November 22, 2003
FURMAN CLOSES SEASON WITH 63-21 WHIPPING OF UTC
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Hindley Brigham rushed for a career high 145 yards and a touchdown to secure his place in Furman's record book and Bo Moore passed for 199 yards and a pair of scores while running for another to lead Furman past Chattanooga 63-21 in the Southern Conference season finale for both teams Saturday at Finley Stadium.
Brigham, a senior tailback from Birmingham, Ala., carried the ball 11 times and scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to become the 12th player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He finished the campaign with 1,039 yards and also became only the eighth Furman player ever to run for over 2,000 yards in a career (2,031).
Moore, a junior from Madison, Ga., completed 12-of-17 passes and threw touchdown passes covering 44 and 26 while running three yards for another tally to spark the Paladins to 635 yards in total offense, the second highest single game total in school history. The Paladins rolled up 436 yards on the ground and passed for 199.
The victory gave Furman (6-5, 4-4 SoCon) its fifth straight winning season and marked the Paladins’ ninth straight triumph over Chattanooga (3-9, 3-5 SoCon).
“I was proud of the way we executed on offense,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “We finally played a complete game and made a lot of big plays. Our offensive line did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage, and Bo Moore played an excellent game. It was a big day for us, one that we had been looking for all year long.”
With the score tied 7-7 after one quarter, Furman exploded for 21 points late in first half to grab a 28-7 advantage.
A Lamar Rembert 44-yard touchdown reception at the 4:37 mark broke the deadlock, and less than three minutes later Moore connected with tight end Willis Sudderth for a 26-yard touchdown strike to make it 21-7. On the ensuing kickoff, Furman’s William Marcus pounced on a pooch kick at the UTC 25, and seven plays later fullback Justin Perdue bulled over from one yard out with 15 seconds left to complete the flurry.
Furman continued its scoring run in the third quarter, using an interception by All-Southern Conference free safety Cam Newton and return to the Furman 49 to set up a 48-yard Moore pass to the Isaac West to the UTC 3. On the next play Brigham bounced off left guard into the end zone for the score to make it 35-7.
Chattanooga cut it 35-14 on the ensuing possession when Alonzo Nix gathered in a Kurtis Koester pass, bounced off several defenders, and raced 48 yards into the end zone for a score at the 9:46 mark of the third period.
Furman later upped its advantage to 42-14 with a Moore 3-yard option keeper around right end late in the third period.
The Paladins added three scores in the fourth quarter on runs by reserves, including a 22-yard scoring run by sophomore Brandon Mays and successive tallies by sophomore Daric Carter covering 3 and 54 yards.
Furman placekicker Danny Marshall converted eight of the Paladins’ nine PATs to finish his career as the Southnern Conference’s all-time kick scoring leader (312 points).