September 16, 2002

FURMAN REMAINS SEVENTH IN NCAA I-AA POLL;
NAPIER TABBED SOCON OFFENSIVE PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK

GREENVILLE -- Riding the strong arm of Southern Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week Billy Napier, the Furman Paladins remained seventh in this week's Sports Network NCAA I-AA poll following a 57-7 dismantling of Elon on Saturday.

Napier, a senior from Chatsworth, Ga., completed 8-of-10 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns in a little over one quarter of action against Phoenix. His scoring strikes covered 78, 71, 11, and 7 yards, with three going to sophomore split end Isaac West. Napier and West connected on a 78-yard play on the Paladins' first snap from scrimmage on the way to a 35-0 first quarter lead.

The Paladins scored on their first six possessions and led 49-0 at halftime. "Billy probably had the most productive 17-play game of any quarterback in Furman history," said Bobby Lamb, who earned his first victory as head coach of the Paladins. "When he hit Isaac in stride on the first play, it really got us going."

Napier's work against Elon also established a new Southern Conference record for single game pass efficiency. His 411.08 rating eclipsed the previous league standard set by VMI¹s Tony Scales in 1990. In two games this year he has thrown for 478 yards and completed 29-of-41 pass attempts (70.7 percent).

Furman returns to action this Saturday when it takes on the 22nd-ranked Richmond Spiders in Richmond. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

SPORTS NETWORK NCAA I-AA FOOTBALL POLL
(September 16, 2002)

Rnk. Team 2002 Record Points Previous
1) Montana (115) 3-0 2,994 1
2) McNeese State (4) 3-0 2,785 3
3) Lehigh (1) 2-0 2,667 2
4) Maine 3-0 2,468 6
5) Appalachian State 1-1 2,462 5
6) Northern Iowa 1-1 2,442 4
7) Furman 1-1 2,218 7
8) Portland State 2-0 2,020 10
9) Georgia Southern 1-1 1,944 9
10) Northwestern State 3-0 1,810 13
11) Youngstown State 1-1 1,620 12
12) Hofstra 2-1 1,417 17
13) Eastern Illinois 0-2 1,321 8
14) Villanova 2-1 1,310 11
15) Florida A&M 2-1 1,249 19
16) Grambling State 2-1 960 20
17) William & Mary 1-2 908 18
18) Northeastern 2-0 829 22
19) Northern Arizona 2-1 748 NR
20) Western Illinois 2-0 661 NR
21) Eastern Kentucky 1-2 572 16
22) Richmond 1-1 524 23
23) Holy Cross 2-0 502 25
24) Bethune-Cookman 3-0 286 NR
25) Alabama State 3-0 283 NR