Panthers Humble Tigers for Fourth Win of Season

The Panthers took to the road last Saturday to take on the one win Hampden-Sydney Tigers. The Tigers, who are usually a force in the ODAC have not had their typical year. Their lone win to date was against Christopher Newport University, in overtime. Beyond that, the season is one all Tiger fans would just as soon forget.
Ferrum came in after they had suffered a defeat on Senior Day to Shenandoah. This was a game that Ferrum, as I looked at it, should win, but I did not know if things would go in Ferrum's favor. The big news of the day was the return of Brian Mann. While Mann did not play every down, he did accumulate 47 yards, and scored a rushing touchdown. To date, Mann has, according to my calculations, 4965 yards, He needs just 35 yards to break the 5000 yard rushing mark for his career. If this is correct, then this should be well within his reach. This will be the only year he will not have a 1000 yard season, but his accomplishments have been a joy to watch.

In Saturday's game, Ferrum amassed 412 yards on offense. 243 of those were on the ground. The first half seemed like a fairly even competition, as the first quarter ended scoreless, and the halftime score was 7-7. It was the second half, where Ferrum pulled away. Ferrum outscored the Tigers 24-7 in the second half. It was a big win as Ferrum wrapped this one up 31-14, but the biggest, most amazing stat of the game, came from Senior Linebacker Taylor Brown. This may be a first in Ferrum history as Brown led the team in tackles, and rushing yards. That is worth repeating. He led the team in tackles, and rushing yards. Brown secured 4 tackles on defense as linebacker, but as the game unfolded, Ferrum found themselves in a punting situation. Brown who was on the punt team, took a direct snap on a called fake punt, and ran 65 yards for a touchdown.

Down the Crooked Road

Ferrum will close the season on the road at Emory and Henry as the traditional Crooked Road Classic will be played. The Wasps are playing really good football, and come in with a record of 6-3 with wins over Bluefeild, Hampden-Sydney, Southern Virginia, Washington and Lee, Shenandoah, and Guilford.

This will not be an easy task for Ferrum, but a win will give Ferrum a .500 season. The Wasps are averaging about 249 yards per game passing, but are giving up about 254 yards per game.
The wasps are averaging 37 ppg, while Ferrum is averaging just over 26 ppg. It will not be an easy game, and Ferrum will need to force turnovers, and capitalize on them to stay with Emory and Henry.

I would look for Zach Clifford to light up the skies with passes. Ferrum can win, but on the road, it will be an uphill climb.

Emory and Henry  42
Ferrum 32

Go Panthers!