March 20, 2004

ENTHUSIASTIC SCRIMMAGE PLEASES FURMAN’S LAMB;
MARTIN EARNS TOP QUARTERBACK SPOT

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman head football coach Bobby Lamb came away impressed with the work of his team during Saturday’s scrimmage in Paladin Stadium, and the third year Paladin mentor also announced that Ingle Martin had earned the job as Furman’s top quarterback.

“There was a lot of enthusiasm out there today on both sides of the football,” said Lamb following the two-hour session. “We made some big plays on offense and defense, and that’s what you like to see at this point in spring practice

In the second major scrimmage of the spring season, Furman was paced by junior quarterback Ingle Martin, who completed 11-of-16 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. A transfer from the University of Florida who joined the Paladin program in January, Martin connected with flanker Brian Bratton for 40 yards on his first pass of the scrimmage, and later added a 30-yard touchdown pass to Bratton, who ran over cornerback Keith Johnson on the way to the end zone. Martin suffered his first interception in two scrimmages when he was picked off by safety Jeremy Blocker for a touchback.

“We made the decision earlier in the week to move Ingle up to the first unit because he’s earned it,” said Lamb. “He’s still feeling his way a bit, but it’s evident that he brings a lot of ability to the position and will help us for the remainder of the spring.”

Backup quarterback Bo Moore, hit on the knee by a line drive foul ball while attending Friday evening’s Furman-Georgia Southern baseball game, went 1-for-7 for 7 yards in Saturday’ scrimmage, and Josh Stepp completed 6-of-7 passes for 72 yards.

Bratton led all receivers with three catches for 78 yards, and Isaac West collected three passes for 34 yards. Grant Brigham also had three receptions for 32 yards, and Patrirck Sprague caught two passes for 31 yards.

Tailback Daric Carter paced all rushers with four carries for 61 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown run off an option pitch from Josh Stepp, and Brandon Mays added 55 yards on 11 carries for the Paladins, including a three-yard touchdown burst off left guard. Redshirt freshman Cedrick Gipson tallied 48 yards on 11 carries.

Defensive end Roy Ravenell keyed the defense when he sacked Martin for an 8-yard loss and ran Justin Stepp out of bounds on a reverse play two yards behind the line of scrimmage. Nose guard Wesley Bray and defensive ends Wallace Artis and Andrew Carson also registered sacks. Defensive tackle Travis Jones and nose guard Lutrell Alford, meanwhile, each contributed a tackle-for-loss.

In the competition for placekicking chores, Walker Simmons led the way by converting 10-of-13 attempts from distances ranging from 27 to 43 yards. Michael McFadden found the mark on 9-of-13 tries, and Traver Toole was 5-of-13.

“I saw a lot of improvement in our kickers today over last Saturday,” said Lamb. “We mixed in a little live rush to simulate actual game conditions, and I thought they (kickers) handled it pretty well.”

Furman returns to the practice field on Monday with a 3:30 p.m. session.