(Austin Willis) - Furman University hammered Elon 62-15 to improve to 2-0 in the Southern Collegiate Conference this weekend.

After a storring tribute to the first responders of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the teams got going, and Elon was the first to score. The Phoenix began the game with structured play around the rucks and an intensity that outmatched their opponents. Jitters and undisciplined play around the rucks left Furman open to the pick-and-go and penalties. Elon went up 3-0 with a penalty kick from their lock and captain Patrick Keneally. But after that Furman quickly settled into their structured attack and began dicing the Elon defense with powerful forward pods and strong runs from the center duo of Jacob Milchuck and Adam Miller. At outside centre, Miller had two tries running in support of his teammates, and Milchuck found one of his own.

Ryan Conlogue had two tries on the right wing and Hunter Branch had a 70-meter try on the left wing as Furman began to open the floodgates.

After the first half Furman made several changes, but then got a red card and after some big hits from Elon, the Paladins found themselves with no more subs and only 13 players on the field. For the remainder of the game the Paladins played two men down providing a new test for their defense.

Elon got through for a couple of tries, but Furman held on to win 62-15. Nine tries were scored by the Paladins - Ryan Conlogue (2), Adam Miller (2), Jacob Milchuck, Nik Koumandarakis, Thomas Trankle, Patrick Musua, and Hunter Branch.

Furman will continue their road series next week against the Western Carolina Catamounts as the competition for the Western Division of the Southern Rugby Conference heats up. Elon’s freshman scrumhalf Kevin Kumar had a try last week and followed it up with an excellent showing this week. He said Elon, now 0-2, still has much to show.

“The team has very new but athletic players,” said Kumar. “[There's] a lot of potential in the direction of the club.”

Meanwhile, Furman has to feel good about winning on the road. Assistant Coach Mike Miller noticed “outstanding connectivity between the backs and forwards” and made an emphasis “to learn each week from our performance and to get better and better as the season moves on.”

Also in the Southern, Appalachian State blew out UNC-Greensboro 62-0. Wake Forest defeated Western Carolina 32-21, The Citadel edged East Carolina 27-26, and UNC-Chapel Hill shut out UNC-Pembroke.

Wake Forest got tries from Jake Miller, Oliver Kiss, Cam Mulhall, Mike Shincovich, and Jamie Black, with Miller also getting seven points from kicks. It was a big day for Wake, which had struggled the last few years in DI's ACRL, and got a nice boost of confidence in the result. North Carolina also moved to the Southern from the ACRL and the Tar Heels logged their first league win as well.

Center Sam Sinclair scored two tries in the first half and flanker Garrett Fowler added one, and in the second half Matt Thomas, Michael Williamson, and Jackson Denton all scored in the second half. 

Appalachian State also moved to 2-0.