Furman Drops Season Finale at Mercer; Bears Crowned SoCon Champions

If Furman's 2024 Football season could be described in one game, then the regular season finale at Mercer would probably be the one to best illustrate the few good things that went right, and the many bad things that plagued Furman on both sides of the ball throughout the 2024 campaign, as the Bears captured the outright Southern Conference title with a resounding 49-23 win over Furman Saturday afternoon in the blazing sunshine at Five Star Stadium before a crowd of 8,453 fans on-hand to witness the coronation of a new league champion. 

For Mercer, who is under the direction of first-year head coach Mike Jacobs, it marks the first outright conference title in school history and first since winning the Dixie Conference Title in 1932. The Bears improved to 10-2 overall and 7-1 in SoCon play and now await their FCS Playoff Status, which includes heading into the  FCS Playoffs as the No. 7 overall seed and won't play until the second round of the postseason, which is slated for Dec. 7. 

The Bears will host the winner of the Rhode Island-Central Connecticut State at Five Star Stadium and the 2024 season will mark the second-straight season in which the Bears have been a representative of the SoCon in the FCS Playoffs, winning a 17-7 contest at Five Star Stadium just last season against Gardner-Webb. The Bears have won 13-straight games at home heading into the postseason and have posted a record of 49-20 in Five Star Stadium all-time. 

Rhode Island is making its first FCS Playoff appearance since 1985, when Furman lit up the Rams' high-powered attack, intercepting Rams quarterbacks an FCS Playoffs record nine times en route to a 59-15 win. That Furman team, which was go on to make its first of three national title games, was quarterbacked by former Furman and Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb, while current Furman head coach Clay Hendrix was an offensive lineman on that '85 Furman team.

Mercer's outright Southern Conference title was 11 years in the making, and Saturday's win over the Paladins marked a coming full circle of sorts for the program, which opened commenced its 11-year Southern Conference Title journey some 11 years ago against a Furman team, which at the time, was the defending league champions when it paid its first visit to Five Star Stadium back in 2014. 

The date was Sept. 6, 2014, as the No. 17 ranked Paladins came to Five Star Stadium, and facing a Mercer team with more than half its roster filled with walk-ons under former Paladin head coach and legendary quarterback Bobby Lamb, the Bears put up a strong challenge, dropping what was a 25-20 decision to Furman, as Gary Wilkins' INT return for a score in the fourth quarter turned out to be the difference on that evening.

Over 11 years later, it was fitting that the opponent be the defending SoCon outright SoCon Champion Paladins to come to middle Georgia on a late November evening for the regular-season finale in 2024. The Bears looked the part of the best team in the Southern Conference and being that they are the only SoCon team to make the postseason this time around, need to make a strong run now that they have reached the promised land. 

Furman concludes its 2024 season with a 3-8 overall record, which includes a 2-5 Southern Conference mark. Earlier in the week, it was officially announced that the Furman-Samford game had been officially canceled after originally being postponed due to the damage and power outages wrought by Hurricane Helene back in the final weekend of September. It was one of several obstacles Furman's football program would have to deal with in a season that was among the strangest in program history.

Where did Furman's season go off the tracks? It's tough to say, however, one thing is for sure, no other Furman team in its previous 118 iterations has had to deal with the death of a player entering a season. With that, the Paladins played the entire 2024 campaign with heavy hearts for fallen teammate and junior defensive lineman Bryce Stanfield.   Stanfield passed away due to complications from a pulmonary embolism just prior to the start of spring practice on Feb. 9, 2024. Furman's season was always going to be tough from that moment forward.

That tragedy was never going to be easy, and with suspensions, hurricanes, and a rash of injuries unlike any in recent memory, Furman, which already had to replace 35 of 44 players from a two-deep that charted 10 wins and a SoCon Quarterfinal berth last season, got even younger with each injury. Those challenges wore on the face of Clay Hendrix, as he rallied his team week after week no matter the result in what was his eighth season at the helm of the Paladin football program.

