Some highlights from the 2010 season

Soon I will start looking forward, but there will probably be a couple of more reflective posts before that. In looking back at this season, while there were disappointments, there were also pleasant surprises. At the beginning, players found out two pieces of news that would not be easy to take. One was that Mike Vann would not be on the team this year, and the other was that Coach Davis was retiring at the end of the season. If these two pieces of news were painful, the good news was that Marcus Mayo was returning.

From that point on, the season was sort of a mixed bag. Here are some of the highlights of 2010.

Emory and Henry- A good game with a bad result. Ferrum fell in Double overtime. In this game Scott Puschell tied the Ferrum record for the longest field goal in the schools Division 3 history. The kick was 47 yards.

Southern Virginia University- Ferrum had a really good day on paper, but not on the scoreboard. The Panthers led in almost every statistical category.. First Downs, Rushing Yards, Passing Yards, Time of Possession, and had far fewer penalties. A 70 yard interception return for the Knights may have been their best highlight of the day. This would provide their second of four victories.

Bridgewater- In Ferrum's first road game, there were not a lot of positives. The Panthers were dominated in most all phases of the game, but only trailed by four at the end of the third quarter. The major highlight was a 76 yard punt return by Marcus Mayo for a TD.

North Carolina Wesleyan- Homecoming and the ground breaking of the Hank Norton Athletic Center were the off field highlights, but on the field, Ferrum ran into a tough Bishops team. Again on paper Ferrum was pretty much dominated. but lead 14-10 going into the fourth quarter. Mistakes ruined any chances of a win as Ferrum turned the ball over three times in the last quarter. In this game Justin Donnelly caught two touchdown passes.

Methodist- Marathon could best describe this game. A triple OT thriller that saw Marcus Mayo score four touchdowns...two on punt returns. In the end, Ferrum would get its first win of the season, 51-45.

Greensboro- On the road to Carolina for the second week in a row, Ferrum was out to avenge last years loss to the Pride. In what would turn out to be a fairly close game, Derrick West caught two touchdown passes to help Ferrum get their second win in a row, 28-20.

Shenandoah- In their return home, Ferrum put it all together against the Hornets. 478 rushing yards for the Panthers, coupled with a 93 yard kickoff return, helped Ferrum gain their third win in a row, and their second game in three weeks scoring over 50 points. Final- 56-20.

Christopher Newport- On the road again, Ferrum traveled to Newport News to take on the Captains. Riding a three game winning streak, Ferrum looked pretty good at times. Leading at the half, Ferrum would lose the lead on the first play of the third quarter and the Captains never looked back. Marcus Mayo had his best day as a passer, throwing for 207 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Averett- In what I think was probably the best overall game of the season, Ferrum dominated the once first place Averett Cougars. In this game, Ferrum lead 14-3 at halftime, and was up 28-6 at the end of the third quarter. Steven Harris had 191 all purpose yards (52 rushing, 65 Receiving, and 74 on Kickoff returns) He also scored 2 touchdowns.

Maryville- Ferrum closed the season at home, facing the Scots of Maryville. Ferrum's running game was stymied the entire day, but Mayo threw two touchdown passes, and caught one. In the end it was not enough as Ferrum lost it's season finale 23-21. This game marked the end of Coach Davis' career at Ferrum.

Defensive notes coming soon!!