No. 15 Tennessee Tech barely held off a surging Furman squad 20-15 on Saturday, but they needed some absolute monster kicks from Carter Brown in the fourth quarter to seal it. The Golden Eagles were up 14-3 at halftime, looking good, but a second-half rally from Furman made things way too close for comfort.
Leatherwood Leads Early, Eagles Soar
Jax Leatherwood got things rolling for Tennessee Tech, throwing for 212 yards and finding Tre’ Holloway on a 5-yard touchdown pass to kick off the scoring. M.J. Flowers punched in a 1-yard touchdown run with only 31 seconds left in the first half. That gave the Golden Eagles a comfortable 14-3 lead heading into the locker room. They looked in control, sitting at 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the Southern Conference, but boy, did Furman have other ideas brewing.
Furman Fights Back, Brown Delivers Ice
Furman wasn’t dead, not by a long shot. They started their comeback in the third quarter when Connor Adams blocked a punt for a safety, and Nathan Chapman nailed a 53-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 14-8. Early in the fourth, Carter Brown answered with a clutch 52-yard field goal, pushing Tennessee Tech’s lead to 17-8. But Furman QB Connor Ackerley, who finished with 222 passing yards and a score, hooked up with Luke Shields, who had seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown, for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 8:30 left on the clock. Suddenly, it was 17-15! Talk about a nail-biter. That’s when Brown stepped up again, drilling another 52-yard field goal with just 2:50 remaining to make it 20-15, giving the Golden Eagles just enough breathing room. Flowers finished with 70 rushing yards and his touchdown, but Brown’s leg was the real difference maker when it counted most.
Tennessee Tech (5-1, 3-1 Southern Conference) survived a huge scare and kept their momentum going. They’re hosting Eastern Kentucky next Saturday, and you can bet they’ll be looking to clean up those second-half jitters. Furman (2-5, 1-2) gets a bye week to lick their wounds before they host Samford on October 24. That second-half fight shows they’re better than their record, but they just couldn’t overcome those huge kicks.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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