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SoCon Football: Week one recap and power rankings

The opening weekend of Southern Conference football came and went, and while there was at least one surprise, both Furman and Wofford produced the expected results, with wins over both Western Carolina and Mercer in somewhat convincing fashion.

But there was at least one thriller on the weekend, as East Tennessee State was able to come from behind to take what was a 24-17 SoCon-opening win in what was easily the game of the weekend inside the league. 

How ETSU's comeback happened:

It was that vaunted ETSU defense that helped the Bucs come away with the season-opening win at William B. Greene Stadium over Samford, and the win came despite the Bucs having to come from a 14-0 deficit early on in the contest. 

The win by the Bucs snapped what had been a three-game losing streak in the series against the Bulldogs. Like both Furman and Wofford, East Tennessee State and Samford both decided to forego the fall season in anticipation of the spring. 

Samford quarterback Chris Oladokun looked nearly unstoppable on the first couple of drives of the contest, as he had the Bucs defense on their proverbial heels. The Bulldogs got a pair of first quarter touchdowns, as Oladokun tossed a 5-yard scoring pass to Dakota Chapman in the opening half, while Jay Stanton scored on a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the first quarter. 

The Bucs would out-score the Bulldogs 17-3 the rest of the way, as the Bucs would deliver Samford a heavy dose of All-America running back Quay Holmes, and it was Holmes that would get ETSU on the board just prior to the half, plunging in from a year out with five seconds to play in the half, trimming Samford's lead to 14-7.

Early in the third quarter, Alijah Huzzie's 59-yard punt return set up the Bucs in excellent field position. Holmes tied the football game, 14-14, after running it in on another 1-yard scoring plunge before a 34-yard Mitchell Fineran field goal helped the Bulldogs regain a 17-14 leading heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, Tyler Keltner tied the game for the Bucs, as he connected on a 28-yard field goal, making it a 17-17 game just five seconds into the final frame. 

The Bucs defense then did its job, holding the potent Samford offense on back-to-back drives before getting it back to the ETSU offense with 6:21 remaining in the contest. Moments later, the Bucs would then get their biggest play of the afternoon a little less than a minute later when Julian Lane-Price hauled in a 59-yard scoring strike from Tyler Riddell, as the Bucs would assume their first lead of the game with 5:28 remaining.

The ETSU defense would then be called upon to protect that lead for the first time of the contest, and Oladokun and the Bulldogs offense would start at their own 27 yard line, but get all the way down to the ETSU 26 with 16 seconds remaining in the game. However, the ETSU defense would flush Oladokun out of the pocket, and Jalen Porter tipped the pass, and it was Donovan Manuel, who  came down with the game-clinching interception, helping the Bucs to get off to the dramatic 1-0 start to the season.

It was another solid start for Holmes rushing the football, as he finished with 125 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns, as he continued to move up the school's record books, with 2,196 career rushing yards to move into seventh on the program's all-time scroll, surpassing both Jerry Butler and Derek Hollins in the process. 

The Bucs return to action will be idle Saturday before returning to the gridiron when they travel to Wofford to take on one of the SoCon's preseason co-favorites on March 6. The Bulldogs will be at home next Saturday, as they will welcome Western Carolina into the friendly confines of Seibert Stadium, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. EST.

Wofford gets season off to a solid start with a win over Mercer:

Wofford, which entered the season as the preseason favorite by the league's coaches, opened defense of its three-straight Southern Conference football crowns by getting a 31-14 win over visiting Mercer on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium.

The win meant the Terriers remained unbeaten against Mercer since the Bears joined the SoCon as an official member in 2014, improving to 7-0 against Mercer since the Bears joined the SoCon. Mercer, which played three games in the fall against Jacksonville State, Army and Abilene Christian, fell to 0-4 under new coach Drew Cronic.

Wofford, which held a 374-312 edge in total offensive yards, finished with a balanced offensive effort, charting 201 yards on the ground, while posting another 173 through the air in the win. Jimmy Weirick got the start under center for the Terriers, and he finished the contest completing 12-of-18 passes for 173 yards, as four different Terriers were able to score touchdowns in the contest. as Irving Mulligan (5-yd TD run), Ryan Lovelace (2-yd TD run), Nathan Walker (2-yd TD run), and Jamari Broussard (12-yd TD run) all contributed rushing scores for the Terriers, while Dawson Henis added a 25-yard field goal to account for the Terrier points in the contest. Irving Mulligan (11 rush att., 92 yds, 1 TD) was able to lead the Terrier ground attack. 

