Huff sparks Furman to 52-0 rout of D-II North Greenville

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) Tyler Huff threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Furman piled up 456 yards of offense in the first half en route to a 52-0 win over Division II North Greenville in a college football opener on Thursday night.

Dominic Roberto ran for two first-half touchdowns as the Paladin's bolted to a 45-0 lead in the first Thursday game in Paladin Stadium history. It was the first season-opener shutout since 1988 and first home shutout since 2003.

Huff, a graduate transfer from Presbyterian, found two-time All-American tight end Ryan Miller for a 33-yard touchdown on the game's opening drive.

North Greenville, which is 12 miles from the Furman campus but had never played the Paladins before, were never in the game with three turnovers before the break. The Crusaders' second possession ended with Cally Chizik picking off Bryce Fields and going 56 yards for a touchdown.

Furman was sporting new black uniforms to start its 117th season of football, the first time since 2016 the Paladins wore black. Their helmets - featuring the Diamond F on one side and player number on the other - were purple for the first time in more than 50 years.

The Paladins finished with 589 yards and allowed 227.

Crusaders coach Jeff Farrington was assistant at Furman from 2002-10.

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