As some days dictate, the best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry. That line from a Robert Burns poem, described my day last Saturday. Try as I might, I had too many things pulling me in different directions and I was not able to see the beginning of the Ferrum at Shenandoah game last week. Truthfully, I finally got the game pulled up on the internet at halftime. I was saddened but not really shocked as I saw the 35-6 score. Shenandoah has a solid team, and I feared Ferrum may have a tough time.
What I saw in the second half however gave me great cause for optimism. No Ferrum did not win, but the determination they showed to stay relevant, and make a game of it was very impressive. Some nice adjustments were made at halftime. After the opening drive of the second half stalled, Ferrum punted to Shenandoah. The Hornets started at their own 13 yard line, and was finding the Ferrum defense to be quite a challenge. After 6 plays, they had not crossed midfield, but a 7th play offside call against the Panthers gave the Hornets a first down at the Ferrum 46. it was the next play however that Howard Fuller stepped in front of a Hugney pass for an interception, and Ferrum took over at their own 26.
On the ensuing drive, Ferrum used a heavy dose of running by Caleb Holland, and Jahylen Lee to move the ball downfield, culminating with a 4 yard run by Caleb Holland for the Panthers score making the score 35-13 after the Deaton xp.
After the Ferrum kickoff, the defense again answered the call, and held the Hornets to a three and out, forcing them to punt.. Ferrum took over on their own 47 yard line, and a three yard run, and a 13 yard run by Jahylen Lee ended the third quarter. Ferrum started the final quarter on the SU 37, and while a couple of plays looked promising, the drive stalled as Deaton missed a 48 yard field goal attempt.
With that, Shenandoah took over on their own 31 yard line. The defense, which had struggled to stop the Hornets in the first half, again forced a three and out punt, giving Ferrum the ball back on their own 23 yard line. Although they mustered a first down, Ferrum had to punt and called on the talent of William Hutton. His punt gave Shenandoah the ball at their own 28. For the 3rd drive in a row, Ferrum held the Hornets to a 3 and out giving the offense another shot. This drive would start in a better position at the Shenandoah 46, but would have the fewest plays of any drive all day. On the first play, Marquise Woodruff caught a Zach Wyatt pass and took it to the house for a 46 yard strike. Deaton's extra point was good, and the score became 35-20. While this gave me a glimmer of hope, Ferrum had to still make up 15 points, not allow ant more points by Shenandoah, and do all of this with less that nine minuets to go in the game. Unfortunately, Shenandoah would go on to score one more touchdown, and the time ran out on the Panthers falling 42-20.
The second half showed me a lot about this team, and I really believe that Coach Sherman and his staff have the program moving in the right direction. Stay Tuned.
Homecoming is next up for Ferrum as the Tigers of Hampden Sydney come to Ferrum with a 3-2 record. Its hard to tell a lot about the Tigers based on their schedule. Their non conference schedule was against teams that I have no knowledge of. What I do see is that H-SC can put points on the board. Their fewest points they have scored was in their season opener where they lost 41-21. Again, this will, like last week be a challenge for Ferrum. The will have to limit mistakes, score when the opportunity is there, and dominate time of possession. This will be helped if that defense can keep producing those 3 and out's.
Go Panthers!
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