In Saturday's regular-season finale at Five Star Stadium, there were plenty of supporters on-hand for Furman and plenty in show of support for No. 97, despite things not having gone according to plan for the Paladins football team.  Furman's captains (Jeremiah Jackson, Evan DiMaggio, Luke Clark,) --as they had done in previous Saturdays beginning with its game in Oxford, MS., against No. 6 Ole Miss to open the season--walked out carrying Stanfield's No. 97 jersey in a show of honor for their fallen teammate, as the rising senior defensive lineman was named one of Furman's five captains prior to the season--walked to midfield for the final time in 2024 at Five Star Stadium on Saturday for the coinflip. For guys like DiMaggio and Clark, it would be the final time they would put on a Furman uniform. 

DiMaggio, who entered with 267-career tackles and was the SoCon's leading tackler, despite playing one less game entering the regular-season finale, finished out his Furman career with a bang, posting 18 tackles, 2.5 TFL, forced two fumbles, broke up a pair of passes and had two quarterback hurries. DiMaggio now has his sights firmly set on the future, with hopes of playing at the next level.  

In seasons like the one Furman just endured, you find out a lot about the makeup and character of individuals, and for DiMaggio, he never wavered no matter how things were going for the 2024 'Dins. After his final game, DiMaggio described what it meant for him to be a Paladin for the past five years, as well as what his plans are for the future. 

"It's meant a lot and it's more than just being a football player and you know you every days to practice with these guys and you get super close to them, and I know they'll continue on in how it's supposed to be around here and I am just thankful to be a Paladin," DiMaggio said after the loss to Mercer. 

"I'll be around training for the next level and I don't know we will see...I might be interning with the strength staff here while training and getting ready for my pro day and I am not sure yet, but that's my plans," DiMaggio added.

It doesn't take a neurosurgeon to figure out that the more a guy like DiMaggio is around to influence younger guys with his work ethic and his character as a person even after the completion of his career is a definite win for the Furman Football program.

All told, DiMaggio finishes his career with the Paladin football program having posted 285-career tackles, 25.5 tackles-for-loss, 7.5 sacks, four passes defended, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an INT.

As for Clark, he completed Saturday's contest with six tackles and one tackle-for-loss. Clark was instrumental in Furman's success over the previous two seasons, leading the Paladin defense with 6.5 quarterback takedowns in their league title run last season, finishing his career with 15 quarterback sacks. He also contributed 164 tackles, 26 tackles-for-loss, had five passes defended, forced four fumbles, intercepted two passes and had one fumble recovery in five seasons for the Paladin defense. 

Both DiMaggio and Clark, who were a part of the same recruiting class coming five years ago, were a major part of getting Furman Football and its tradition to where it had been in previous two seasons, which is among the elite programs in FCS Football. 

Other defensive performers such as defensive linemen Jeremiah Jackson and Xavier Stephens have a year of eligibility remaining, and those two would be quite a force to build around for 2025 should both opt to return for the upcoming campaign. It could be argued that at the time Stephens went down with a season-ending injury against The Citadel in the first of Furman's two SoCon wins, that he was well on his way to being in the conversation for SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, leading the Paladins with four sacks at the time. 

Furman's offense was one of the youngest in the nation this past season, and had plenty of growing pains as a result, and for a program that doesn't use the portal all that often, with many now using it as a primary resource for talent, the developmental aspect of the Paladin football program won't show up in a season with where successes are as frequent as a desert oasis, however, in those barren moments of a season, the development is being cultivated for the future. 

Should the retention rate be high of players returning and those who truly buy into the concept of developing for the future, the payoff should begin to show in 2025. Many programs like Furman, which don't have the option to recruit the transfer portal en masse, must take the approach of deferred gratification over immediate success. 

With that being said, Furman fans should expect the developmental aspect of this program to show itself in 2025, and that should feature a Furman team that is experienced beyond well beyond their progression rate is academically.  

How It Happened:

Mercer used another strong performance from true freshman quarterback Whitt Newbauer, who connected on 18-of-28 passes for 257 yards and three scores and one INT, leading the Bears to 503-yard output in total offense en route to the 49-23 win over the Paladins. 

