FURMAN 37, CHATTANOOGA 7

Game Statistics

GREENVILLE -- Hindley Brigham rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns to power NCAA I-AA eighth-ranked Furman to a 35-7 Southern Conference win over Chattanooga Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

Brigham, a junior tailback from Birmingham, Ala., scored on runs of 1 and 58 yards to help Furman (8-3, 6-2 SoCon) take control of the contest and earn its eighth straight win over Chattanooga (2-10, 2-6 SoCon), whose head coach Donnie Kirkpatrick, it was announced recently, would be reassigned within Chattanooga’s athletics department following three seasons as head coach.

Furman will now await the announcement of the 16-team NCAA I-AA playoffs bracket on Sunday. The Paladins, who last year went 13-2 and finished as national runnerup, finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Southern Conference with Appalachian State and Wofford. Furman has made three straight NCAA I-AA playoff appearances and 11 bids to postseason play since the conference was reclassified from I-A to I-AA in 1982.

“This was a scary game coming in because Chattanooga had won their last two and had nothing to lose, but I thought we handled it well after a slow start,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “We got a big turnover in the third quarter, and that jump started our offense and we played well after that. Our defense played extremely well.”

“We couldn’t get our rhythm going in the first quarter,” said Donnie Kirkpatrick. “The Furman defense played well. I can see why Furman is the No. 1 pass defense in the league. I wish we could have had a better showing today.”

A 7-yard touchdown pass from Billy Napier to Isaac West on the Paladins’ first possession gave Furman a 7-0 lead at the 10:52 mark of the first quarter.

Chattanooga battled back to tie the game after moving 90 yards in 18 plays for a 5-yard touchdown pass from Ryan McCann to Jason Jones at the 6:52 juncture of the second quarter.

Furman, however, regained the lead a short while later after defensive tackle LeBryan Sperling recovered a fumble at the UTC 35. A 19-yard pass from Napier to Isaac West moved the Paladins to the 1 before Brigham ran off right guard into the end zone to give Furman a 14-7 lead with only 37 seconds remaining in the half.

The Paladins capitalized on another Chattanooga turnover in the third quarter to add to its advantage. An interception and 26-yard return by cornerback Rodney Johnson to the UTC 30 led to a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Corey Tant to make it 21-7.

Furman padded its lead later with a 58-yard run by Brigham off an option pitch and a 5-yard touchdown pass by backup quarterback Bo Moore to split end James Thomas.

Furman outgained Chattanooga 339-219 in total offense and rolled up 240 yards on the ground to the Mocs’ 54. The Paladins recorded a season high three sacks.

Paladin quarterback Billy Napier, who completed 12-of-15 passes for 94 yards and a score, hit sophomore split end Isaac West for six completions for 70 yards. Senior flanker Bear Rinehart, meanwhile, caught five passes for 24 yards to establish a new Furman season receptions record, eclipsing the previous standard of 53 receptions set by Robbie Hahn in 1967. The Seneca, S.C., product now has 58 receptions on the year.

Furman’s defense, which did not allow UTC to cross midfield in the second half, was paced by sophomore linebacker Mike Killian with eight tackles.

Chattanooga senior middle linebacker Josh Cain notched 14 tackles for his 13th straight game with at least 10 tackles.