Furman football rolls past Chattanooga behind returning stars in FCS playoff game
Quarterback Tyler Huff and running back Dominic Roberto returned to the Furman lineup and had a major impact on the Paladins’ 26-7 victory against Chattanooga Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs at Paladin Stadium.
Huff, who hadn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury in the second quarter of Furman’s 17-14 victory at Chattanooga on Nov. 4, turned in a workmanlike performance in his return, completing 18 of 29 passes for 192 yards. He was intercepted once.
Huff was voted the SoCon’s Offensive Player of the Year by the coaches, despite the fact that Furman coach Clay Hendrix and other SoCon coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Roberto, who was limited in Furman’s win against VMI on Nov. 11 and missed the team’s regular-season-ending loss at Wofford, had 51 rushing yards for the Paladins and scored touchdowns on runs of 1 and 2 yards.
Their efforts were key in helping the No. 7 seed Paladins (10-2) advance to a quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 seed Montana (11-1) on Friday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
It will be Furman’s first trip to the quarterfinals since 2005.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s win:
Travis Blackshear shines again for Furman football
Graduate cornerback Travis Blackshear has been a big-play guy throughout his Furman career, and that continued Saturday.
Blackshear set up the Paladins’ second touchdown with a 29-yard interception return in the third quarter. He was knocked out of bounds at the Chattanooga 2-yard line by quarterback Luke Schomburg, narrowly missing the fourth interception return for a touchdown of his career.
A first-team All-SoCon selection by the coaches, Blackshear – who was a standout running back in high school in Savannah, Georgia, has 13 career interceptions – including four this season.
Furman defense puts clamps on Mocs
Furman’s defense lived up to its billing against Chattanooga. The Paladins, who lead the SoCon in 11 defensive categories, limited the Mocs to 200 total yards, including a mere 42 in the second half.
Furman, which leads the nation in turnover margin, showed why, intercepting two Chattanooga passes. Furman’s run defense, which entered the game tops in the SoCon and third in the nation by holding opponents to 90.5 yards per game, was on point once again, holding the Mocs to 116 yards.
Furman's kicking game looks solid
Junior place-kicker Ian Williams was perfect, showing that he can continue to be a weapon in the playoffs.
Williams converted all four of his field goal attempts against Chattanooga, singlehandedly outscoring the Mocs, 12-7. The redshirt junior from Charlotte made field goals from 44, 31, 37 and 20 yards and has converted 18 of his 24 attempts this season, including 14 of his last 15.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Furman football advances to FCS quarterfinals with win vs. Chattanooga
