Apprentice @ Ferrum

 The Newport News Apprentice School Builders make the long trek to Ferrum this weekend to take on the 2-0 Panthers. Saturday's game may be thought to be a foregone conclusion. Based on past meetings, one can easily surmise that this will be a win for Ferrum. The last time these two schools met was 2018. Ferrum travelled to the Apprentice School and brought home a 31-20 win. The year before that, Ferrum hosted the Builders, and won 40-20. I do not know the total overall record between the schools, but it is safe to say that Ferrum leads the series, by a lot.

I am hesitant to in any way call this a guaranteed win. This game scares me. First of all, the Builders have as solid a quarterback as I can remember them ever having. Against the Brevard Tornados, their quarterback Mason Tatum was 19 of 32 for 173 yards and three touchdowns. He threw 1 interception. Oh by the way, The Builders beat the Tornados in overtime, 34-27. The next reason that I get concerned about this game is that Brevard was picked to finish second in the USA South. The expectations are high for Brevard, and yet they started their season 0-2. 

Lastly, NNAS is coming off of a thrashing by Emory and Henry where they fell hard to the Wasps 63-7. That may speak more to the dominance of E&H rather that the inability of the Apprentice School.  At any rate, they will be looking to get back into the win column, and a win at Ferrum would be a statement win.

This is the last tune up game before conference play begins, and in my opinion, this is an excellent opportunity to send a message to the rest of the conference. Not only does this have to be a win, it has to be a dominant win. The opportunity is there, but Ferrum must seize the opportunity, and must stay focused. Above all, Ferrum must minimize the penalties. The Panthers need to score early to set the tone, and score often. Get on this team early, and do not let up. Playing host to Randolph-Macon next week is a major game on the schedule, but if Ferrum goes into that game 2-1, rather that 3-0, the entire dynamic of the game changes. This week is the  Apprentice School. That is all that matters.

Go Panthers!

Ferrum 42

Apprentice 23