After two close losses on the road to Georgia State and Virginia Tech, the Paladins looked to appease a Family Weekend crowd against SoCon rival Mercer.
Quarterback Darren Grainger threw for 190 yards and a touchdown, as well as running in for a score. Furman had a total of 410 yards rushing, more than double Mercer’s 121 yards.
Not only did the offense dominate the field, but so did the defense. The Paladins recorded three interceptions for the game, and kept Mercer to only 10 points, which were all in the first half.
The Paladins dominated the game through and through, and the final score ended, 45-10. The team improved to 2-2.
Coming off a win at home, the football team looked to keep the home streak alive against ETSU. The Buccaneers became a tougher opponent compared to Mercer, and the game stayed close. However, ETSU never gained a lead, and the Paladins won, 17-10.
Redshirt freshman Grainger opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Ryan DeLuca.
While against Mercer the Dins’ offense shined brightly, the defense took the spotlight in this game with two forced turnovers in the fourth quarter. This advanced the Paladins to maintain a lead and win the SoCon matchup.
After two SoCon wins, Furman was ranked 14th in AFCA FCS Coaches’ Poll. Winless on the road, the Paladins looked to remain undefeated within SoCon this past weekend against Samford, in Birmingham.
The scoring started in the Bulldog’s favor, with an 11-play drive to the endzone. Furman within 13 seconds bounced back with a 75 yard run from Junior Devin Wynn. The scoring did not end there, as the Paladins scored three more touchdowns in the first quarter alone, to have a 28-7 lead.
The rest of the half continued in a similar fashion, with two more touchdowns from Furman’s offense. Senior wide receiver Thomas Gordon caught three touchdowns in the first half alone. Samford scored one final touchdown to improve their score to 14, but lacked in offense the rest of the game.
With the second half, the Paladins scored two more touchdowns and a 46 yard field goal, to end the game at 58-14. This third straight win in the season improved the team to 4-2 on the season.
The men’s football team will have a bye week this week, and come back for action on Oct. 19 against the Citadel, on Furman’s Homecoming weekend.