Catawba @ Ferrum

 And so it begins. After last years initial season in DII, Ferrum starts its second DII season at home. Again this season begins against the Catawba Indians, Last year Ferrum took a tough loss at Catawba falling 45-13. and so my first thought was what will be different this year? First, the offensive depth of Catawba took a huge hit as the Indians lost their starting quarterback, their leading rusher, and their four leading receivers. Of the 22 team starters, They have lost more than half, but the offense has taken the brunt of the losses. On the defensive side, Catawba remains pretty strong up front, and at the linebacker position. Their defensive secondary did lose 3 of their 4 starters from 2025. That says a lot, but they do have experienced back up to fill the holes.

This would be a great start to the season if Ferrum can pull it off. I was surprised to find the amount of roster losses that Catawba has suffered. That does not mean that they won't be ready, I am sure they will.   Ferrum will be bringing back their starting quarterback, No.1 running back, and No.1 receiver, and that means a lot, but we have some holes to fill in the offensive guard positions as both Sam Whitt, and Trey Reiter graduated. I would expect Chase Smith to fill one guard spot, but I don't have clarity of who the other will be. I expect Anwaar Smith, but that remains to be seen. 

In the defensive backfield, Ferrum has some returners, experienced transfers, and a large amount of incoming Freshmen....10 I think. The d-backs were not all that bad last year as they ranked overall mid pack in conference stats. and bringing in two transfers with experience may boost those numbers. If there was a problem on defense, it was what Ferrum gave up against the run. Last year, Ferrum gave up 2150 yards ranking Ferrum 6th out of 7 against the run. This will need to improve. It is noteworthy to mention that Ferrum's D-Line has bulked up in the offseason.

So it all starts Saturday at Ferrum. While there are those who are projecting a score much like last years, don't sell the Panthers short. This could be a much better game than last year.

Go Panthers!