Furman Paladins (12-2, 7-1 Southern) Vs
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Game 15 -- December 21, 2001 (NCAA I-AA National Championship) Furman Paladins (12-2, 7-1 Southern) vs. Montana Grizzlies (14-1, 7-0 Big Sky) Chattanooga, Tennessee, Finley Stadium (20,668) — Natural Grass 5:36 EST Kickoff -- ESPN TV (Live) WCSZ-AM 1070 (Live), WRIX-FM 103.1 (Live), WAGI-FM 105.3 (Live) YahooBroadcast.com (Live) Furman Football SID: Hunter Reid (864) 294-2061 Montana Football SID: Dave Guffey (406) 243-5402 Furman Web Site: www.furmanpaladins.com Montana Web Site: www.montanagrizzlies.com THE GAME 2001 SOCON STANDINGS SoCon Overall The Southern Conference champion Furman Paladins make their Team W L .Pct W L .Pct third national championship game appearance this Friday when they square Furman .....................................7 1 .875 12 2 .857 Georgia Southern ..................7 1 .875 12 2 .857 off against the Big Sky Conference champion Montana Grizzlies at Appalachian State ..................6 2 .750 9 4 .692 Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium on ESPN. Kickoff is set for 5:37 p.m. Western Carolina ................ 5 3 .625 7 4 .636 Furman, the No. 3 seed in this year’s NCAA I-AA tournament field, East Tennessee State ........... 4 4 .500 6 5 .545 advanced to the championship game with wins over Western Kentucky Wofford ...................................3 5 .375 4 7 .364 The Citadel ............................ 2 6 .250 3 7 .300 (24-20), Lehigh (34-17), and Georgia Southern (24-17) — the latter of Chattanooga ...........................1 7 .125 3 8 .273 which snapped Georgia Southern’s NCAA I-AA record 39-game home VMI............................................1 7 .125 1 10 .091 winning streak and marked the 500th win in school history. The Paladins won the 1988 title by defeating Georgia Southern, 17-12, in Pocatello, Idaho. December 1 Results (NCAA I-AA First Round) Furman 24, Western Kentucky 20 Montana, the No. 1 seed, knocked off Northwestern State (28-19), Lehigh 27, Hofstra 24 (OT) Sam Houston State (49-24), and Northern Iowa (38-0) to gain its second Georgia Southern 60, Florida A&M 35 straight and fourth overall national championship game appearance. The Appalachian State 40, William & Mary 27 Grizzlies, who fell to Georgia Southern, 27-25, in last year’s title clash in Northern Iowa 49, Eastern Illinois 43 Montana 28, Northwestern State 19 Chattanooga, won the championship in 1995 by defeating Marshall in Sam Houston State 34, Northern Arizona 31 Huntington, W.Va, 22-20. Maine 14, McNeese State 10 TICKETS December 8 Results (NCAA I-AA Quarterfinals) Furman 34, Lehigh 17 Georgia Southern 38, Appalachian State 24 2001 NCAA I-AA national championship game tickets are $20 and go Montana 49, Sam Houston State 24 on sale at the Furman Ticket Office at Timmons Arena beginning Monday Northern Iowa 56, Maine 28 at 10:00 a.m. Ticket office hours are 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and the December 15 Schedule (NCAA I-AA Semifinals) telephone number is (864) 294-3099. Tickets may be purchased at Furman Furman 24, Georgia Southern 17 through Wednesday. Beginning Thursday, tickets may be purchased by Montana 38, Northern Iowa 0 calling the Finley Stadium Ticket Office at 423-266-6627. Game day tickets will go on sale at the stadium beginning at 2:00 p.m. Friday. December 21 (NCAA I-AA Championship Furman vs. Montana, 5:36 EST (ESPN) THE SERIES 2001 SEASON HONORS The 2001 NCAA I-AA national championship game will mark the first Sports Network All-America OT Donnie Littlejohn (1st Team) TB Louis Ivory (2nd Team) meeting between Furman and Montana in football. LB Will Bouton (1st Team) OG Marty Priore (2nd Team) C Chris Stewart (2nd Team) THE COACHES RS Brian Bratton (2nd Team) Southern Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Year (Media) Furman: Bobby Johnson (Clemson '73) TB Louis Ivory 60-35 (.632), 8th Year at Furman 60-35 (.632), 8th Year Overall Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year (Media) Johnson NCAA I-AA Playoff Record: 4-3 LB Will Bouton Johnson vs. Montana (0-0) Southern Conference Freshman-of-the-Year (Media) WR/RS Brian Bratton Montana: Joe Glenn (South Dakota ‘71) 27-3 (.900), 2nd Year at Montana All-Southern Conference (Media) TB Louis Ivory (1st Team) QB Billy Napier (2nd Team) 146-56-1 (.722), 17th Year Overall C Chris Stewart (1st Team) WR Bear Rinehart (2nd Team) Glenn NCAA I-AA Playoff Record: 6-1 OG Marty Priore (1st Team) DT Ryan Spencer (2nd Team) Glenn vs. Furman (0-0) OT Donnie Littlejohn (1st Team) NG LeBryan Sperling (2nd Team) TE Trent Sansbury (1st Team) LB John Thrift (2nd Team) RS Brian Bratton (1st Team) CB Josh Cooper (2nd Team) THE OFFENSES PK Danny Marshall (1st Team) FS Richie Jackson (2nd Team) LB Will Bouton (1st Team) Furman: Multiple I DB Shelvis Smith (1st Team) '01 Points/Game — 