Charleston Southern (1-1) defeated #15/16 Furman (0-2) by a final score of 24-20 on Saturday evening (Sept. 7) to collect their first ranked win since the 2016 season in what can be described as a complete team victory on Saturday evening. The Bucs won the turnover battle 4-0 and had big plays on both ends of the ball to get their first win of the 2024 season.
The day got off to a hot start for the Buccaneers’ defense as sophomore Chandler Perry collected the first interception of his career on the Paladins’ first possession. The teams then traded empty possessions, with Charleston Southern not converting on a fourth down in plus territory while Furman doinked a 50-yard field goal off the upright halfway through the first.
Charleston Southern got on the board in the first quarter on an eight-play, 68-yard drive that was capped off with a 27-yard touchdown reception by Noah Jennings over a Furman defensive back. The score put the Buccaneers ahead 6-0 as the PAT was missed wide.
Halfway through the second quarter, the Paladins got their first score of the season off a 25-yard field goal to cut their deficit in half, now trailing 6-3. Furman claimed the lead on a five-yard pop pass and jumped ahead 10-6 with 2:56 left to play in the opening half.
In the closing minutes of the half, Rob McCoy and Jennings connected for their second touchdown of the night as he hauled in a 31-yard throw down the left sideline to put CSU back ahead. On the PAT, the Bucs’ holder, Gilbert Brown, took a direct snap and ran it into the endzone for a two-point conversion and placed CSU ahead 14-10 going into the halftime break.
To start the second half, Furman marched down the field and scored from one yard out to regain the lead at 17-14. The lead was short lived, as on the next Paladin possession, Tylan Hollis returned an interception inside of Furman’s 10 yard line. On the second play of the possession, Autavius Ison rushed into the endzone from seven yards out for the lead to trade hands once again. Following the made PAT by freshman Reid Montgomery, CSU now led 21-17 halfway through the third and would for the remainder of the historic evening.
Furman cut their deficit down to a point at 21-20 with 9:45 to play off a 30-yard field goal. Charleston Southern bumped their advantage back to four points with their lead now at 24-20 after recovering a Furman fumble and Montgomery knocking in a 26-yard field goal.
Furman got the ball back with 2:12 left in the game, but they were unable to get a first down, going four-and-out with Ja’Kobe North having the pass breakup on the fourth down to end the game, giving the ball back to the Bucs to run out the clock and get the victory.
McCoy finished the day going 12-23 with 143 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Jennings had seven catches for 97 yards and each of the TD receptions. Jamil Bishop and Chris Rhone each had two receptions, with Bishop having 24 yards and Rhone adding 15 yards. On the ground, Ison led the team in the backfield going for 90 yards off 19 carries. Tyson Greenwade had eight carries for 48 yards with a long of 26 on the night.
The Buccaneers defense had a big night, forcing four turnovers, collecting four sacks and eight TFLs on the night. Edward Owusu and Tylan Hollis each had a fumble recovery, while Chandler Perry and Hollis each had a forced fumble and interception. Trayson Fowler and Darrius Bell tied for the team lead in tackles as they each had seven, while Perry and Omari Jenkins had six tackles.
Charleston Southern will be back in action next weekend as they will be traveling to #14/15 Richmond (1-1) for a contest next Saturday. The kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. with the game to be available live on FloSports.