The 70th year of football at Ferrum will be celebrated with the upcoming season, and over that time, Ferrum has really moved the program to a much higher degree of notoriety. At first, it was difficult to field a team. Read the following to grasp an understanding of the beginning. Kicking Off Ferrum Football.
After three different coaches (Sam Webb, Carson Barnes, and Lewis Lane) tried their hand at steering the program, the 1960 season was under the direction of Ferrum legend Hank Norton. The Norton years were highlighted by four National Championships, One National Runner Up, and multiple All Americans, many who went on to play pro football. In his 34 seasons as coach of Ferrum he achieved many great things, but one of the most notable was leaving the Junior College Ranks, and taking the program to D3.
The D3 status began in 1985, with two years as an independent that did not allow for post season eligibility. The next three years, Ferrum would have its best years at the D3 level. In 1987, Ferrum would make the playoffs for the first time losing to Emory and Henry 49-7. In 1988, Ferrum would advance to the D3 semi finals, losing to eventual national champion Ithica, 62-28. For the 1989 season, the Panthers would again make a playoff run by defeating Washington and Jefferson 41-7, and would advance in the quarterfinal round by beating Lycoming 49-24. The semi final round again proved too much for the Panthers as they fell to Union 37-21. In 1990, Ferrum would again make the playoffs, losing in the first round to Washington and Jefferson 10-7. 1993 marked the end of Hank Norton's storied career as Ferrum's head coach. He would be replaced by Dave Davis to carry on the tradition. It would be 15 years before the Panthers would again make the playoffs. The 2005 season under Davis saw the Panthers start strong with a 9 game winning streak. Going into the last game of the season, Ferrum had already wrapped up the conference title, and had qualified for the D3 playoffs. The only questions were who would they play and where. A win against a very good Christopher Newport University team would likely mean Ferrum would host the first round. Unfortunately Christopher Newport would stop the Panthers streak at 9, defeating Ferrum at W.B. Adams Stadium 44-7. That first round playoff game did not go much better as the Panthers fell to the Wesley Wolverines in Delaware 59-14. Davis retired in 2010.
Since Dave Davis, Ferrum has had four more coaches at the helm of the program. David Harper, (2011-2015), Rob Grande (2016-2019), Cleive Adams (2020-2023) and Kevin Sherman (2024-). While each had success on many levels, and made various contributions to Ferrum football, I am currently very encouraged by the success that coach Sherman had in his inaugural season. With very little time to recruit, coach Sherman found a way to to take a 3-7 team, to 5-5. While 5-5 may not seem worth writing home about, keep in mind, they were only one win away from a winning season. Let's also not forget that one of those five losses came at the hands of the eventual National Runner Up, Mount Union. Also remember, Ferrum only lost to Hampden-Sydney by 5 points. This was one they could have won. So with just one more score, and a more realistic opponent to start the season with, Ferrum could have ended with a 7-3 record. There is a lot of good that can be taken from last season. I look for Ferrum to be an improved version of the team they fielded last year, but so will the opponents they face this year.
What can we expect in the first season of D2 Football?
In all honesty, it is difficult to tell. I have done some research, and while I am not ready to make a preseason prediction, here are some informational nuggets.
- The Panthers will participate in Conference Carolinas
- There will be 7 football teams in the conference
- This will be the first time since the 1974-75 season that the conference has had football
- Of all the teams in Conf Carolinas, only two posted winning records last season
- Ferrum had the 3rd best record if you look at all 7 teams.
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