FURMAN HOLDS OFF RICHMOND 17-7

Scoring Summary, Statistics

RICHMOND, VA. -- Billy Napier threw for 219 yards and rushed for 27 yards and a key fourth quarter touchdown to lead NCAA I-AA seventh-ranked Furman to a 17-7 win over 22nd-ranked Richmond Saturday evening at University of Richmond Stadium.

Napier, a senior from Chatsworth, Ga., and the Southern Conference’s top rated passer, completed 19-of-26 passes to pace Furman’s offense, but it was his 1-yard sneak into the end zone with 10:38 left in the game that broke open a 10-7 contest and gave the Paladins a 17-7 lead. Furman’s decisive drive covered 69 yards in 10 plays and included a 32-yard run by tailback Toreico O’Neal to the Spiders 3-yard line.

“It (O’Neil’s run) was a draw play and he bounced it outside and used his speed to make a big time play to get it down close, and we punched it in,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb.

The key fourth quarter score came two possessions after the Paladins stopped Richmond on downs as the Furman 1. Trailing 10-7, the Spiders’ Danny Young picked off a Billy Napier pass and returned it 11 yards to the Paladins 34. Three plays later quarterback D’Arcy Wills connected with Dan McNair for 20 yards to the Furman 8. Two rushes by Lee Williams and a run by Wills moved the ball at the 1, but Wills was stopped a foot short of the goal line on fourth down.

“That was the biggest play of the game,” said Lamb. “Obviously it changed the momentum of the game a bit because we were sputtering a bit on offense. After that play our offense was able to move it out far enough to punt it.”

“Furman has a very good defense and they played very well, but we were inside the one-yard line and came away with zero, and we missed a field goal,” said Richmond head coach Jim Reid. “If we execute, we could have been more productive and had a possible 17 points on the board.”

In the first meeting between the Paladins and Spiders since 1977, Furman grabbed an early 7-0 lead after taking the opening kickoff and moving 71 yards in 11 plays for a 4-yard touchdown run by tailback Hindley Brigham at the 10:20 mark.

Richmond answered on its first possession by marching 81 yards in 15 plays for a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Wills to knot the game at 7-7 with 2:35 left in the first quarter.

“They hurt us with the misdirection on their first drive. It was a little crossbuck play and we were overpursuing, but settled down and played better after that,” said Lamb.

Late in the first quarter Furman suffered a big blow when sophomore split end Isaac West, the Southern Conference’s leading receiver, sustained a fractured collarbone. West, who last week caught three touchdown passes in the Paladins’ 57-7 win over Elon, will be out from three to six weeks “depending on his ability to regain range of motion and pain tolerance,” said team physician Dr. John Vann.

With its speedy wide receiver out of the contest, the Paladins turned to senior All-Southern Conference flanker Bear Rinehart, and the Seneca, S.C., native responded with a career high nine receptions for 94 yards, including a pair of catches covering 25 yards to help set up a 39-yard Danny Marshall field goal midway through the second quarter to give Furman a 10-7 advantage.

Furman’s goal line stand highlighted a scoreless third quarter that saw the Paladins’ offense saddled with poor field position, starting a pair of drives at the 3 and 1 yard lines.

Not until its third possession of the second half was Furman able to grab good field position following a 10-yard punt return by Rinehart to the Paladin 31, which initiated the Paladins’ decisive 69-yard touchdown drive.

“We knew Richmond would play hard for four quarters, and we reminded our guys about that at halftime. It ended up being that kind of game, but we made enough big plays to win it, and that’s big four our team -- to win a game like this on the road.”

Furman outgained Richmond 385-249 and displayed solid balance, rushing for 166 yards and passing for 219. Other than one interception, the Paladins played error free football and recorded their first penalty free game since the 1995 season in a 24-3 win over The Citadel in Charleston. Furman has been the least penalized team in the conference over the last three years.

Brigham paced all rushers with 60 yards on 14 carries, and sophomore Brian Bratton stepped in for the injured West to nab five catches for 60 yards. Sophomore linebackers Mike Killian and Cedrick Ritter paced Furman’s defensive effort with 11 and 10 tackles respectively, with Ritter also adding a tackle-for-loss, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection.

The Paladins open Southern Conference play next Saturday when they take on VMI in Lexington in a 1:00 p.m. game.