Game Recap: Football | 9/21/2019 4:37:00 PM | By: Hunter Reid
FCS 15th-Ranked Furman Rolls Past Mercer, 45-10
Paladins Rush For 410 Yards, Intercept Three Passes :::
Next Game:
East Tennessee State
9/28/2019 | 1:00 PM
ESPN+, Nexstar Network : CW 62 Greenville – Spartanburg – Asheville
Hunter Reid Associate AD for Media Relations :: Furman Paladins :: September 21st , 2019
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Darren Grainger passed for 190 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score to headline a potent Furman offense that amassed 600 total yards to key FCS 15th-ranked Furman to a 45-10 victory over Mercer in Southern Conference Saturday afternoon football action at Paladin Stadium.
The victory was the third straight for Furman (2-2, 1-0 SoCon) over Mercer (2-2, 1-1 SoCon) but the Paladins’ first league opening win since 2015.
Furman chewed up Mercer on the ground, running for 410 yards, its highest tally since 2003. The Paladins, who registered 132 rushing yards in the first half, exploded for 278 more over the game’s final 30 minutes.
The potent rushing attack featured eight ball carriers, led by Devin Wynn, who tallied 13 carries for 99 yards, and Corey Watkins, who ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries. Watkins’ 83-yard, third quarter bolt off an option pitch, the longest by a Paladin since the 2012 season, put a wrap on the scoring. Devin Abrams had six carries for 85 yards, spiced by a 69-yard run on Furman’s first play of the second half, and Grainger finished with 52 yards rushing on 13 attempts.
Furman averaged 8.5 yards on its 71 offensive plays.
Grainger, a redshirt freshman quarterback from Conway, S.C., set the tone on the game’s opening drive when he connected with Thomas Gordon on a 47-yard pass play to the Mercer 6-yard line. Two plays later Watkins scored his first of two touchdowns in the contest with 1-yard scoring dive to help give Furman a 7-0 lead.
An Abrams three-yard scoring plunge put Furman up 14-0, and after Mercer cut it to 14-7 early in the second quarter Grainger found tight end Ryan Miller open down the Furman sideline for a 41-yard touchdown strike to make it 21-7.
Freshman running back Dominic Roberto’s first career touchdown, a 2-yard plunge, with 1:10 remaining in the first half, stretched the Paladins’ advantage to 28-7.
Furman put the game away in the third quarter, tallying 17 points on scoring runs by Grainger and Watkins’ 83-yard burst, and a Grayson Atkins 41-yard field goal that extended the Paladin junior’s school record consecutive made field goals streak to 14.
In posting a second half shut out Furman’s defense limited Mercer to just 283 total yards after the Bears entered the game averaging 432.3 yards through their first three outings. Mercer completed just 19-of-39 passes in and had three intercepted by the Paladins, who also registered six pass breakups, including three by senior cornerback Amir Trapp.
Furman’s 600-yard showcase was its first since piling up 609 versus ETSU in 2017. The Buccaneers, who clipped the Paladins, 29-27, a year ago in Johnson City, Tenn., pay a visit to Greenville next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. game.
Next Game: September 28th , 2019 1pm Paladin Stadium Greenville , SC
Game Leaders
#22 Devin Wynn
TB 6′ 0″ 203 Junior