Georgia Southern nosed out Furman 329-328 in total offense, and the Eagles outrushed the Paladins 276-132. Furman, however, accounted for 196 yards in the air, with Napier completing 17-of-31 passes. Senior tight end Trent Sansbury matched his career high receptions with five catches for 80 yards. Junior split end Bear Rinehart, meannwhile, had five receptions for 57 yards.
Furman returns to action next Saturday when it hosts league rival Wofford in a 3:30 p.m. game televised by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast.