GREENVILLE — It was a night of firsts for Anderson University as it began its third season of NCAA Division II football in a Thursday night game Aug. 27 at Furman University.
The game marked a matchup between Anderson, the largest Southern Baptist university in the state, against Furman, a former Baptist university. Furman pulled out of the South Carolina Baptist Convention in 1992.
It also marked Anderson’s first game against a Football Championship Subdivision team. The FCA is the second highest level in Division I college football.
Furman is an FCS powerhouse, having been to four FCS playoffs since 2017. Furman won the FCS national championship in 1988 and was runner-up in 1985.
It also was Anderson Coach Bobby’s Lamb first trip to Furman as the head coach at Anderson. Lamb is a football legend at Furman and is a member of the university’s Hall of Fame. He was the head coach at Furman from 2002-2010, compiling a 67-40 record that included a 2004 Southern Conference championship and four FCS playoff appearances. After leaving Furman, he later became the head coach at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., where he did face his alma mater several times.
Furman’s Ben Croasdale scored on the last play of the first half to give the paladins a 17-3 lead over Anderson University (photo by Lonnie Wilkey)
The game started on a bleak note for Anderson. On the first play of the game, Anderson fumbled a completed pass which was recovered by Furman on their 40-yard line. Anderson’s defense rose to the occasion and forced a 42-yard field goal by Nathan Chapman which went wide right.
Both defenses dominated the first quarter which ended in a scoreless tie.
The second half began the same way with neither team scoring until 7:10 left in the half when Chapman kicked his first career field goal, giving Furman a 3-0 lead. Furman extended the lead four minutes later when running back Ben Croasdale scored on a four-yard run.
Anderson answered back and drove down the field before settling for a 28-yard field goal from kicker Ross Burnette with 1:16 left in the half.
Furman quarterback Jake Garcia, completed four straight passes. Croasdale added a long run and Furman moved the ball to the 17 yard line with about 17 seconds left. Garcia scampered for 17 yards and an apparent touchdown, but after officials reviewed the play, it was determined Garcia stepped out at the 1 yard line. With a second and 1 at the 1, Croasdale charged into the end zone, extending the lead to 17-3 as time ran out.
Furman received the kick to start the second half and was marching down the field and was looking to score when Anderson’s Carter Wit made a leaping interception at the 4-yard line to end the drive.
Furman missed another scoring chance when Chapman missed another field goal with 41 seconds left in the third quarter. The quarter ended with Furman leading 17-3.
Chapman would later make a 30-yard field goal with 9:05 left in the game, which completed the scoring for the night. Furman held on for a 20-3 win.
Anderson finished the game with only 150 yards of total offense, including only 6 yards on the ground. Quarterback Wilson Edwards completed 19 of 31 passes for 154 yards. He was sacked twice. Furman gained 451 yards of total offense, including 268 rushing yards. CJ Nettles led the way for Furman with 99 yards while Croasdale added 67 yards and two touchdowns. Garcia, Furman’s quarterback added 51 yards on the ground but only completed 15 of 28 passes for 183 yards and 1 interception.
Carter Witt was the defensive star for Anderson with his interception and a team-leading 9 tackles.
Bobby Lamb (photo credit: Anderson University Football website)
Anderson Coach Bobby Lamb spoke with the Baptist Courier following the game. He downplayed his return to Furman because he coached against them while at Mercer. “It was no big deal for me but bringing the kids over here was a big deal. I just wanted them to play really hard and I think they did,” said.
“I was proud of their effort. I thought our defense played about as good as they could play. He noted Furman had a really good defense which “made it hard for us to get our offense going.”
Overall, Lamb was pleased with his team’s effort against an FCS team. “I really didn’t know what to expect because they were bigger, stronger and faster than a lot of our guys. We wanted our kids to compete for four quarters and they did.”
Lamb said he believes the game against Furman will prepare them for the upcoming South Atlantic Conference schedule. “That was the reason we scheduled it. We wanted a tough opener to get our team ready. At the end of the day, we just wanted to get our team ready to take that next step and I thought we took a good step tonight,
“We need to continue to fight and get better,” he said.
Lamb also expressed appreciation to “Anderson Nation fans” for showing up. We had a big crowd on our side tonight.”
Lonnie Wilkey, retired editor of the Tennessee Baptist & Reflector, is a freelance reporter.
