JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 15, 2016) – The Furman Paladins scored on their first eight possessions of the game and collected 511 yards in total offense on their way to a 52-7 win over the ETSU Buccaneers Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference football action at Kermit Tipton Stadium.  

With the win, Furman picked up its first victory of the season and improved to 1-6 overall, 1-3 in SoCon play. Meanwhile, the Bucs dropped their fourth straight game and fell to 2-4 overall, 1-4 in league action.

The Bucs’ offensive woes continued, as ETSU has now scored just three touchdowns in their last 16 quarters of football. In all, ETSU collected just 210 yards in total offense.

While the Bucs struggled on offense, Furman quarterback Reese Hannon was impressive in the contest. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound senior from Greer, S.C., did not miss on his first pass of game until the 6:56 mark of the second quarter, completing his first 13 pass attempts and finishing the game 16-of-18 for 267 yards and four touchdown passes. Furman also rushed for 198 yards, led by a game-high 57 from tailback Antonio Wilcox.  

HOW THEY SCORED:

First Quarter

• Furman 7, ETSU 0: The Paladins wasted little time grabbing the early lead, taking the opening kickoff and driving 73 yards on seven plays to score on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Hannon to wide receiver Andrej Suttles. Kicker Jon Croft Hollingsworth’s extra point was good and Furman took a 7-0 advantage with 11:15 left in the first quarter.
• Furman 14, ETSU 0: After a three-and-out by the ETSU offense, the Paladins struck again on their second possession of the game, as Hannon found tight end Duncan Fletcher on a nine-yard scoring strike. Hollingsworth connected on the extra point to wrap up the six-play, 47-yard drive and put Furman up 14-0 with 6:47 left in the first quarter.

• Furman 21, ETSU 0: Going 9-for-9 through the air for 170 yards to start the game, Hannon continued moving the ball down field its third possession of the game, hitting Suttles for his second scoring reception of the contest. This time the pass went for 56 yards and Furman led 21-0 with 4:21 left in the half.

Second Quarter

• Furman 28, ETSU 0: On the first play of the second quarter, Hannon continued to stand out, hitting on his 12^th straight pass of the game by finding wide receiver Andy Schumpert on a 21-yard scoring strike. The extra point was good and the Paladins led 28-0 with just under 15 minutes left in the first half. The six-play, 64-yard drive took 2:37 off the clock.

• Furman 35, ETSU 0: After the Bucs missed a 38-yard field goal attempt, Furman made it a perfect 5-for-5 on its first-half offensive possessions, going 79 yards on 10 plays and capping the drive with a 2-yard scoring run by Richard Hayes III to make it 35-0 with 3:30 left in the first half. 

Third Quarter 

• Furman 42, ETSU 0: The Paladins scored for the sixth straight possession thanks to a seven-play, 53-yard drive that took three minutes off the clock. Wilcox culminated the drive with a 10-yard scoring run with 10:48 left in the third quarter. 

Fourth Quarter 

• Furman 49, ETSU 0: Furman kept rolling offensively with its seventh straight touchdown of the game, as running back Triston Luke rushed for a 1-yard scoring run to wrap up a nine-play, 69-yard drive that took 4:25 off the clock. 

• Furman 52, ETSU 0: The Paladins tacked on their final score of the game when Hollingsworth’s split the uprights on a 46-yard field goal with 7:51 left in the game. 

• Furman 52, ETSU 7: ETSU was able to break through on the scoreboard in the final two minutes of the game, as backup quarterback Nick Sexton (Seymour) scrambled for 31 yards to power the drive and running back Matt Thompson (Morristown) capped it with an 11-yard scoring run with 1:25 left in the game. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:  

• Furman’s first quarter offensive statistics were impressive. The Paladins scored 21 points and racked up 243 yards in total offense in the first 15 minutes of play. Hannon was 11-for-11 for 197 yards and three scores during that single quarter alone.                            

• ETSU sophomore linebacker Dylan Weigel (Pickerington, Ohio) recorded his third straight game with double-digit tackles by finishing with a game-high 12 stops on the day. It also marked his 13^th career game with double-digit stops … Freshman defensive back Jeremy Lewis (Lawrenceville, Ga.) totaled a career-high nine tackles, while two of Alonzo Francois’ (Ooltewah, Tenn.) three tackles went for a loss. 

• Furman now leads the all-time series 24-7. The Paladins have won seven of last 11 meetings between the two programs. 

• Thompson’s 11-yard rushing touchdown marked his first collegiate rushing score … He also has a 2-yard touchdown reception, which came in the 34-31 win over Western Carolina at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

• Sexton and Thompson combined for 72 of ETSU’s 131 rushing yards … Sexton’s 22-yard run on the scoring drive marked the longest of his career. 

• The 21 points in the first quarter marked the most given up by a Buccaneer defense since allowing 22 at Montana State last season (Oct. 24, 2015). 

• Attendance for Saturday’s game with 6,052. 

UP NEXT

The Bucs will return home to face non-conference opponent West Virginia Wesleyan Thursday night, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. inside Kermit Tipton Stadium.