Mercer at Furman, Mr. C's Official Game Thread

[Mr. C]

While this game may not have any impact on the FCS playoffs, Mercer at Furman is interesting in that it marks the return of former Furman quarterback, assistant and head coach Bobbie Lamb to Paladin Stadium since he was fired after a long and successful run with the Paladins. Lamb was an outstanding quarterback, who led the Paladins to within a play of victory in the 1985 national championship game — the greatest I-AA/FCS title contest ever played. Georgia Southern won its first crown with a 44-42 victory as Tracy Ham threw a game-winning TD pass in the final seconds. Lamb was on the staff when Furman won its only national title in 1988 and reached the 2001 title game, which it lost to Montana (13-7). His 2004-05 teams came narrowly close to winning again, losing 14-13 to eventual national champion James Madison in 2004 quarterfinals and 29-23 to Appalachian State in the 2005 semifinals. This should be a fun game at Paladin Stadium with crisp, but beautiful sunny weather today.

[Mr. C]

In the early going, Mercer won the toss, deferred and pinned Furman deep. The Paladins nearly fumbled the ball away deep in its own territory on first down, but the ball went out of bounds before Mercer recovered it along the Furman sideline. Furmen then went three and out. Mercer drove inside the Paladin five on its first drive before Furman forced a fumble and recovered.

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The Paladins picked up a first down passing on its second drive, but eventually had to punt the ball back to Mercer, which will start its second drive at the Bear 36.

[Mr. C]

Looking forward to seeing Mercer QB John Russ, who is now a sophomore after putting together one of the best seasons in the country of any freshman quarterback last season. Bobby Lamb has a great reputation for developing QBs.

Russ was under pressure and pulled the ball down for a good run to the 50 to give Mercer a first down.

[Mr. C]

A deep throw to the end zone after a 9-yard completion on first down sails incomplete. Russ had a lot of time to throw. 3rd and 1 and Mercer calls time out with the play clock winding down.

[Mr. C]

Alex Lakes gashes the defense for 14 yards to the Furman 27.

[Mr. C]

Two short runs makes it 3rd and 9 for Mercer at the Furman 26.

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Russ throws high and it is 4th down. Mercer is trying a 43-yard FG attempt.

[Mr. C]

Jagger Lieb battles the wind and tucks the ball in the right upright to make it Mercer 3, Furman 0 with 4:23 left in the first period.

10 plays, 38 yards, 4:13 on the drive

[Mr. C]

Good return from the Furman end zone to the 34 is negated by a holding call. Furman will start from its own 10.

[Mr. C]

Kealand Dirks for two runs to the 19. Dirks smashes for 3 for the first down at the 22 on the counter.

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Waggle action on the pass and it is dropped. 2nd down.

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Penetration from LE Jalen Penn for a 1-yard loss. 3rd down.

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P.J. Blazejowski scrambles for 3 yards and is hit. Punt time again for Furman.

[Mr. C]

Very good, hanging punt is fumbled by Stephen Houzah, but he recovers at the Mercer 19. 51 yards on the Jon Croft Hollingsworth punt.

[Mr. C]

Tee Mitchell runs to the 28 on second down. 3rd and 8 as the first quarter ends.

Mercer 3
Furman 0

[Mr. C]

Mercer's Mitchell races 20 yards for a first down at the Furman 49.

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Mercer 88 yards, Furman 42 after one quarter

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Offsides on Furman makes it 2nd and 5 and Russ keeps it on the read option to the Furman 41. 2nd and 2.

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Good blocking on the left side springs Mitchell for 16 yards to the Furman 25. Mercer on the move again.

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Mitchell stopped after 1 at the Paladin 24. 2nd and 9.

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Russ over the middle to TE Robert Brown for 10 to the Furman 14.

[Mr. C]

Furman strings out Alex Lakes on a slow-developing sweep to the right, but gets called for a face mask. First and goal for Mercer at 7.

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Big hit on Tee Mitchell by Corey Magwood at the 6. 2nd and goal.

