Video: “Our goal is to be a top 10 team every year” Furman head coach
“Our goal is to be a top 10 team every year” says Furman head coach Clay Hendrix
Furman came up short in its upset bid at Montana Friday night, falling to the Grizzlies 35-28 in overtime in the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs on a snowy, freezing night at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.
Furman forced overtime with 13 seconds remaining in regulation when quarterback Tyler Huff found a leaping Mason Pline in the back of the end zone. Pline, who’s 6-foot-7, outjumped two defenders for the touchdown.
But in overtime, Montana scored on a 13-yard strike from quarterback Clifton McDowell to wide receiver Keelan White, and the Grizzlies held the Paladins out of the end zone on four plays.
No. 7 Furman (10-3), the SoCon champion and a 17.5-point underdog, fell to 3-4 against opponents from the Big Sky Conference and 0-2 against Montana, which had prevailed 13-6 in the 2001 national championship game played in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Montana (12-1), the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, advances to play the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 3 seed South Dakota and unseeded North Dakota State.
The major takeaways from the game:
Furman had no answer for Junior Bergen
The Paladins’ defense performed admirably for the most part, but was undone on special teams by Montana wide receiver Junior Bergen. The first-team All-Big Sky return specialist and receiver totaled 242 all-purpose yards.
Bergen put the Paladins in arrears from the outset, returning the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. He later added four receptions for 44 yards, but the clincher came with 9:40 left in the game when he returned a Furman punt 59 yards for his second touchdown of the game.
Only quarterbacks were able to find running room
Both defenses were outstanding against the run — unless they were attempting to stop the opposing quarterback.
Huff, the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, led the Paladins’ ball carriers with 71 yards on 11 attempts. Their four running backs had a combined 25 yards on 21 carries.
McDowell led Montana with 118 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. The Grizzlies’ running backs combined for 30 yards on 23 carries, including 10 carries for two yards for Eli Gillman, the recipient of the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the FCS.
WINNING WAY: How quarterback Tyler Huff, Furman football made each other winners
Evan DiMaggio came up big for Furman
Furman’s run defense, which ranked first in the SoCon and third nationally, came up big again, holding the Grizzlies to 148 yards on the ground. One of the primary reasons was the play of redshirt junior linebacker Evan DiMaggiowho led all defenders with 15 tackles, including three of the Paladins’ 12 tackles for loss, and a sack.
DiMaggio, the great-nephew of the late baseball legend and Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, and one of only three non-senior starters on the defense, was third on the team this season with 79 tackles and had a team-leading 11.5 tackles for loss.
Montana game was time to shine for Pline
Graduate tight end Mason Pline flashed his potential for NFL scouts against Montana. The 6-foot-7, 260-pounder from Fowler, Michigan, corralled a career-best nine receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown against the Grizzlies. His nine catches equaled his total from the Paladins’ previous five games combined.
Pline, who previously was a member of two Division II national championship teams at Ferris (Mich.) State, finished his graduate transfer season at Furman with 32 receptions for 287 yards and four touchdowns.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ScottKeepfer
2023-12-10 11:04:41
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