SoCon Sports Report

Week six in SoCon football was highlighted by weather delays, an upset, a couple of thrillers and a blowout.    With Chattanooga's 35-28 loss to Mercer, only one unbeaten remains alone atop the Souhthern Conference, and that's the VMI Keydets. The Cardiac Keydets moved to 5-0 with a thrilling 36-31 come-from-behind win at Wofford, moving to 5-0 despite the fact that preseason SoCon Offensive Player of the Year Reece Udinski missed the game under center for VMI.  East Tennessee State was able to weather one of Western Carolina's strongest efforts of the spring season, as the Bucs held off the Catamounts 24-17 in the Blue Ridge Border Battle. The final result of the day was the most resounding, as Samford handed The Citadel its school record 11th-straight loss, with a 55-7 win in Charleston.  Samford 55, The Citadel 7 The Citadel suffered its school-record 11th-straight loss, and it came in decisive fashion, as Samford came to Charleston and handed ...

Western Carolina (1-7, 1-4 SoCon) at East Tennessee State (2-1, 2-1 SoCon)  Photo courtesy of WLOS Asheville "Blue Ridge Border Battle" Preview: East Tennessee State will look to keep its hopes alive for a Southern Conference title when the Bucs host Western Carolina in the Blue Ridge Border Battle. No matter the records, the two team's have split each of the past to meetings against each other, with both games having been decided in overtime. Last time the two met, the Catamounts were able to avenge a triple overtime loss from the previous year, capturing a 13-10 overtime win at E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee. The Bucs continue to improve offensively under the direction of freshman quarterback Tyler Riddell (50-of-82 passing, 575 pass yds, 3 TDs, 2 INTs). In both wins this fall, however, the Bucs have not exactly been an offensive juggernaut, having posted less than 400 yards of total offense in both wins. The fact remains...

 No. 11 Chattanooga 20, No. 13 Furman 18 FCS No. 12 Chattanooga used a masterful defensive effort, limiting No. 13 Furman to just 170 yards of total offense and turned the Paladins over four times en route to a 20-18 Southern Conference win Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium. With the win, the Mocs improved to 3-1 this season and remained a perfect 3-0 in the Southern Conference. The Paladins fell to 3-2 overall and also fell to 3-2 in league play this spring.  The 170 yards of total offense was easily the lowest output of the spring for the Paladin offense, and lowest against any foe since mustering just 163 yards against No. 2 Clemson in the season-opener of the 2018 season. Against an FCS foe, the yardage output was the lowest of the Clay Hendrix era (2017-present). Chattanooga held the Paladins to just 49 rushing yards, while posting 172 yards of its own on the ground.  While Furman was able to muster only 70 yards in the opening half, the Paladins were only able t...

Ranked battle between No. 11 Chattanooga and No. 13 Furman highlight's Saturday's SoCon Games No. 19 VMI (3-0, 3-0 SoCon) at Samford (2-2, 2-2 SoCon), 1 p.m. EST/Seibert Stadium One of the most intriguing matchups of week five of SoCon spring football will take place at Seibert Stadium in Birmingham, as unbeaten VMI takes on Samford in what was a battle that proved to be one of the better ones in league play back in 2019, with the Keydets taking a 48-41 overtime win over the Bulldogs last season in come-from-behind fashion.  The Keydets entered the FCS Top 25 for the first time in school history this week, coming in at No. 19 in the STATs FCS poll, while the 3-0 start by VMI marks the Keydets best start to a campaign since 1981. The Keydets are coming off what was a thrilling 37-31 win over No. 20 Wofford last weekend to improve to 2-2 this spring. Meanwhile, VMI moved to 3-0 with a dominating 41-14 win over the Mercer Bears in Lexington, VA. Satu...

Furman 17, East Tennessee State 13 https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/1370826699529670658?s=20 With limited fans allowed in sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, student-athlete's have had to find a way self-motivate all across intercollegiate athletics.  Trailing 10-0 at halftime to East Tennessee State, Furman found its motivation on the way to the locker room at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium, as ETSU's players stood and  excitidely greeted and reminded the Paladins of the halftime score, as they paused to wait the for the Paladins to proceed to their locker room before proceeding to head towards its own. The only problem for ETSU was Furman opted not to get on the Young buses parked outside its locker room and head for Greenville with the game only halfway completed.  " We took it personally. That’s exactly what we needed,” Furman senior RB Devin Wynn said. “It got our blood pumping. Everybody just went out in the second half seeing red and ready to hit somebody...

  Matt Sochovka forces game-winning fumble/Photo Courtesy of Furman Athletics D evin Wynn’s 9-yard scoring run in overtime gave No. 17 Furman a 44-37 lead, and a Cally Chizik fumble recovery on Samford’s offensive possession in overtime allowed the Paladins to escape with their   first overtime victory since a 28-22 win over Chattanooga in 2006, snapping streak of five-consecutive overtime losses. With the win, Furman improved to 2-1 overall and 2-1 in the SoCon, while Samford dropped to 1-2 overall and 1-2 in league action. The Paladins finished the day rolling up a 525-407 advantage in total yards, including a 248-154 advantage in ground yards. Furman redshirt sophomore quarterback connected on 16-of-21 passes for 277 yards, with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Samford’s Liam Welch finished the afternoon by connecting on 16-of-21 throws for 253 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Wynn’s touchdown in overtime   gave Furman its first lead ...