Ferrum Drops the Builders 31-20

Before starting on the game and it's highlights, I want to say how happy I was to see such a large contingent of Ferrum supporters at today's game. The crowd size was listed by the Apprentice School as 258. If that was accurate, I would estimate then that 150 were Ferrum fans. This was an excellent effort and will help the team.
Secondly, many thanks to Tracy Holly for putting together an Alumni and Family Programs tailgate before the game. It's a long ride from Ferrum to Newport News, and I so much appreciate events of this nature!

Since I live in Williamsburg, this one was in my back yard so to speak. The weather forecast for today has been showing, most of the week, a day filled with rain. Today however was mostly sunny. Mostly the entire game.........mostly.
Ferrum got on the board first as Johnny White found paydirt off of a Zach Clifford pass. Chase Deaton's extra point gave Ferrum a 7-0 lead. The Builders answered right back as quarterback Terrance Sudberry led the host team down the field in four plays on a drive that culminated with a 63 yard pass to Sapp for a touchdown. The ensuing extra point tied the game at 7.
Ferrum answered after the kickoff with a 10 play drive which ended when Brian Mann scored on a one yard run The Chase Deaton PAT gave Ferrum a 14-7 lead.
After the kickoff, the Builders only needed six plays to find the end zone as Sudberry hit Bryce for a touchdown, and the PAT made it 14-14. The first quarter ended in a tie, with neither team punting.

In the second quarter, Ferrum completed an 11 play, 45 yard drive when Chase Deaton hit a 42 yard field goal to give Ferrum a 17-14 lead.
The Builders came right back down the field, and put together a 7 play drive before being stopped on 4th down where Ferrum took over on downs.
Brian Mann started the next possession, with a 32 yard gain to the NNAS 23 yard line. After a penalty, and an incomplete pass from Clifford, Brian Mann threw a pass that was intercepted at the 2 yard line, giving the Builders the ball back, but with 98 yards to travel.

The Builders ensuing drive would stall, and Ferrum would take over on downs. This possession for Ferrum would end when Zach Clifford hit Nick Pearce on a 9 yard pass for a touchdown. Deaton's XP made the score 24-14 Ferrum leading. The following drive for Apprentice ended in one play as the quarterback was sacked, and the half ended.

The third quarter saw Ferrum attempt to extend its lead when Chase Deaton set up for a 37 yard field goal attempt. It sailed wide left, giving the ball back to Newport News. Ferrum's defense held, and forced the Builders to punt for the first time. Ferrum took possession and put together a 12, play 76 yard drive, ending wit Zach Clifford scoring on a 8 yard run. The extra point made the score 31- 14, and things seemed well in hand for Ferrum.

A six play, seven yard drive is all Newport News could manage as they were forced to punt again. Ferrum would take over with Tyler English under center, and he would end the quarter with a 12 yard run. This drive however would stall, and Ferrum would send out Freshman punter Grayson Harvey for the first time all day. He blasted a 51 yard punt that pinned the Builders back on their own 5 yard line.

At this time, it seemed that Ferrum was cruising to victory......someone forgot to tell Newport News Apprentice. They put together an 11 play 95 yard drive that ended with a Sudberry pass for a 16 yard touchdown. With the extra point missed, the score was now 31=20.

It seemed like the momentum may have shifted, and that the Builders had new life. The ensuing kickoff only enhanced that feeling, as the kick was directed away from Brian Mann, but was not what I would call an on side kick. It was just a short kick away from Mann. Nonetheless, Ferrum did not cover the kick, and Newport News recovered the live ball. Two plays later, Ferrum's Kendall Bell would intercept Sudberry, giving the Panthers the ball back at their own 6 yard line with 6:52 to go in the game.

The mostly sunny game was now starting to grow cloudy quickly, and concern rumbled through the stands of a lightning delay. Four more plays would be run before that delay did eventually happen. The stadium was evacuated for safety, and the fear of another six hour delay like had happened the week before was a real concern. The radar on my phone showed a lot of rain activity in the area, and the prospect of a delay coupled with a five hour bus ride seemed untenable. The game was called, and Ferrum was declared the winner.

Lots of good to take away from this one. First, is Ferrum gets the W. That, in the end is all that matters. Secondly, I think Ferrum diversified the offense, and took some of the weight off of Brian Mann. He still ran for 145 yards, but it seemed that the load was spread around. The heat and humidity likely had something to do with that. Ferrum's defense seemed to start slow, but found its legs, and did a much better job.

So on to Averett. A very good program. This too is a non conference game, but may serve as a good measuring stick for Ferrum's progress.

Go Panthers!