Furman Football Tradition: Paladin Stadium

New Beginnings Come From Tradition-Rich Past

GREENVILLE, S.C.–When looking at stadiums around the Southern Conference, probably the one that was most in need of renovations heading into last season was Furman’s Paladin Stadium. Help for that project is on the way, and it’s out with the old and in with the new.

Construction is well underway for the new Pearce-Horton Football Complex at Paladin Stadium, and the $12 million facility will take the facility from being one of the most uninviting stadiums in the league, to one of its best facilities, likely trailing on Appalachian State and Georgia Southern with respect to what it can offer.

Sonny Horton, a 1948 graduate of Furman University as well as being a former player, is responsible for the gift to Furman and is part of an ever-growing base of fans that enjoys his same vision for the future of the program under Bruce Fowler, who will be in his third season as the Paladins’ head coach in 2013. Fowler, of course, had the luxury of showcasing the plans for the football complex during recruiting trips, helping the Paladins land what many consider a top three class in the Southern Conference this past winter.

Horton has special memories of Furman University and its football program, and like many of the Furman faithful, have adopted Tommy’s Ham House in Greenville as a meeting spot to rekindle those many gridiron memories. Keeter Horton, Sonny’s wife, is also a big fan of Paladin football, though she didn’t attend Furman for her education.

She instead was a student at Winthrop, which was an all girls institution at the time. But Keeter, who grew up in Greenville, didn’t just start her Furman fanaticism when her future husband decided to attend school and play football for the then-Purple Hurricanes three years after the two began dating. No, She told former Furman beat writer and now freelance journalist Abe Hardesty that she had been listening to the Paladins with her father back as early as the age of 8.

Charlie Pearce is the other represented name on the new complex, also helping contribute a large donation to the $12 million project in tandem with Horton. So what’s the link between Keeter, Sonny and Charlie. Well, that would be the fact that Keeter is Sonny’s wife, and Charlie’s daughter. Keeter and Charlie often shared Furman football as a bonding time during her years growing up, and  both thoroughly enjoyed cheering on the Paladins.

Horton was one of the more recognized running backs in the history of the program, and is still considered one of those that helped lay the foundation for future success at the running back position for the program, which would in the future see the likes of John Popson, Dewey Proctor, Stanford Jennings, Carl Tremble, Louis Ivory, Jerome Felton and most recently, Jerodis Williams tote the pigskin out of the Paladin backfield.

Horton finished his three-year career for the Paladins, rushing for 1,667 yards and 14 touchdowns. Pearce, who became Horton’s father-in-law, was not a star for the Paladins during his time playing in the early 1920’s when the team played at Manley Field, but he was a huge fan.

The Pearce-Horton name for the complex is truly a fitting moniker, as it represents family, fellowship and football. Three ingredients that have made Furman a unique program over the years, even once promoting these elements in the early 1990’s, with a commercial advertising the family element.

The 44,000-square foot complex will be state-of-the art, and will include a new five-story box, which include club seating, a new press box, as well as a new Hall-of-Fame Room and Presidential Suite. The new stadium will also have field turf installed for the 2013 season, which is a new feature and a Paladin home football game has never been played on anything other than natural grass.

If These Walls Could Talk

While Furman has struggled to draw fans at times in the past, when fans do fill the stands for an important Southern Conference Playoff or important league game, the stadium has turned into a beautiful mix of color, pageantry and tradition on a fall Saturday.

Paladin Stadium officially opened in 1981, and was built to replace Furman’s former home, Sirrine Stadium, located in downtown Greenville. Paladin Stadium seats 16,000, but was originally only constructed to accommodate 13,200. It’s Furman’s third home since 1919.

Furman opened in successful fashion in the facility, as the Paladins won their inaugural game in the facility with a 21-0 win over East Tennessee State, and it would be the first of 149 wins inside the friendly confines. In total, Furman has compiled a 149-43 all-time mark inside the facility. Paladin Stadium has been a part of 10 Southern Conference titles and the school’s only national championship season, which was 1988.

