Box Score Box Score
LEXINGTON, Va. – With injuries and illness testing the VMI Football depth chart, the Keydets fell to Furman 41-3 at Foster Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Collin Shannon, who made his first career start last week at Chattanooga after injuries sidelined Collin Ironside and Seth Morgan, was knocked out of the game on a tough hit in the first quarter, leading to Wyatt Hagan taking over the play-calling duties. In addition to the quarterback position, the Keydets were also missing the services of All-American linebacker Stone Snyder and starting defensive tackle Eric Weaver, among others because of injury.
The Kedyets had an early forced fumble that was overturned, and Furman – who is receiving votes in both of the national polls - capitalized on the momentum, taking a 24-3 lead into the break before adding 17 more in the second half. With the loss, VMI drops to 1-6 overall and is 0-4 in conference play, with Furman moving to 6-2 and 4-1 in SoCon play.
Key Stats
- Hagan goes 22-for-40 with 268 yards and a pick in relief (Shannon 3-for-9)
- Christian Dunn now has a sack in 5 of 7 games with 1.5 sacks against Furman
- 23 players record a tackle; Aljareek Malry, Dunn each have 8.0
- Isaiah Lemmond posts second straight six-catch game totaling 79 yards
- Leroy Thomas has three receptions for season-high 87 yards while Twombly, Knox and Bridy each have four catches
- Jerry Rice moves into second place all-time at VMI in made field goals (passing Wade Hawkins)
- Korey Bridy runs for 68 yards, Rashad Raymond carries the ball for 30 yards
- Keydets total 340 yards of offense, Furman totals 456
How it Happened
On the opening drive for the Paladins, Alex Oliver punched the ball loose and Christian Dunn scooped it up, but the call was overturned and Furman retained possession. After a field goal from the visitors, Shannon dropped back for a pass and was whipped to the ground, ending the afternoon for the first-year quarterback.
On Furman's next possession, Dominic Roberto - the reigning national offensive player of the week - took a carry 57 yards to make the score 10-0. Jerry Rice sent his 32nd career field goal through the uprights, but a blocked punt led to a short field and a touchdown, as Furman took a 24-3 lead into half.
The Keydet defense battled strong in the third quarter, holding the Paladins to just a field goal. A couple of big plays and a turnover would lead to two more scores from Furman as they took the game 41-3.
Catching up with Coach
On Improving moving forward
"I was very impressed with Wyatt Hagan coming in the game. You're not going to play perfect as a freshman – NFL quarterbacks don't play perfect, but I thought he gave our playmakers a chance to make plays and for that I'm extremely proud of him."
On the 5th-Year Players
"Proud of all them because they believe so much in our program even though we don't have a graduate school. Korey Bridy, Rob Soderholm, Eric Weaver, Ayden Jilson."
On the Injuries and Illnesses
"We are hurt and injured. A lot of teams are, that's football. We do have a virus going through our locker room, not Covid, but we have some players stepping up and playing even when not feeling well – Jilson, Aladdin Elroumy are two that come to mind. Eric Rankin played really hard for Stone. Defense played well, just ran out of gas. They were on the field a lot."
What's Next
The Keydets will remain at home next week, hosting Mercer at 1:30 p.m.
