October 25, 2003
NCAA I-AA 22ND RANKED FURMAN DOWNS EAST TENNESSEE STATE 30-10
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Josh Stepp passed for 208 yards and a touchdown and ran for another to lead NCAA I-AA 22nd-ranked Furman to a 30-10 win over East Tennessee State in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Stepp, a redshirt freshman quarterback from Pelion, S.C., making only his second career start, completed 10-of-14 passes, including a 21-yard scoring strike to Brian Bratton, and later added a 21-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter to pace Furman (5-3, 3-2 SoCon) to its third straight triumph over East Tennessee State (3-5, 0-4 SoCon).
The contest represented the final meeting between the two schools following East Tennessee State’s decision to terminate its football program following the season. Furman claimed the all-time series 23-7.
"My hats off to Paul Hamilton,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “He’s doing a great job with that team. They could have quit at any time today, but they hung in there and battled us all the way. I thought our defense, however, was the difference. They came up big, and our offense finally came through with some points in the second half. Josh Stepp grew up a lot today. He made plays with his arm and his legs.”
“I felt like our team could come in here and compete and have a chance to win,” said East Tennessee State head coach Paul Hamilton. “I really think five or six plays today determined the game. We gave up too many third and longs, and offensively we had a lot of chances to score but didn’t capitalize.”
Both teams traded field goals to open the contest before Furman used a fumble recovery by Mike Killian at the Buccaneer 21 to set up the game’s first touchdown. A 1-yard plunge by fullback Brandon Berry with only seven seconds left in the first quarter gave the Paladins a 10-3 lead.
In the second quarter Furman extended its advantage to 17-3 when Stepp, on a third down and 14-play, connected with Bratton for a 21-yard touchdown strike at the 11:26 mark.
Primus Glover’s fumble recovery on the second half kickoff gave East Tennessee State the ball at the Furman 26, but the Buccaneers failed to convert the scoring opportunity when, on a fourth-and-one play at the Paladin 3, Cam Newton stopped the Bucs’ Andrew Nuckolls for no gain.
Two possessions later Glover’s second fumble recovery of the contest and 22-yard return gave ETSU the ball at the Furman 15, but the Buccaneers failed to score again when a bad snap from center on a 31-yard field goal attempt was downed at the Furman 39.
Later in the quarter the Buccaneers finally cashed in on a Furman miscue, taking advantage of a 14-yard punt to the Paladin 30. Turning to running back Gaven Varner for six consecutive rushes, East Tennessee State covered the 30 yards in eight plays for a touchdown, which came on a 1-yard plunge by Varner on a fourth-and-goal play to make it 17-10 with 14:05 to go.
Furman responded with a 57-yard kickoff return by Daric Carter to the Buccaneer 23, and four plays later Danny Marshall converted his second field goal of the contest, a 38-yard effort, to increase the Furman advantage to 20-10.
Two possessions later Furman took control of the game. A Stepp 35-yard pass to Bratton to the ETSU 45 was followed by back-to-back completions to Isaac West covering 10 and 16 yards. Two plays later Stepp scrambled up the middle 21 yards and into the end zone to complete a five-play, 80-yard drive that gave the Paladins a 27-10 lead at the 4:08 mark.
A sack and fumble recovery by Travis Jones at the East Tennessee State 13 led to a Marshall 20-yard field goal — his third of the game — at the 1:45 juncture.
Furman outgained East Tennessee State 399-174 in total offense and got a game high 126 yards rushing by senior tailback Hindley Brigham. Killian and Michael Burant paced the Paladins’ defensive effort with eight tackles each. The Paladins limited ETSU to only 68 total yards in the second half. Marshall’s three field goals and three PATs improved his career scoring total to 292 points, leaving him only 10 points shy of the Southern Conference career kick scoring record currently held by Western Carolina’s Kirk Roach (302 points, 1984-87).
Furman is off next Saturday but will return to action on Nov. 8 against Georgia Southern in Statesboro. East Tennessee State, meanwhile, will host Georgia Southern in Johnson City next Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. game.