Furman Football goes down swinging in dramatic playoff loss to Montana
The Furman Paladins concluded their 2023 season in Missoula, Montana on Friday night, as many predicted they would against the #2 seeded Grizzlies of Montana University.
What many did not predict was the fight that Furman showed after traveling over 2000 miles to play a late night game in a cold, hostile environment and coming oh-so-close to a massive upset over the 17.5 point favorite Grizzlies.
Montana received a massive boost from their special teams as star receiver and return man Junior Bergen ripped off two return touchdowns, including a kickoff return on the opening kick of the game and a punt return to give the Grizzlies the lead in the 4th quarter. QB Clifton Mcdowell ran over the Paladin defense all night long, going for two touchdowns and over 100 yards on the ground while also throwing for 200 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the knockout punches Furman received time and time again, the Paladins never stopped getting back up, answering every Montana score with a touchdown of their own. The game wove back and forth throughout, until finally it seemed as if the gambit was up for the Paladins with a 4th and 10 at the Montana 13 yard line, down 28-21 with only seconds remaining on the game clock.
Senior QB Tyler Huff took the snap and danced for a second in the pocket before being forced to move up and heave a prayer to the endzone. Who should be waiting for the ball but 6’7” TE Mason Pline, who gathered the pigskin in and fell to the ground with the game tying touchdown in his grasp.
The Paladins converted the extra point, and the game went to overtime, where Furman won the toss and elected to defend first. McDowell marched his Montana Machine into the endzone in a matter of minutes, leaving Furman in a do or die situation. After losing five yards on a first down sweep, Furman threw the ball incomplete three straight times, with the final incompletion knocked just out of the hands of the Paladin receiver.
There are no moral victories for a program as well-respected as Furman, but the tales of Paladin heroics on a cold December night in Montana will no doubt go down as legend in program history.
In the FCS Playoffs, legends are made. As time passes, legend slowly turns to myth. Myth and story of old shape the imagination of future generations, which in turn shapes the very framework of our civilization.
