What a game! Ferrum went into this one with but one mission. Upsetting the Generals of Washington and Lee, and they almost pulled it off. This game was just an all-out slugfest as the lead in the game changed hands 6 times. The Generals came into the game with a chance to capture the ODAC crown, and at days end they were the conference champs but by no means did Ferrum make it easy for them.
The Leads-
>Ferrum would get on the board first with 7:42 left in the first quarter on a 6 yard pass from Titus Jones to Deven Gray. The xp made the score 7-0.
> W&L would not score until 5:54 left in the first half when Coby Kirkland took it in from 2 yards out to tie the score at 7.
> Kirkland would again find the endzone for the Generals as time expired in the first half. W&L 14 Ferrum 7.
>Ferrum's Seth Deaton would provide the only points of the third quarter as he hit a 36-yard field goal to make the score 14-10.
>As the fourth quarter was just underway, Titus Jones hit Nic Cook for a 14-yard touchdown and Ferrum re took the lead 17-14 with 14:47 remaining in the game.
>W&L would come back and capture the lead again as Stephen Murrin would run the ball in from 6 yards with 9:57 left. W&L 21 Ferrum 17.
> Titus Jones would give Ferrum the lead back with 5:49 left as he scored on a one-yard run after leading an 8 play, 70-yard drive. Ferrum 24 W&L 21.
The Generals would score with 1:42 left in the game to ice the win as Josh Breece found the endzone from 1 yard out. W&L 28 Ferrum 24.
This was possibly the most exciting game Ferrum has played this season, and they really stood toe to toe with Washington and Lee. I wish it could have turned out differently, but the Generals are going to the D-3 playoffs. Ferrum played an excellent game, and has absolutely nothing to regret about their effort in this one. The Panthers will close their season out on the road next week as they travel to Emory and Henry for what may be another barn burner.
Lastly, I want to acknowledge a few comments that came up after the pregame post. There were several readers who were concerned that I maybe should not predict a winner and loser before a game. I totally understand that feeling as I have wondered the same thing. I want to be as accurate as possible, and that is just the way I saw the game turning out. I have also been criticized before for picking the Panthers to win too often, being called a "homer" and not being realistic. So, is the score prediction necessary? No, I could totally omit that part of the post, but this is about trying to put out an accurate portrayal of what I think the game will be like. Picking Ferrum to win in every situation is not realistic, at least to me not right now. I will say that Ferrum's football program is really headed in a positive direction. The coaching staff has done a superb job with this team, and I think they have gotten stronger as time has gone on. Given just a couple of more successful recruiting classes, and I think you will see the ODAC trophy coming to Ferrum in the not-too-distant future. But to be the best, you have to beat the best, and Ferrum is getting closer, but they are not quite there yet. They have a huge foundation to build on from this season, and while there is one more game to play, Ferrum has a bright football future and there should be a lot of Ws down the road. Thanks to everyone for reading the blog!
Go Panthers!
No comments:
Post a Comment