33.6 Southern Conference Jacobs Blocking Award '01 Yards/Game — 384.4 OT Donnie Littlejohn 226.0 Rushing 158.4 Passing All-Southern Conference (Coaches) TB Louis Ivory (1st Team) QB Billy Napier (2nd Team) C Chris Stewart (1st Team) WR Bear Rinehart (2nd Team) Montana: Multiple OG Marty Priore (1st Team) DT Ryan Spencer (2nd Team) '01 Points/Game — 34.7 OT Donnie Littlejohn (1st Team) CB Richie Jackson (2nd Team) '01 Yards/Game — 413.3 TE Trent Sansbury (1st Team) FS Josh Cooper (2nd Team) 182.7 Rushing RS Brian Bratton (1st Team) LB Will Bouton (1st Team) 230.6 Passing THE DEFENSES FURMAN RADIO Furman: 43 '01 Points/Game — 14.9 Furman football action can be heard over the '01 Yards/Game — 274.1 Paladins' radio network, headed up by Greenville 131.1 Rushing flagship station WCSZ-AM 1070. 143.0 Passing Chuck Hussion, the "Voice of the Furman Paladins", is now in his eighth season with the Montana: 43 Paladins, as is color commentator John Ingles. '01 Points/Game — 19.1 Dave Cohen co-hosts the tailgate show with Ron Smith and produces '01 Yards/Game — 380.5 Paladin highlight packages. Gordon Higgins serves as sideline reporter, 114.1 Rushing and Robbie Ross hosts the Thrifty Car Rental scoreboard show. The 266.3 Passing broadcast team is assisted by spotter Alex Swire-Clark. 2001 RESULTS/SCHEDULE FURMAN ON YAHOO BROADCAST.COM Furman (12-2, 7-1 Southern Conference, Co-Champion) Sept. 1 ...... @ Wyoming ............................................... 14-20 ...................... L Furman football radio broadcasts can be Sept. 8 ...... ELON ............................................................ 46-7 .................... W accessed live and on-demand by fans around the Sept. 22 ...... VMI ................................................................ 65-7 .................... W world over the internet through Yahoo!. Sept. 29 ...... @ Western Carolina................................ 31-13 .................... W Fans can access live game play-by-play broad- Oct. 6 ...... APPALACHIAN STATE ........................... 28-22 .................... W casts and archived game broadcasts of Furman football through the Oct. 13 ...... @ The Citadel ............................................. 30-7 .................... W following URL: http://www.furmanpaladins.com Oct. 20 ...... EAST TENNESSEE STATE......................... 31-6 .................... W Nov. 3 ...... @ Georgia Southern ............................... 10-20 ...................... L FURMAN ON TEAMLINE Nov. 10 ...... WOFFORD ............................................... 45-14 .................... W Nov. 17 ...... @ Chattanooga ........................................ 42-10 .................... W Furman football radio broacasts will again be Nov. 24 ...... PRESBYTERIAN........................................ 47-28 .................... W available to fans on the TEAMLINE telephone Dec. 1 ...... WESTERN KENTUCKY ........................ 24-20 .................... W Dec. 8 ...... LEHIGH ...................................................... 34-17 .................... W service. Fans can access Furman games by Dec. 15 ...... @ Georgia Southern ............................... 24-17 .................... W dialing 1-800-846-4700 and entering Furman's Dec. 21 ...... Montana (National Championship) ........ 5:36 four-digit code (1109). Montana (14-1, 7-0 Big Sky Conference, Champion) FURMAN FOOTBALL HOME PAGE Sept. 1 ...... @ Cal Poly ................................................. 31-17 .................... W Sept. 8 ...... @ Hawaii ................................................... 12-30 ...................... L Furman Paladins football information can be accessed through the Sept. 22 ...... WESTERN WASHINGTON ................... 30-0 .................... W school’s official athletics home page: www.furmanpaladins.com. Avail- Sept. 29 ...... EASTERN WASHINGTON (ot) .......... 29-26 .................... W able information includes program quick facts, schedule/results, coaches' Oct. 6 ...... @ Sacramento State .................................. 42-7 .................... W biographies, season outlook, roster, game stories and statistics, cumu- Oct. 13 ...... SAINT MARY’S ......................................... 49-19 .................... W lative season statistics, press releases, ticket information, as well as Oct. 20 ...... @ Northern Arizona .............................. 38-27 .................... W information on Paladin Stadium, Furman's radio network, and links to the Oct. 27 ...... PORTLAND STATE ................................ 33-13 .................... W Southern Conference and NCAA. Nov. 3 ...... @ Idaho State ........................................... 32-28 .................... W Nov. 10 ...... WEBER STATE ......................................... 38-23 .................... W Nov. 17 ...... @ Montana State ..................................