[Mr. C]

Easy play-fake pass from John Russ to Avery Ward for a 6-yard TD. Retribution for Ward, who fumbled the ball at the Furman four on Mercer's first drive.

Mercer 10, Furman 0, 10:09 left in the second quarter

10 plays, 81 yards, 5:55 on the drive

[Mr. C]

Furman is stopped at the 18 on the kickoff.

[Mr. C]

Bubble screen is blown up for Furman when the WR blocks the Mercer DB into the receiver for a loss.

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Blazejowski is sacked at the Furman 3

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A draw is blown up by a big Mercer hit at the 5. Furman must punt again.

[Mr. C]

48-yard punt for Furman and Mercer takes the ball at its own 47.

[Mr. C]

Alex Lakes takes advantage of a tiny seem and rumbles for 29 yards to the Furman 17.

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Lakes smashes to the 11.

[Mr. C]

Russ scrambles for 3 to the 8. 4th and 1.

[Mr. C]

Mercer sneaks for the first down. First and goal at the 7.

[Mr. C]

Holding moves Mercer back and then a loss on a run makes it 2nd and 22.

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Russ passes to the 12. 3rd down.

[Mr. C]

Mercer is setting up on fourth down for a 19-yard field goal from Lieb and it is good

Mercer 13, Furman 0, 1:26 left in the second quarter

10 plays, 51 yards, 6:11 on the drive

[Mr. C]

Furman goes three and out. Mercer takes over at its 28.

[Mr. C]

Mercer goes 3 and out and punts for 52 yards. Furman has the ball at the 21 with 13 seconds left.

[Mr. C]

Halftime

Mercer 13
Furman 0

[Mr. C]

Mercer starts the second half at its own 25 after a touchback.

[Mr. C]

A reverse to Jimmy Robinson goes to the Mercer 34. 3rd and 1. Lakes bangs ahead to the 39 for the first down.

[Mr. C]

Mercer gets stopped at the 48 and has to punt and getsb a 15-yard penalty for punt return interference. Furman takes over at the 30.

[Mr. C]

Fumble by Antonio Wilcox of Furman and Mercer's Isaiah Buehler recovers at the Paladin 29.

[Mr. C]

Two plays by Lakes eran 3 yards. 3rd and 7 from the 26.

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Russ to Ward on a pass to the 5. 1st and goal.

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Russ's pass goes off Ward's hands in the end zone. 2nd down.

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Mercer runs to the 3. Third down.

[Mr. C]

Slant from Russ to Ward for the TD.

Mercer 20
Furman 0
8:22 left in the third period

6 plays, 29 yards, 2:26 on the drive

[Mr. C]

Furman returns the kickoff to the 20.

[Mr. C]

A couple of passes give Furman back-to-back first downs at the Paladin 44.

[Mr. C]

Reese Hannon has replaced Blazejowski at QB this half. ANd Hannon completes a 3rd and long pass to the Mercer 33 for a 22-yard gain.

[Mr. C]

Furman sneaks for a first down at the 23.

[Mr. C]

Hannon to Andrej Suttles for 23 yards on the post for Furman's first score.

Mercer 20, Furman 7, 3:29 left in the third quarter


10 plays, 80 yards, 4:48 on the drive

[Mr. C]

Furman forces a three and out from Mercer and gets the ball back at its own 22.

[Mr. C]

Hannon's passing has Furman on the move to the Paladin 37.

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Tristan Luke runs for 11 to the Furman 48.

[Mr. C]

8 yards on a pass from Hannon to Snellings to the Mercer 43 is negated by ineligible man downfield. Final play of the third period coming up.

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End of the Third Period

Mercer 20
Furman 7

[Mr. C]

Furman picks up another first down at the Mercer 40.

[Mr. C]

Hannon hits Suttles for 13 at the Mercer 26. First down.

[Mr. C]

Hannon gets hit just as he releases the ball to Suttles for a 26-yard TD post.

Mercer 20
Furman 14
11:41 left in the 4th Period

11 plays, 78 yards, 5:03 on the drive

[Mr. C]

Alex Lakes rushes for 6 to the 31 for Mercer. And then Lakes breaks loose for 31 to the Furman 38.

