How ‘Furrey and Elliott showdown’ played out for USC coaches in local high school game

Stone Furrey was looking for a familiar face when he hit the end zone Friday night.

The Chapin High junior receiver was trying to find South Carolina tight ends coach Shawn Elliott after he scored on a 50-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter of the Eagles’ 63-21 win over A.C. Flora at Cecil Woolbright Stadium.

Earlier in the week, Furrey and Elliott were talking trash about the matchup. Furrey is the son of Gamecocks receivers coach Mike Furrey, while Elliott’s son Max is a starting linebacker for A.C. Flora.

It was the first time the two Gamecock sons faced each other on the field.

“Our dads called the it Furrey and Elliott showdown,” Stone said after the game. “I told Coach Elliott on Saturday when I was up at Carolina that if I scored I was going to go point at him.

“So I was looking for him after I scored that one time.”

The two fathers had a friendly wager on the game: The loser had to wear the winning high school’s T-shirt at a USC practice this week. (That ended up not happening, though, an apparent oversight during the busyness of the week.) Still, the Furrey family will have bragging rights until the two schools play next season.

Stone Furrey’s touchdown turned the momentum in Chapin’s favor as the Eagles shut out the Falcons for their second straight win to start the season.

“There was about 22 seconds on that clock and they said run a post and my face lit up,” Stone said of the TD. “I was just so happy. I went up and hit there with a double move.”

The matchup didn’t go as well for Max, who moved over to defense full-time after seeing action at tight end last year. The junior suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter and didn’t return despite pleading with Flora’s athletic trainer to go back in the game.

Elliott, who has 11 tackles through two games, had an MRI on the shoulder on Tuesday and will be out this week and possibly longer.

Shawn Elliott said his son was a lot like him after the game, not wanting to talk much.

“He was upset and frustrated and I kind of let him be after the game,” Shawn said after the game. “He is like me when you lose. Last thing he wants is to come over and talk about the loss or how your shoulder is. He made a beeline for the locker room.”

They’re dads, coaches and big fans

Mike Furrey and Shawn Elliott stood by each other at times on the field, and it was obvious they loved being there to watch their sons playing the game they are so passionate about. While they were just being dads during the game, they switched to “coach mode” and analyzed things when it was over.

“We talked about the game itself, what they did well and what they didn’t do well and things they could have done better,” Shawn said.

Mike Furrey played seven seasons in the NFL, most notably with the Detroit Lions from 2006-08. The former undrafted free agent led the NFC with 98 catches for 1,086 yards and six touchdowns. The 98 catches were a record for a non-rookie after a season with no catches the previous year.

After his playing days, Furrey was head coach at Kentucky Christian, had two stints as Limestone head coach and also coached with the Chicago Bears before landing at USC.

Shawn Elliott was a standout at Camden High and was part of Bulldogs’ 1990 state championship team. He went on to play at Appalachian State, where he spent more than a decade as an assistant coach.

Elliott coached at USC from 2010-16 before getting the head coaching job at Georgia State. In February, he left GSU to come back to coach at USC.

Even when he was at Georgia State in Atlanta, he made sure he got to as many of his son’s and daughter’s school and sporting events.

“What is really magical about any sport you have your children playing. For me it is the game of football and it is the game I love and it is the game he loves,” Shawn Elliott said. “Unfortunately he got hurt and couldn’t play that second half. And I am over there feeling his pain for him.

“But it is awesome for them to be out there and play the game they love and you love so much.”

Furrey agreed with Elliott and called his son’s big touchdown “pretty sweet.”

“It is just surreal, to be honest with you,” said Furrey, who was wearing a Chapin T-shirt at the game. “My son is out there playing and his son out there playing. To me, I haven’t conceptually put it all together that my little boy is playing high school football. It is fun to watch.”

Both sons say their dad is instrumental in their playing career. When time permits, they review film of the next opponent with their fathers.

Max Elliott started playing football at an early age, while Stone didn’t start with the game until the eighth grade, opting for basketball and baseball before that.

Stone Furrey played last season at Gaffney before transferring to Chapin when his dad got the job at USC. Through two games, Furrey has 11 catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns for the Eagles (2-0), who travel to Spring Valley this week. He also returns kicks and punts for the Eagles.

“Coming from Gaffney and a great football program, but Chapin is also a great football program,” Furrey said. “It has been pretty hard getting used to it and having a ball out here.”