CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College football team battled rain, fog and 35 years of history on Saturday night against No. 12 Furman, but the Blue Hose prevailed with a sterling defensive effort to upset the visiting Paladins, 10-7.
PC (2-1) held Furman (2-1) to a season-low 214 yards and snapped a 15-game losing streak that dated back to 1979 with the victory. The game started one hour and 47 minutes late due to weather delays, but PC showed no signs of fatigue as quarterback Heys McMath (Savannah, Ga.) found tight end Kris Hurley (Lawrenceville, Ga.) for a nine-yard touchdown pass with 8:15 left in the game to put PC up for the first and last time.
Linebacker DaRon Dickey (Greenville, S.C.) made a huge play early in the fourth quarter, hitting quarterback Dillon Woodruff to jar the ball loose for a fumble. Dickey then recovered to give PC starting position at the Furman 35.
A holding call reversed a Blue Hose touchdown and pushed the home side back to the 17. A Demarcus Rouse (North Augusta, S.C.) rush took the Blue Hose to the Furman 9, which prompted a timeout on third down. Facing third down, the offense rolled left and McMath threw to Hurley, who fought off pass interference and hauled in the touchdown.
The PC defense held—nearly grabbing an interception—and forced a Furman punt, starting a new drive at its own 27 with seven minutes left. The Blue Hose could not score but burned three minutes off the clock, for a new Furman drive at its own 27.
Woodruff broke a 21-yard run to get the Paladins to the 50-yard line and the Paladins converted a fourth down shortly thereafter. That would mark the final conversion, however, as the Blue Hose held Furman to no more yards and took over on downs with 1:24 to go. The victory formation sealed the win, head coach Harold Nichols's first win over Furman and his first ranked win at PC.
The PC defense held a team to seven points or fewer for the first time since a 38-6 win over VMI on November 12, 2011. The Blue Hose posted seven tackles for a loss and sacked Woodruff four times, limiting Furman to 4-of-15 on third down. Isaiah Lynn (Fort Lawn, S.C.) led the defense with eight tackles—seven solo—and also sacked Woodruff once. PC won the turnover battle, two to one, with two forced fumbles. Donelle Williams (Starke, Fla.) also delivered six solo tackles and came up with a crucial eight-yard sack.
McMath finished with a 9-for-18 day for 79 yards and a touchdown. Darrell Bridges (Rossville, Ga.) led PC on the ground with a game-high 46 yards while Tobi Antigha's (Tampa, Fla.) 33 yards paced all receivers.
Woodruff went 10-for-24 for 114 yards and a score. He also ran for a team-high 41 yards and Andrej Suttles caught three passes for 31 yards.
Furman received the opening kickoff and worked its way into field goal position. PC blocked the 44-yard try, however, and Steve Osondu (McDonough, Ga.) recovered the ball to keep Furman off the scoreboard.
The PC defense struck on Furman's next drive. On third down, Deonte' Davis (Lithonia, Ga.) took down Paladins quarterback Dillon Woodruff and the ball popped loose for Khari Rosier (Lithonia, Ga.), who recovered to give PC starting position at the Furman 33. The Blue Hose could not capitalize, but Ed Britt (Greensboro, N.C.) downed a Stephen Doar (Landrum, S.C.) punt to pin the Paladins at their own two-yard line.
Doar punted eight times on the night and five of his kicks put Furman behind its own 20-yard line.
The Paladins moved up the field and drew first blood with a Dillon Woodruff 43-yard touchdown pass to Chad Scott. The score gave the Paladins a 7-0 lead with 1:24 to go in the first quarter but would stand as its only score.
A PC fumble gave Furman the ball back on the next series, but the Paladins missed a 37-yard field goal. The Blue Hose continued to post a strong showing the field position game at the end of the drive, with Doar putting Furman on the its own 17.
Furman started from its own 13 on its next drive and the Blue Hose forced a three-and-out. PC moved 38 yards up the field for a pivotal 4th and 2. Coach Harold Nichols elected to go for it, sending Heys McMath to find Kris Hurley for a 15-yard completion that put the Blue Hose 11 yards from paydirt with one minute left in the half.
McMath eventually delivered a third-down strike to Tobi Antigha (Tampa, Fla.) on the three-yard line with 11 seconds left, setting up a 20-yard Brett Wilson (Apopka, Fla.) field goal to make it a 7-3 game at halftime.
PC held Furman to 136 total yards in the first half, sacking Woodruff three times. The Blue Hose posted 94 yards of their own and each team ran 30 plays each despite Furman holding the ball for four minutes longer. PC outgained Furman 92-7 in the second quarter.
The teams traded possessions in the third quarter as fog rolled in and covered the field for the rest of the game. Doar continued to keep Furman deep in its own end and a Donelle Williams sack forced a punt late in the quarter.
PC then staged its heroics to pull off the upset, beginning with Dickey's crucial fumble recovery.
The Blue Hose next play at NC State on Saturday at 6 p.m.
