Ferrum Falls to Hornets on Senior Day

It was a beautiful day in Ferrum, and the stage was set for an important Panther win. The Ferrum marching band were able to roll out their new uniforms, the crowd was loud and supportive, and it was Senior Day. The final home game for the Seniors on the Ferrum football team. Unfortunately, Ferrum would not end up on the correct side of the score.
We knew, coming into this game that the opponent, Shenandoah, had an offense that relied greatly on the pass. This game was no different. Chris Sonnenberg, the Freshman quarterback for the Hornets, had a very strong performance, but in many aspects of the game, so did Ferrum.

Zach Clifford was 18 of 35 with 250 passing yards and two touchdowns.Clifford also carried the ball 17 times for 71 yards and a touchdown, Overall, Ferrum out gained Shenandoah 492 total yards to 467. Ferrum ran 22 more offensive plays than SU, and won the time of possession battle by over 11 minuets. On the ground, Ferrum had 242 yards whereas Shenandoah had only 74. Finally, Ferrum averaged 7.1 yards per passing play, and over 5 yards per play on the ground. On most Saturday's these stats would get a team in the W column.....not this time.

Sonnenberg lit up the Ferrum secondary as he was 21 of 27 for 393 yards and 6 touchdowns! Three of these scores went to Casey Stewart. Sonnenberg did not suffer an interception, and was sacked just once. The Shenandoah offense was very efficient to say the least.

Austin Pennington led Ferrum's  ground game with 82 yards. Frank Ross contributed 69 more yards. Ferrum and the Hornets were tied at the end of the first quarter, and Ferrum trailed 21-14 at halftime, but the third quarter saw Ferrum score only three points, while the Hornets added another two touchdowns. Both teams scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. For Ferrum, these came via a Zach Clifford touchdown run, and a blocked punt recovered by Quinten Wallace in the endzone. It was a strange game as evidenced by the statistics, but also different as Ferrum had three field goals missed. In the end it was the Hornet passing game that won out as Ferrum fell 49-31.


On to Hampden-Sydney


This week, Ferrum travels to Hampden-Sydney, to take on the 1-7 Tigers. This 1-7 record is quite unusual for the Tigers, and has come as quite a shock to me. This is a team I see as a contender for the ODAC crown almost every year, but they have struggled badly this year. They seem to have most of their success through the air, with a primary target being Senior Major Morgan. Morgan, has proven to be one of the best receivers in D3 football, and will be used extensively today to try to get points on the board. At 6'5", Morgan presents a huge challenge for any DB.

Ferrum's fortunes rest with Zach Clifford and company. Look for Ferrum to be quite aggressive through the air also. The running game will likely be led again by Pennington and Clifford, but the question remains.....will Brian Mann be in the lineup? My guess is no, but he may see limited action.
Today is Senior Day for the Tigers, so their emotions will run high. The will have plenty of motivation. For Ferrum, a win means they can still finish 5-5. The Panthers have really grown, and become a cohesive unit. The end of the season is drawing nigh, but a win today will give the Panthers the boost they need to prepare for another edition of the Crooked Road Classic against Emory and Henry next Saturday.


Ferrum 36

H-SC  27

Go Panthers!