GREENVIILLE, S.C. — Sixteenth-ranked South Carolina State stopped Furman quarterback Connor Ackerley two yards short on a fourth-and-10 play with 2:20 remaining to hold off the 24th-ranked Paladins 20-17 Saturday night at Paladin Stadium.
The Bulldogs’ victory marked just the second time they have come to Greenville and beat the Paladins. Furman had won 8 of the first 9 meetings in Greenville prior to Saturday night.
After trailing 17-3 at the half, Furman’s Nathan Chapman converted on field goals of 49 and 44 yards to trim the S.C. State lead to 17-9 with 13:57 to play.
S.C. State’s Jett Jackson connected on a 28-yard field goal to extend the margin to 20-9 with 3:03 left, but the Paladins answered on their first play from scrimmage on the next drive as Ackerley found Luke Shields behind the defense for a 67-yard scoring strike.
The two-point conversion pass to Daniel Haughton trimmed the margin to 20-17 with 2:47 remaining.
Furman (2-2) forced the Bulldogs into a three-and-out on the next possession to get the ball back at its own 28-yard line with 2:20 to go. After three consecutive incompletions, Jordan Franklin and Roderick Kelly chased down Ackerley two yards short of the first down marker on a scramble to stop the Furman drive with 1:57 on the clock.
The Bulldogs (4-0) held Furman’s offense to just 317 yards, including 53 on the ground.
S.C. State quarterback Keely Watson connected with DJ Maultsby on a 65-yard touchdown toss on the game’s first play from scrimmage and Josh Shaw scored from nine yards out on the Bulldogs’ next possession to push the lead to 14-0.
Watson completed 12-of-25 passes for 186 yards as S.C. State compiled 332 yards of total offense.
Ackerley entered the game in the third quarter with the Paladins trailing 17-3 and sparked the offense. The junior completed 10 of 18 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown. Braylon Peebles led the Paladin defense with 10 tackles and AK Burrell added a crucial interception off a deflection in the second half.
UP NEXT
Furman returns to action with a 2 p.m., kickoff next Saturday at Richmond.
—photo and story courtesy of Furman Athletics
Team Statistics
| Game Stats | SCS | FUR |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 332 | 317 |
| Pass Yards | 208 | 264 |
| Rushing Yards | 124 | 53 |
| Penalty Yards | 9-80 | 4-40 |
| 1st Downs | 16 | 18 |
| 3rd Downs | 5-16 | 3-17 |
| 4th Downs | 0-1 | 2-5 |
| TOP | 31:57 | 28:03 |
| Scoring Play | Visiting Team Score | Home Team Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
 14:51 – SCS – Maultsby,DJ 65 yd pass from Watson,Keely (Jackson,Jett kick) 1 plays, 65 yards, TOP 00:09 | 7 | 0 | |
| 06:28 – SCS – Shaw,Josh 9 yd run (Jackson,Jett kick), 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 06:06 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2nd Quarter | |||
 11:59 – FUR – Chapman,Nathan 27 yd field goal 12 plays, 43 yards, TOP 05:30 | 14 | 3 | |
| 04:21 – SCS – Jackson,Jett 42 yd field goal 5 plays, 34 yards, TOP 02:16 | 17 | 3 | |
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| 06:48 – FUR – Chapman,Nathan 49 yd field goal 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 04:02 | 17 | 6 | |
| 4th Quarter | |||
| 13:57 – FUR – Chapman,Nathan 44 yd field goal 5 plays, 39 yards, TOP 01:22 | 17 | 9 | |
| 03:03 – SCS – Jackson,Jett 28 yd field goal 8 plays, 45 yards, TOP 04:23 | 20 | 9 | |
| 02:47 – FUR – Shields,Luke 67 yd pass from Ackerley,Connor (Haughton,Daniel pass) 1 plays, 67 yards, TOP 00:10 | 20 | 17 | |