[Mr. C]

John Russ hangs a pass on the post for Avery Ward and Reggie Thomas turns a potential TD into an interception at the Furman 5.

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Hannon avoids a saefty by throwing a ball almost into the visiting side stands.

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Hitch pass to Suttles goes for 3. Big 3rd and 7 from the 8 for Furman.

[Mr. C]

Hannon reads his hot route off a blitz to Ernie King, but King is stopped at the 13. 4th down and Furman shanks a punt with 8:28 left.

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26 yards on the punt, which gives Mercer the ball at the Furman 39.

[Mr. C]

A bad snap to Russ results in a fumble that Jordan Hawkins recovers for Furman at the 32 with 7:51 left.

[Mr. C]

Hannon has a pass picked off by Mercer's Alex Avant, who takes it back for an apparent TD. But Mercer is called for defensive holding. Furman first down at the Paladin 45. Someone appeared to run a wrong route on the interception.

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Furman with the run to the Mercer 42, but the Paladins get hit for holding as Hannon is forced to throw it away on the next play.

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First and 20 for Furman from the Paladin 48 with six minutes left.

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Dirks rushes to the Mercer 47 for 5. 2nd and 15.

[Mr. C]

Lots of time for Hannon on a pass attempt, but he is finally hit blindside by Tosin Aguebor and fumbles. After a scramble, Mercer recovers at the Furman 40 with five minutes left.

[Mr. C]

Mercer pounds for a first down at the 28. Three minutes left.

[Mr. C]

After a couple of penalties, Mercer faces a 3rd and 22 from the Furman 40 with 2:03 left.

[Mr. C]

Mercer makes a seemingly conservative call with Mitchell running the draw for 13 yards to the Furman 27. Field Goal attempt coming from 44 yards out for Lieb to all but clinch the game. Mercer runs the clock down to 1:18 left with Furman out of time outs.

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Lieb's line-drive kick misses with 1:15 left

Mercer 20
Furman 14

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Furman takes over from its own 27 with no time outs and 75 seconds left.

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Miscommunication between Hannon and Suttles on a pass downfield. Incomplete. 1:11 left.

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Hannon is rushed heavily by Aguebor and is down after throwing it away.

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3rd and 10 at the Furman 27 with 1:06 left.

[Mr. C]

Hannon is being taken off, walking around dazed.

[Mr. C]

Deep post from Blazejowski to Snellings at the Mercer 39. Blazejowski spikes the ball with 56 seconds left.

[Mr. C]

Blazejowski to Logan McCarter at the 2 on another post. Spike makes it 2nd and 2. 46 seconds left.

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Dirks second effort gets him into the end zone. 20-20 with 43 seconds left at the PAT to follow.

[Mr. C]

After a celebration penalty, Hollingsworth misses the PAT.

Furman 20
Mercer 20
43 seconds left

[Mr. C]

Mercer takes over at the 25 after a touchback. Russ to Ward on the sideline incomplete. 39 seconds left.

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Another out to Ward is covered and thrown away. 3rd down and 36 seconds left.

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Mercer downs the ball and will run out the clock. Overtime

[kdinva]

After a celebration penalty, Hollingsworth misses the PAT.

Furman 20
Mercer 20
43 seconds left

unreal.....

[Mr. C]

Mercer will have the ball first in OT.

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Alex Lakes goes off-tackle to the Furman 10. 1st and goal after the 15-yard run.

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Lakes bounces outside toward the Mercer sideline to the 2. 2nd and goal.

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Lakes straight ahead for a 2-yard TD plunge.

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Mercer 26
Furman 20

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PAT from Lieb is good
Mercer 27
Furman 20
1st OT

[catamount man]

Horrible "excessive celebration" call by that officiating crew. They stole the game from Furman. Kids cannot be kids anymore. Liberalism run amok, especially in college football.

[LarryBoy]

Horrible "excessive celebration" call by that officiating crew. They stole the game from Furman. Kids cannot be kids anymore. Liberalism run amok, especially in college football.