On Sept. 14, 2013, Furman has a chance to win its milestone 150th home game since 1981 when it hosts Presbyterian College. Appropriately enough, it will also be the first to feature the new Pearce-Horton Football Complex.

Paladin Stadium has played host to some great games over the past 32 seasons. Ten of those campaigns have seen the Paladins finish as the SoCon’s top team, while the facility has seen the Paladins qualify for all 15 of their FCS playoff (formerly Division I-AA) playoff appearances, playing host to 18 playoff games in its history, with the Paladins having posted an 11-7 all-time mark.

If Paladin Stadium had a voice, of the 192 games it has hosted in 32 seasons, which ones would it tell us about. Which games were the most enthralling, and send have left an unforgettable imprint on the program’s collective memory.  Heart-stopping triumphs, unforgettable upsets and agonizing heartbreaks have all been witnessed during those 32 campaigns.

There have certainly been some games that none will soon forget, such as the 1989 meeting between Furman and Stephen F. Austin in the FCS Semifinals. With blizzard-like conditions and the Paladins playing without starting quarterback Frankie DeBusk, who had suffered a knee injury in the opening round playoff win over William & Mary, and the Paladins seemingly battled from a deficit the entire night. The Paladins ended up dropping a 21-19 game to the Lumberjacks.

There were other playoff games, too, such as the 2001 postseason clash with Western Kentucky, which might go down as the most memorable home playoff win in facility history. Jack Harbaugh brought a Hilltopper defense that ranked among the best in Division I-AA football to Greenville on that Dec. 1 playoff opener. The Paladins, which trailed 20-7 at one point in the third quarter, scored 17 unanswered points in the final 16 minutes of the game to claim a 24-20 come-from-behind win. Al Means’ 19-yard scoring run with 3:07 remaining helped Furman cap the come-from-behind win.

Furman also had its share of heart-stopping finishes in the regular-season against non-conference foes, with the 2006, 17-13, win over Jacksonville State to open the season being one of the more memorable games against a non-conference foe in a non-playoff setting. The Paladins, which saw Renaldo Gray go out of the game in the fourth quarter with an injury, got an unlikely hero to lead them to a win on that particular afternoon.

Redshirt freshman signal-caller Jordan Sorrells came in and after the Paladins fell behind 13-10 on a 29-yard field goal by Gavin Halford. Sorrells, which had already marched the Paladins down on one scoring drive in the game, led the Paladins on a six-play, 50-yard touchdown drive in a pressure situation, as his 19-yard pass to Brantley Kendall on a wheel route out of the Furman backfield proved to be the decisive score with just 28 seconds to play in the contest.

Other games inside the facility over the years hold brighter memories for Paladin fans, including ones that have come against arch-rivals Appalachian State and Georgia Southern who are leaving the league to join the Sun Belt following the 2013 season. Few will forget Furman’s meetings at Paladin Stadium with Georgia Southern in 2000 and 2004.

Both of those games saw Georgia Southern enter the game as heavy favorites, ranking No. 1 in 2000 and No. 2 in the 2004 meeting. The Paladins needed a win to just make the playoffs in 2000, and in ’04, Furman was a heavy underdog heading into the mathchup, despite having University of Florida transfer Ingle Martin under center.

In the 2000 meeting, Georgia Southern opted to sit a slightly injured Adrian Peterson, as the Eagles were in playoff preparation mode and had already clinched the regular-season Southern Conference title. Furman, ranked eighth and with its playoff fate on the line, played near flawless football the entire afternoon, which resulted in a 45-10 win over the top-ranked team in the nation.

That 45-10 win was due in large part to the performance of Ivory, who recorded the best rushing performance in school history, and one of the best in Southern Conference history. Ivory fashioned a 301-yard, three touchdown rushing performance in front of 15,127 fans to help lead to its first and only win over a No.1-ranked team in school history.