The Bears amassed a 503-322 advantage in total offense in Saturday's win.

The Paladins, however, got the proceedings off to a strong start after forcing Mercer to fumble on its first drive of the afternoon, and after Evan DiMaggio and Ryan Earl combined to force a fumble that would be recovered by Tre McCloud. The Paladins wasted little time in getting on the board from there, using a trick play, as running back Gavin Hall connected with Colton Hinton on a perfectly executed halfback pass play, giving the Paladins the early 7-0 lead following the Ian Williams PAT with 10:42 left in the first quarter.

Mercer bounced right back behind Newbauer, who led an eight-play, 75-yard drive, which was capped when CJ Miller found the end zone on a short, 3-yard run to tie the game, 7-7.

Furman's offense responded with a strong drive of its own, but would eventually have to settle for one of Williams' three field goals in the contest, as his 22-yard field goal capped a 14-play, 66-yard drive with 2:39 left in the opening frame, giving the Paladins the for a second time on the afternoon, at 10-7.

Mercer responded by taking its first lead of the day, and they did so on what has been a recurring theme for the Paladin defense in nearly every game this season, which is yielding big plays to opposing teams in the passing game. This time, Adjatay Dabbs got behind Darren Coleman to haul in a 46-yard scoring pass to give the Bears a 14-10 lead with just 42 seconds left in the half. 

Mercer would get its seventh defensive TD of the season, which leads the nation, after an ill-advised decision by Furman true freshman quarterback Trey Hedden, who tossed the ball behind his head after being in the act of being sacked by freshman defensive end Andrew Zock, and the fumble was picked out of the air by Tommy Bliss and returned 35 yards for a score and a 21-10 lead. That turnover and score turned out to be a back-breaker for the Paladins.

From there, the Bears would eventually extend the lead to 28-10 when Newbauer tossed his second score of the day, with a 7-yards scoring strike to tight end Sawyer Burt, which capped a short, six-play, 48-yard scoring drive with just 1:19 remaining in the half.

The Paladins put together a nice drive in the waning moments of the opening 30 minutes of football, but like it had to do in the first quarter, eventually saw that drive stall in the Mercer red zone and Williams was called upon again--this time to boot through a 32-yard field goal--and that made it a 28-13 contest heading to the half.

The Paladins opened the second half strong, forcing Mercer into a three-and-out before the Paladin offense crossed into Mercer territory, but again the Mercer defense did its job to force the Paladins to settle for three. This time Williams would come in and equal his own school-record, which he established in an early-season win over Stetson, as his 57-yard field goal split the uprights to get the Paladins within 12, with just under 12 minutes left in the third, as Williams made it a 28-16 contest.

Mercer would then tack on a 16-yard scoring run from running back Dwayne McGee, who crossed the 1,000-yard rushing mark during Saturday's game, which made it a 35-16 contest midway through the third. Newbauer's third scoring toss of the day, including his second to Dabbs, on a 31-yard scoring connection following Bears defensive back TJ Moore's FCS-leading seventh INT of the season. Dabbs' scoring catch would make it 42-16 with 7:29 left in the frame.

Four-and-half minutes into the final quarter, Mercer would tack on their final score of the game, when backup running back Billy Martin capped a six-play, 55-yard drive with 9:28 remaining to make it a 49-16 Bears lead.

Furman would score the final points of the game, when Hedden showcased his arm strength, rolling right and throwing all the way back to the left on a deep ball, as he found an open Ethan Harris for a 47-yard scoring strike with 7:55 remaining to post the final points of the game and for Furman, of the 2024 season.

Hedden finished the contest completing 19-of-41 passes for 210 yards, with a TD and an INT. Along with his scoring pass, freshman running back Gavin Hall led the Paladins on the ground, with 11 rush attempts for 53 yards, averaging 4.5 YPC. Colton Hinton hauled in nine passes for 109 yards and a TD.

Mercer was led on the ground by Dwayne McGee's 74 yards and one TD on 15 attempts, while Adjatay Dabbs led all receivers with eight catches for 181 yards and a pair of scores.