That penalty was the most ridiculous thing I'd seen or heard today, but then I read the last sentence of your post. That trumped it.

[OrangeAndBlack]

Horrible "excessive celebration" call by that officiating crew. They stole the game from Furman. Kids cannot be kids anymore. Liberalism run amok, especially in college football.

I'm sorry, but in sports -- and in life -- you play by the rules. The rule says you can't spike the ball. That's on the coaches for having the players ready.

[PaladinFan]

I'm sorry, but in sports -- and in life -- you play by the rules. The rule says you can't spike the ball. That's on the coaches for having the players ready.

Please. Furman didn't lose because of the call, but they would have won without it.

That was as much excessive celebration as the 270 foot fly ball in the Braves/Cardinals playoff game a few years back was an infield fly. The back is a freshman who just scored the game-tying touchdown. He didn't grandstand. He didn't show anyone up. He didn't get in anyone's face. Heck, I'd argue he didn't even spike the ball. He threw it down underhanded behind him as he ran to celebrate with his teammates.

It was an awful call. It was particularly egregious because it had a direct effect on the outcome of the game. Refs missed numerous calls on that final drive that would have aided Furman. Mercer had 12 players on the field the play before. There was a clear facemask that wasn't called. Furman overcame all those missed calls. They couldn't overcome the last botched one.

Again, Furman lost the game because they slept through the first half. I just think that at the pinnacle moment of a football game, you don't throw a flag because a freshman gets excited about scoring a touchdown. The rule is in place to limit grandstanding. There was no grandstanding.

[OrangeAndBlack]

Please. Furman didn't lose because of the call, but they would have won without it.

That was as much excessive celebration as the 270 foot fly ball in the Braves/Cardinals playoff game a few years back was an infield fly. The back is a freshman who just scored the game-tying touchdown. He didn't grandstand. He didn't show anyone up. He didn't get in anyone's face. Heck, I'd argue he didn't even spike the ball. He threw it down underhanded behind him as he ran to celebrate with his teammates.

It was an awful call. It was particularly egregious because it had a direct effect on the outcome of the game. Refs missed numerous calls on that final drive that would have aided Furman. Mercer had 12 players on the field the play before. There was a clear facemask that wasn't called. Furman overcame all those missed calls. They couldn't overcome the last botched one.

Again, Furman lost the game because they slept through the first half. I just think that at the pinnacle moment of a football game, you don't throw a flag because a freshman gets excited about scoring a touchdown. The rule is in place to limit grandstanding. There was no grandstanding.

I personally think players should be allowed to spike the ball and celebrate. However, the rules say that you can't do that. That means coaches and players need to be aware of the rule. That means you don't make ANY motion that could possibly be perceived as a spike of the ball. Several people want to blame the ref for CORRECTLY enforcing the rules!? That's ridiculous.

[kdinva]

I just watched the replay on espn.com........it looked like a spike to me, although sort of "tame" vs. what the Sunday boys do......yet the ref did what he thought was appropriate.......and that PAT try was at least 8 feet wide.....

[OrangeAndBlack]

I just watched the replay on espn.com........it looked like a spike to me, although sort of "tame" vs. what the Sunday boys do......yet the ref did what he thought was appropriate.......and that PAT try was at least 8 feet wide.....

The PAT miss was stunning!!

[PaladinFan]

The PAT miss was stunning!!

Hollingsworth is the best kicker in the SoCon by a country mile. 35 yards is pretty automatic for him. Was surprised to see it miss.

Furman had their chances. They didn't convert them.

[chattownmocs]

Hollingsworth is the best kicker in the SoCon by a country mile. 35 yards is pretty automatic for him. Was surprised to see it miss.

Furman had their chances. They didn't convert them.

Based on what?

[OrangeAndBlack]

Hollingsworth is the best kicker in the SoCon by a country mile. 35 yards is pretty automatic for him. Was surprised to see it miss.

Furman had their chances. They didn't convert them.

I totally agree. He's a great kicker and just showed that he's human. A tough break for him.