In the Homecoming victory, Ivory produced scoring runs of 7, 37 and 73 yards, and his yardage total eclipsed the school’s previous all-time rushing record of 261 yards established by Mike Glenn. The Paladin offense rolled up 523 yards, while holding Georgia Southern to just 250 yards of total offense, out-rushing the powerful Eagles flexbone offense, 404-114, in rushing yards.

The performance by Ivory would not only help the Paladins qualify for the postseason for a second-straight season, he would also help launch himself into the role as the leading candidate for the Walter Payton Award, which he would ultimately win, becoming the only Paladin player in school history to claim the Football Championship Subdivision’s Most Valuable Player Award.

Ivory remains the top running back to ever grace the Paladin Stadium turf, finishing his outstanding career with a school record 5,353 career rushing yards, and had 31-career 100-yard rushing games.

In 2004, No. 3 Furman would defeat No. 2 Georgia Southern, 29-22, in a game that ultimately proved to help the Paladins claim a share of the Southern Conference crown. Georgia Southern had all the momentum coming into the game, and had absolutely been dominating its foes, having won eight-straight entering that ’04 contest.

The Paladins had struggled to beat lowly Elon, 10-0, a week earlier, and many Georgia Southern fans exuded an over-confidence entering the late-season clash, regarding it more as a coronation than an actual challenge. The 17,145 fans who were in attendance were treated to a classic on that opening weekend of November, but it looked as though the Eagles might have their way with the Paladins early on in the contest.

The Eagles, who came into the contest averaging 495.6 YPG and 51.8 PPG, jumped out to a 12-3 lead on back-to-back scoring runs by explosive quarterback Chaz Williams. But a 5-yard scoring run by Jerome Felton with 2:59 to play in the half saw the Paladins cut the GSU lead to two, 12-10, as the two teams entered the locker room.

A 40-yard field goal by Georgia Southern’s Jonathan Dudley allowed the Eagles to take a 22-18 lead with 11:14 to play in the contest, but it would be all Paladins for the remainder of the game. First, the Paladins would cut the Eagles’ advantage to just one, 22-21, with 7:22 to play in the contest after Scott Beckler connected on a 30-yard field goal.

The Paladin defense would do their job, as they forced Georgia Southern to punt the football back to Martin and the Furman offense with 3:53 remaining in the game.  The Eagles reached midfield before punting, and the ball went into the end zone for a touchback. On a third down play, however, Georgia Southern was flagged for pass interference and the football moved out to the 34-yard line. On the very next play, Martin connected with Felton out of the Paladin backfield for an 18-yard gain, getting the ball into Georgia Southern territory, down to the 48.

With the offensive momentum now in favor of the Paladins, tailback Brandon Mays got the football down to the Georgia Southern 35 on a 13-yard jaunt on the ensuing play.

Facing a crucial third down play a couple of plays later, Martin was under heavy pressure before improvising to buy enough time to find veteran wide receiver Brian Bratton, who do a large majority of the work after the short catch, gaining 20 yards to get the football down to the Georgia Southern 15. Mays gained seven yards on the next play, and it would set up what proved to be the game-winning score for the Paladins. Felton would rumble in from eight yards out, followed by wide receiver Isaac West’s two-point conversion run to on an end-around, giving Furman a seven-point advantage (29-22) with 1:05 to play.

The Paladin defense would make that score hold up, as Furman All-SoCon free safety Cam Newton batted down a pass in the end zone on the game’s final play, setting off wild celebrations in Paladin Stadium and helping the Paladins draw even with Georgia Southern in the Southern Conference standings. It would eventually be the win that allowed Furman to tie for the Southern Conference title, and by virtue of the win over the Eagles, would have enjoyed homefield advantage throughout the postseason as the No. 2 seed.

However, after a dominating opening-round, 49-7, win over Jacksonville State in the opening round, the Paladins would suffer maybe their most painful loss in facility history in the FCS Quarterfinals, with James Madison getting a late score to steal a 14-13 win to end Furman’s promising season, and one that many felt was worthy of a second national title.