While the Terrier offense is much more balanced, and was able to be a threat with the passing game, as seven different Wofford players caught a pass, led by KeiAndre Sanders (4 rec, 52 yds), it was Michael Mason's performance on the defensive side of the football, which had most people talking. The sophomore defensive end from Effingham, S.C., that stole the show and ended up landing National Defensive Player of the Week accolades for his performance for the Terriers, as he posted eight tackles, forced two fumbles, posted a pair of sacks and a pair of tackles-for-loss in the Terrier win. 

Like Wofford, Mercer also went with an new starter under center to start out the 2020-21 season, as Carter Peevy got his first start under center for head coach Drew Cronic's Bears. Peavy connected on 11-of-24 throws for 131 yards, while the Mercer ground game was led by Appalachian State transfer Nakendrick Clark, who rushed for 67 yards on 17 attempts, while 'joker' back Deondre Johnson rushed four times for 50 yards, which included one of Mercer's two touchdowns in the contest, scoring on a 4-yard run early in the third quarter to make it a 17-7 game. 

Wofford added back-to-back rushing scores from Walker and Broussard to assume a 31-7 lead in the fourth quarter before Peevy added a 1-yard scoring plunge for the Bears with 2:31 remaining. Mercer's receiving efforts were led Ethan Dirrim, who hauled in four passes for 66 yards.

Wofford will return to action Saturday when it travels to Chattanooga to take on the Mocs, with kickoff slated for noon at Finley Stadium. Mercer will also be in action Saturday when it hosts The Citadel in a 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Five Star Stadium.

Furman rolls past Western Carolina

The other Southern Conference preseason co-favorite--the Furman Paladins--got off to a bit of a rocky start, however, was dominant following an early miscue, which gave Western Carolina an early 7-0 lead, and went on to score 35 unanswered points en route to a 35-7 win at Paladin Stadium to open the spring.

 It wouldn’t start out according to plan, however, for Clay Hendrix’s Furman Paladins, who were sidelined for 448 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, opting not to participate in the fall, while the Catamounts took part in three games during the fall, taking on Liberty, North Carolina and Eastern Kentucky.

 Sophomore quarterback Hamp Sisson, who finished the afternoon completing 14-of-22 passes for 207 yards, with three touchdowns and a pair of INTs, but it was third pass of the day that caused some early concern, as Western Carolina safety Jacob Harris picked off his pass on 3rd-and-4 and returned the ball 47 yards all the way to the Furman 12.

 On 3rd-and-8 from the 10, the Catamounts would find the end zone for their only score of the day, as Penn transfer quarterback Ryan Glover, who was starting his first game for the Catamounts, scampered in from 10 yards out to give the Catamounts a 7-0 lead with 10:38 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Paladins would begin their dominance from that point forward. A little less than four minutes later, Furman had tied the basketball game when Sisson threw his first of three touchdown passes of the contest, connecting with sophomore running back Wayne Anderson Jr on a 6-yard scoring toss to make it a 7-7 game with 6:44 left in the opening quarter.

After Furman’s defense held the Catamount offense to another three-and-out, Furman got the ball back and had a promising drive end with another Sisson interception. Following a eight plays, which covered 28 yards to get the ball just inside Western Carolina territory at the 47, the Paladins faced a 3rd-and-4 play, however, a pass in the flat intended for Ryan Miller was tipped by Miller up in the air and into the diving arms of Catamount ‘spur’ linebacker Curtis Roach and returned two yards to the Catamount 49.

But Furman’s defense didn’t blink, and once again forced a Catamount three-and-out, as Paxton Robertson trotted onto the field for his second punt of the day.

Following a punt that covered 39 yards, which sailed out of bounds, the Paladins embarked on nine-play, 87-yard drive to take a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish the remainder of the afternoon in the Battle for Purple Supremacy, as Sisson tossed his second scoring pass of the day, finding Zach Peterson for the first scoring catch of his career on a 27-yard scoring strike, making it a 14-7 Paladin lead with 10:29 left in the half.

 Furman’s defense continued its stout effort, forcing another three-and-out, and the Paladins wasted little time in getting back on the scoreboard, as Dominic Roberto completed a 10-play, 89-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard scamper to put the Paladins ahead 21-7 with 4:42 remaining in the opening half.

 After three more Glover incompletions, Robertson came on to punt back to the Paladins once again, Furman would assume possession at its own seven and drove 93 yards in 3:34 to cap off a dominating second quarter, as Sisson found Ryan Miller on a 24-yard scoring strike to make it a 28-7 game following Timmy Bleekrode's fourth PAT of the half.

After gaining one of its five first downs on the opening drive of the second half, the Furman defense once again stood strong on third down, as senior defensive end Dru Seabrook broke through to get pressure on Glover, forcing an incompletion and ultimately another Catamount punt. 