[PaladinFan]

I personally think players should be allowed to spike the ball and celebrate. However, the rules say that you can't do that. That means coaches and players need to be aware of the rule. That means you don't make ANY motion that could possibly be perceived as a spike of the ball. Several people want to blame the ref for CORRECTLY enforcing the rules!? That's ridiculous.

There are two rules in play. One, the player cannot do any sort of celebration to draw attention to himself. That was clearly not an issue.

Second, the player must return the ball to the ref or leave it near the dead ball spot, which includes not spiking it. I think then you have a judgment call about what is a spike.

I think this is where we get into the spirit of the rule. The goal is to avoid grandstanding and excessive celebration. That was not a problem. If we are going to read every rule in its narrowest construction, then the refs will do nothing but throw penalty flags.

Again, just my opinion.

[BearDownMU]

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=21773&stc=1

[Toby]

Was it the of spiking the ball or the high stepping in the end zone, or both that drew the penalty?

[PaladinFan]

Was it the of spiking the ball or the high stepping in the end zone, or both that drew the penalty?

I don't have any idea what the ref was looking at. I just went back and watched the play again. He was hit at the two, muscled his way into the end zone and ran to celebrate with teammates. There was absolutely nothing about that play that looked excessive. I would say that even if I wasn't a Furman fan.

I think you have to recognize the time of the game. Furman wasn't scoring its 8th touchdown to go up by 40. That was a potentially game winning score after a feverish comeback with little time on the clock. Let the kid be excited for a second.

Heck, Andrej Suttles did more after his touchdown catch in the 3rd Quarter to draw a flag than anything Dirks did.

[Toby]

Hmmm. He spiked the ball and then high stepped it across the end zone. Could have called either one..

[BearDownMU]

I don't have any idea what the ref was looking at. I just went back and watched the play again. He was hit at the two, muscled his way into the end zone and ran to celebrate with teammates. There was absolutely nothing about that play that looked excessive. I would say that even if I wasn't a Furman fan.

I think you have to recognize the time of the game. Furman wasn't scoring its 8th touchdown to go up by 40. That was a potentially game winning score after a feverish comeback with little time on the clock. Let the kid be excited for a second.

Heck, Andrej Suttles did more after his touchdown catch in the 3rd Quarter to draw a flag than anything Dirks did.

Except for the actual text in the rule that says to have to give the ball to the ref or leave it on the ground?

I understand why it's frustrating to Furman fans, but the call was 100% accurate. If he stands up and drops the ball, there's no call at all.

Could he have not called it? Sure. I fell the same way about the defensive holding penalty that wiped off an interception for us that likely would have iced the game.

[Toby]

Then there is the no call at 1:50 4Q when FU was clearly running into the field goal kicker....

[PaladinFan]

Except for the actual text in the rule that says to have to give the ball to the ref or leave it on the ground?

I understand why it's frustrating to Furman fans, but the call was 100% accurate. If he stands up and drops the ball, there's no call at all.

Could he have not called it? Sure. I fell the same way about the defensive holding penalty that wiped off an interception for us that likely would have iced the game.

Again, we'll just agree to disagree. I would say that he did leave the ball on the ground. No, he did not softly set it on the turf, but the rule does not define "spiking."

The holding call was holding. There's a reason no Furman receiver was in the zip code of that pass.

[BearDownMU]

Again, we'll just agree to disagree. I would say that he did leave the ball on the ground. No, he did not softly set it on the turf, but the rule does not define "spiking."

The holding call was holding. There's a reason no Furman receiver was in the zip code of that pass.

Lol. I forgot your QB is incapable of throwing one too high. That ball was 6 feet over everyone in purple.

[PaladinFan]

Lol. I forgot your QB is incapable of throwing one too high. That ball was 6 feet over everyone in purple.

Oh yes, he certainly can air mail it. He at least typically airmails it for an interception with some Furman player in the vicinity. You can at least see the guy he is overthrowing. :)

At the end of the day both teams had a chance to win the game. That's what makes an entertaining football game.