Furman and Appalachian State have had some truly thrilling meetings in Greenville over the years, and sadly, the 2013 season will be the final meeting between the two in Paladin Stadium unless Furman moves to the FBS ranks at some point in the future, which is not a likely scenario. Paladin Stadium has played host to several great games between the two schools.

Furman fans won’t soon forget the last two wins against the Black and Gold clad Mountaineers, which came in 2005 and 2001, as wins have come few and far between for the Purple and White as of late. In 2005, it would be the first of what would be two meetings on the season between the Paladins and Apps.

Furman, which entered the 2005 matchup ranked No. in the nation, faced an Appalachian State team that came to Greenville with its most talented team since 1999, and led by quarterback Richie Williams, ASU had an explosive spread offense.

The meeting would go down as one of the best ever in facility history.

Sixth-ranked Furman came away with a 34-31 win over No. 16 Appalachian State.

The Paladins took a 17-14 lead into the halftime locker room, using a TD reception and run from running back Daric Carter, as well as a Scott Beckler 37-yard field goal.

Appalachian State looked like it might steal one in Greenville, as its defense began to get pressure on Martin, and the offense continued to find gaps in the Paladin defense. Williams threw a pair of fourth-quarter scoring passes to give the Apps a 31-26 lead with 5:02 to play, as the Mountaineers appeared to be on their way to their fourth-straight win in the series.

But just as Martin had done a year earlier in front of the home folks against Georgia Southern, he would do a pretty good impersonation of that game-winning drive a little less than a year later against a talented Appalachian State football team. With a little more time on the clock in this instance, Martin helped the Paladins drive 74 yards in 14 plays to take a 32-31 lead after Martin connected with wideout Patrick Sprague for a six-yard pass. Jerome Felton’s two-point conversion rumble allowed the Paladins to increase their advantage to a field goal, 34-31, with 31 seconds to play.

A key play in the drive came on a third-and-short for the Paladins, and Martin’s hard count forced the aggressive Mountaineers to jump off-sides, allowing Furman to stop the momentum of the ASU defense and allow the Paladins to get a first down with the penalty yardage.

The Mountaineers were nearly able to rip the hearts out of Paladin fans for a fourth-straight season when Jermane Little returned the football 46 yards to the ASU 46. ASU eventually got the ball down to the Furman 23 before attempting a 41-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. Julian Rauch, who was the league’s top kicker, saw his strong kick barely deflected by Paladin All-American linebacker William Freeman, and it was just enough to help the kick, which was on-line, to land short and allow the 14,138 partisan Paladin fans to erupt in celebration.

Appalachian State would go on to win the national title, returning the favor to the Paladins in the FCS Semifinals at Kidd Brewer Stadium, taking a  29-23 win to advance to the program’s first title game, where it would eventually capture its first of three-straight crowns with a 21-15 win over Northern Iowa in Chattanooga.

The Paladins wouldn’t taste victory over Appalachian State in any venue again until a 20-10 win over the No. 3 ranked Mountaineers in 2011 at Paladin Stadium. It was enough to put the Paladins into playoff consideration and a No. 17 national ranking before the Paladins saw their hopes dashed by Elon’s 41-34 win at Paladin Stadium a week later.

Of the many meetings between the two schools, few will soon forget the 1991 meeting between the Paladins and Mountaineers, which saw ASU take a 26-23 triple-overtime win over the Paladins, ultimately catapulting the Mountaineers to their first of 10 SoCon titles under former legendary head coach Jerry Moore. The overtime game between Appalachian State and Furman is the first ever regular-season overtime game in Southern Conference history. The loss, coupled with a 38-35 loss to Marshall a week earlier inside the friendly confines, were two of the most painful setbacks in Stadium history. It marked the first time since the stadium opened in 1981 that the Paladins had dropped consecutive home games.

