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2015 FURMAN PALADINS FOOTBALL Furman 114 Paladins HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS of North Carolina State. Furman blanks The Citadel (42-0) and Chattanooga (28-0) for its first back-to-back shutouts since 1942. Paladins face an NCAA record 90 passes from Rhode Island in first round playoff action but intercept seven and easily defeat the Rams 59-15. Quarterback Bobby Lamb leads the nation in passing efficiency, throwing for 1,856 yards and 18 touchdowns. Lamb is named conference player-of-the-year — Furman's fourth in five seasons — and reaps South Carolina Player-of-the-Year honors as well. Center Gene Reeder captures league Jacobs Blocking Award honors as well as Associated Press first team All-America recognition. Tailback Brian Jager, who replaces injured star Rob- bie Gardner in the second game of the year, lands GTE Academic All-America honors and an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. Although sidelined with a knee injury following Furman's ninth game, receiver Chas Fox becomes Furman's all-time best, and is selected in the fourth round of NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Dick Sheridan closes a spectacular eight-year career at Furman with a 69-23-2 slate. Long time assistant coach Jimmy Satterfield is named the school's 19th head coach. 1986 — Freshman placekicker Mike Wood establishes a new school record with a 51-yard field goal against South Carolina State in his first collegiate game. Wood comes back a week later to kick a game-tying 28-yarder in the final minute of play to give the Paladins a 17-17 tie with Georgia Tech. Furman's defense is Southern Conference's best, leading the league in all four major categories. Free safety Steve Squire lands GTE Academic All-America honors and an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. Jimmy Satterfield is named South Carolina Coach-of-the-Year. 1987 — Furman defeats NCAA I-AA national runner-up Marshall 42-36 in Greenville. Tailback Dwight Sterling rushes for 135 yards and a touchdown against Florida State to become the only back to rush for 100 yards against the fourth-ranked Seminoles all year. Paladins crush The Citadel 58-13 in Charleston in season finale, running up a school record 676 yards in total offense. Guard Alex Albert is named Associated Press third team All-America. 1988 — Picked to finish fourth in the Southern Confer- ence, Furman surprises everyone by recording its greatest season ever (13-2) and NCAA I-AA national championship, thus becoming the first private school to win the national crown. Paladins get two interceptions from senior linebacker Jeff Blankenship to defeat Georgia Southern 17-12 in the title game, in Pocatello, Idaho. Furman goes 6-1 in league play and claims share of its sixth championship in the 1980s. Paladin defense records four shutouts, tops the Southern Conference in rushing defense and total defense, and finishes as best in NCAA I-AA in scoring defense, giving up 9.7 points per game. Paladins go 8-0 at home for first undefeated season in Paladin Stadium history and reel off wins in last nine games. Furman drops a 23-3 decision to Clemson in front of 80,300 fans. Paladins snap Appalachian State's 20-game unbeaten streak in conference play, beating the Mountaineers 24-9 in Boone before the biggest crowd (25,301) to see a league game in 25 years. Furman again denies The Citadel a shot at a league title, defeating the Bulldogs 30-17 for seventh straight time, and turns the tables on Marshall with a 13-9 win in Huntington, in NCAA I-AA quarterfinal playoff action. Senior linebacker Jeff Blankenship tallies a Furman record 175 tackles and closes out his career as the program's all-time leading tackler. Blankenship becomes the school's first consensus All-American. Blankenship is also named conference and state defensive player-of-the-year, as well as Football News National Defensive Player-of-the-Year and league athlete-of-the-year. Despite suf- fering a season-ending knee injury against Appalachian State, fullback Kennet Goldsmith is honored as Jacobs Blocking Award winner for the league. Head coach Jimmy Satterfield is named state coach-of-the-year as well as Kodak and Chevrolet National Coach-of-the-Year. Junior defensive end Kelly Fletcher, who paces the league with 14.5 sacks, is named GTE Academic All-America. Team is honored by championship parade in Greenville and by joint session of South Carolina legislature in Columbia, where it meets with visiting United States President George Bush. 1989 — Furman closes out the most dominant football decade in school history by going 12-2 and winning the school's seventh Southern Conference championship in the 1980s. Paladins reel off school record 12 straight wins and advance to the semifinals of NCAA I-AA playoffs before bowing out with a 21-19 loss to Stephen F. Austin in the first game ever played in the snow at Paladin Stadium. Furman dominates league race, posting a perfect 7-0 record and winning its league games by an average of 21.8 points. Paladins pace the conference in total offense, scoring offense, rushing defense, total defense, and scoring defense. Largest crowd (80,508) to ever see Furman play a football game witnesses a 30-0 Clemson victory over the Paladins at Death Valley. Furman trounces nationally-ranked Appalachian State, (31-6) and Marshall (34-13) in Greenville and routs The Citadel (44-9) in regular season finale for the eighth straight time. Quarterback Frankie DeBusk is sidelined with a knee injury in the second quarter of Furman's 24-10 win over William & Mary in NCAA first round playoff action. Senior defensive end Kelly Fletcher headlines a strong Furman pass rush (39 sacks) by establishing a school record for quarterback sacks with 16 and succeeds Jeff Blankenship as conference and state defensive player-of-the-year. Fletcher also reaps consensus All-America honors and joins defensive end Chris Roper and placekicker Mike Wood on the GTE Academic All-America squad. Roper is named a National Football Foundation and Hall-of-Fame Scholar-Athlete and becomes the sixth Furman player to earn an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. Roper and Fletcher combine to share Furman Athlete-of-the-Year honors. Despite missing four games with a knee injury, center Steve Duggan becomes first Paladin since 1951 to capture Jacobs Blocking Award for South Carolina. Furman closes out 1980s as state's winningest program of the decade and nation's second most successful NCAA I-AA football program with a 95-25-4 record and .780 winning percentage. 1990 — Furman claims its third straight Southern Conference championship and ninth league crown by registering a 9-4 overall record and 6-1 league mark. Paladins again deny The Citadel a share of a league title, beating the Bulldogs 30-17 in Greenville before the third largest crowd (18,190) in Paladin Stadium history. Season ends with a 42-35 triple overtime loss to Nevada, in Reno, in the longest game in NCAA I-AA playoff history at the time. Paladins boast the most balanced offense in school history and pace the conference in total offense and scoring offense. Quarterback Frankie DeBusk passes for school record 2,035 yards and is named league offensive player-of-the- year. Senior linebacker Kevin Kendrick is tabbed as league's best defender. Senior center Steve Duggan picks up Jacobs Blocking Award and becomes first Furman offensive lineman to garner first team All-America honors since 1931. Duggan and Kendrick are Furman shocks South Carolina (28-23) in first of four consecutive wins over NCAA I-A opponents. ▼ ▲ Ernest Gibson keys Furman to victory over Georgia Tech (17-14), fourth straight SoCon championship ▼ Long time offensive assistant Jimmy Satterfield succeeds Dick Sheridan as head coach. ▲ Chas Fox and Furman rip N.C. State (42-20) en route to 12-2 season, NCAA I-AA national runner-up finish. 1982 1983 1985 1986