Ferrum Drops Season Opener to Catawba 13-7

 I am not sure where to start, so let's start with a reminder that last year, Ferrum lost to Catawba 45-13. What a difference a year makes. Now you can take this game, and look at it from many angles, but for the first time in several years, Ferrum's defense showed off. They looked a bit intimidated at the beginning as the Indians quarterback hit his first eleven passes in a row. but with all of that yardage through the air, they only lead 7-0. Ferrum tied the score in the 2nd quarter as Eli Foutz hit Jycen Anciso for a 39 yard pass for a touchdown, The game was tied on Jon Davis's PAT. The first half ended with a 7-7 knot.

Ferrum was set to receive in the second half. They set up to take the second half kick off but the kick went out of bounds. That gave Ferrum the ball at their own 35 yard line, and no time had run off of the clock. The first play of the second half was the same essentially as the Panthers first play of the first half as they incurred a penalty. This time it was delay of game.....on the first play of the half? Unusual. 

While it is easy to sit and blame the offense, I think the blame or credit lies with the Catawba defense. The had Omarza Gray's number all night. He caught some passes, but they knew his potential, and had a plan for him. Ferrum gave up the last touchdown to Catawba with 5:05 left in the third quarter. The extra point was missed, so I knew that this was a winnable scenario. That missed extra could be a factor. It looked like things were going to go Ferrum's way as with 1:44 left in the 3rd quarter, Zavion Wilson intercepted the Catawba quarterback and got the ball to the Catawba 6 yard line. This was not meant to be as Ferrum went 4 and out and did not score. From there on it was a lot of back and forth with neither team making much ground. The game ended as a loss for Ferrum, 13-7, but boy do I see a much improved program. They deserve a lot of credit. There are a lot of good things to take from this but for me the takeaway is that Ferrum was in the game til the end. Considering last year, that's an important positive.

Too many penalties and some crucial missed opportunities, but Ferrum turned a corner tonight, and if you are a Ferrum fan, you should be excited.....I am.

Go Panthers!