Furman would take most of the third quarter to put their fifth and final touchdown on the board and close out what was an impressive season-opening Southern Conference win. The Paladins took 17 plays to cover 74 yards, which was completed by a Devin Wynn 1-yard scoring plunge to make it a 35-7 contest. 

The Paladins ended up dominating the football game in every imaginable way, including out-gaining the Catamounts, 533-109 in total offense, including a 320-67 edge in ground yards, as the Paladins ran 91 plays, while Western Carolina's 36. Furman amassed 33 first downs, while limiting Western Carolina to just five. It was the lowest first down total for a Furman opponent since 1999, when VMI charted just four in a 58-0 Paladin win. 

Furman senior tailback and All-America hopeful Devin Wynn got his final season off to an outstanding start, finishing the contest with 106 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts, avreraging 5.9 yards-per-carry.  With that rushing effort on Saturday, the Greensboro, GA., product finished the contest with over 2,000 yards for a career, marking just the 13th player in Paladin football history to accomplish that feat, and now has 2,063 yards rushing in his career. 

The Paladins had 10 different players make a catch in the contest, led by Peterson, who hauled in four passes for 84 yards and his first-career score. Seeing the first action of his Paladin career, true freshman running back Kendall Thomas from Round Rock, TX, hauled in a pass for 12 yards, while rushing five times for 25 yards, showing glimpses of a bright future in a Paladin uniform much the same way Prosper, TX, product Wayne Anderson. Jr., did in his first-ever game for the Paladins in 2019 against Charleston Southern. 

Anderson finished the contest with three rushes for 17 yards, while hauling in two passes for 33 yards and a score. Furman junior running back Devin Abrams was the Paladins second-leading rusher, as he finished with 57 yards on 12 rush attempts. Miller finished with two catches for 29 yards and a TD.

Furman's defense, meanwhile, swarmed to the football all afternoon, as no player charted more than four tackles in the contest, and it was a unit responsible for forcing eight Catamount punts on the day, while the Paladins opted only to punt just once all game.

The Paladins had three players finish the contest with four stops, with cornerback Darius Kearse, freshman linebacker Evan DiMaggio and redshirt freshman Nick Kuzemka topping the tackle totals for the Paladins, while Kuzemka added half-a-tackle-for-loss to his totals. 

The Catamounts were led offensively by quarterback Ryan Glover, who completed 7-of-14 passes for 42 yards, while Donnavan Spencer rushed for 16 yards on 10 rush attempts. The Catamounts were led defensively by free safety A.J. Rogers, who made 11 tackles, while strong safety Jacob Harris finished with 10 tackles, a sack, a tackle-for-loss and an INT. Talented senior middle linebacker Ty Harris also made 10 stops for Western Carolina.

Furman returns to action next Saturday when it travels to VMI for a 1:30 p.m. contest at Foster Stadium against VMI. The Keydets were supposed to be in action this week, but had their game postponed against Chattanooga, which was slated for this week. Western Carolina will be on the road at Samford, with kickoff its contest in Birmingham slated for 1 p.m. EST. 

Will Chattanooga play?

It's been an odd season for everyone in the SoCon, and maybe even more of a bizarre one if Chattanooga decides it doesn't want to be a part of the SoCon's spring season. After having their spring opener against VMI postponed due to COVID-19, it's been no secret that the Mocs haven't been happy about playing this spring after being one of the one's that was all for having a fall season. Still, it appears the Mocs will be in action this weekend by taking on Wofford in their spring home opener.  The Mocs have already had one key player transfer out of the program, with wideout Bryce Nunnelly moving on to Western Michigan. 

Power Rankings Following Week 1:

1. Furman 1-0, 1-0

2. Wofford 1-0, 1-0

3. East Tennessee State 1-0, 1-0

4. Chattanooga 0-1, 0-0

5. VMI, 0-0, 0-0

6. The Citadel, 0-4, 0-0

7. Samford 0-1, 0-1

8.  Mercer 0-4. 0-1

9. Western Carolina 0-4, 0-1


SoCon John's Player's of the Week

Offense: Quay Holmes (RB, ETSU)

Defense: Michael Mason (DL, Wofford)

Specialist: Paxton Robertson (P, Western Carolina)

Schedule For Feb. 27, 2021

The Citadel (0-4, 0-0 SoCon) at Mercer (0-4, 0-1, SoCon), 3:30 p.m. EST

#11 Wofford (1-0, 1-0 SoCon) at Chattanooga (0-1, 0-0 SoCon), noon EST

#10 Furman (1-0, 1-0 SoCon) at VMI (0-0, 0-0 SoCon), 1:30 p.m. EST

Western Carolina (0-4, 0-1 SoCon) at Samford (0-1, 0-1 SoCon), 1 p.m. EST

East Tennessee State--Idle



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