The loss by Furman would ultimately be the beginning of a four-year tailspin, as the Paladins missed the postseason in 1991 and wouldn’t return to the postseason until 1996.

Furman has also had some truly memorable clashes with its rival of rivals inside the friendly confines over the years–The Citadel.

The Bulldogs have been the team Furman fans have loved to hate over the years on the gridirion, and a team that left a bitter taste in the mouths of Paladin fans entering 2013, as the Bulldogs claimed a 42-20 win at Paladin Stadium in the 2012 regular-season finale. It was the first meeting between the two teams in the final game of the regular-season since the 1993 campaign.

It used to be a regular event at season’s end, when the Paladins and Bulldogs would meet on the gridiron to decide bragging rights, and in some seasons, much more than that. In the late 1980’s and early ’90’s, the Paladins and Bulldogs met regularly with the matchup holding Southern Conference title or Division I-AA playoff implications.

The late November meeting at Paladin Stadium in 1990 was one such meeting. Having already clinched at least a share of the Southern Conference crown with a 29-13 win at East Tennessee State a week earlier, the Paladins had the chance to claim an outright Southern Conference crown at Paladin Stadium a week later.

A Citadel win over the Paladins on that pivotal regular-season finale Saturday at Paladin Stadium, would have given the Bulldogs a share of a Southern Conference crown. Three times since 1979 the Bulldogs had entered the game with the Paladins to gain a share of the program’s first Southern Conference title since 1961, and Furman had claimed all three wins.

The Paladins actually entered the ’90 game against the Bulldogs as the lower ranked team of the two, with the Bulldogs coming up from the Low Country sporting the No.11 ranking in Division I-AA, while Furman held the No. 15 distinction. The Paladins had also been dominant in the series, having won 11 of 12 against the Bulldogs coming in, including having won eight-straight. Furman’s defense, headed up by defensive coordinator Bobby Johnson, was designed to slow the Bulldogs’ wishbone attack, it was fashioned to nullify it altogether.

For a third-straight season, including a second season out of the three in front of the home folks, Furman clinched the Southern Conference title outright, with a 30-17 win over the Bulldogs, leading 20-0 at the half. The Paladin offense, led by Frankie DeBusk, was simply a machine on this particular afternoon, rolling up a whopping 565 yards of total output, including 207 through the air, as DeBusk completed 15 out of his 22 throws. It was DeBusk’s ability to keep the Bulldogs offense honest with his pinpoint passing, which allowed the ground game to roll up 358 yards in the win.

Paladin Stadium is at the heart of the Furman tradition, and has been the very epicenter of some of the program’s finest moments as a program.

Now, for the first time in a while, the facility will be getting a makeover, and like for a stadium that is now in its longest playoff drought, a makeover for the surface as well as the box seating and stadium seating,  fans hope that the football team can fall suit and claim a spot in the 20-team playoff field at season’s end.

Furman hasn’t claimed a Southern Conference title since 2004, and haven’t hosted a home playoff game since 2005. A challenging slate, as always seems to be the case in the SoCon, will be in front Bruce Fowler’s Paladins this fall. But perhaps a new image and excitement created by the Pearce-Horton Football Complex and newly installed field turf is the type of excitement a young Paladin squad can feed off of this fall.

Furman will play a 12-game slate for the first time since 2008, but only five of those will be inside the friendly confines, including games with Wofford and Appalachian State, which will likely come to Paladin Stadium ranked in the Top 10. PC, Samford and Elon are the remaining games on the home slate, and the Paladins need to protect their home turf this fall, if the dream of rekindled success by Sonny Horton and Charles Pearce is to be realized immediately.

Special thanks to former Furman beat writer Abe Hardesty for information regarding the Pearce-Horton Football Complex. 

More Information about the Pearce-Horton Football Complex can be found here. http://furman.prestosports.com/sports/m-footbl/2012-13/releases/20130328dl3zb4