Ferrum Release 11-15-03

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gary Holden, Sports Info. Director
(540) 365-4306

November 15, 2003


Ferrum Upsets CNU in Football
Panthers Demote Captains in Season Finale, 19-17

Ferrum, Va. -- The Ferrum College football team defeated 11th-ranked Christopher Newport University in USA South action this afternoon, winning 19-17 in its season finale. The win is Ferrum's first in three tries over CNU, whose football program is in just its third year of intercollegiate competition.

Playing on a field made sloppy by a consistent drizzle, the Panthers won despite being out-gained by the Captains 414-260 in total offense. Ferrum rode two touchdowns by tight end Chris Silk (Ashland, Va./Patrick Henry), pictured above, and a bend-but-don't-break-defense, escaping with the victory when the Captains' Jason Broskie missed a 27-yard field goal attempt with eight seconds remaining in the game.
Ferrum opened the scoring on a 10-yard run by sophomore halfback Terrell Mulford (North Garden, Va./Charlottesville), which capped a 4-play, 60-yard scoring drive. The PAT by junior placekicker Bobby Corn (Cumming, GA./Forsyth Central) put the Panthers up 7-0 with 8:29 remaining in the first quarter. CNU struck back with a 7-play, 49-yard drive as wide receiver George Jones scored from 16 yards on a pass from quarterback Philip Jones with 5:01 left in the first. Ferrum went up 13-7 when Silk hauled in a 16-yard pass from wide receiver Gary Buchanan (St. Charles, Va./Lee), who pulled up after taking an end-around handoff and found Silk wide open in the right side of the end zone. The PAT was no good and the Panthers took the 13-7 lead into the locker room. The Captains took the opening kickoff in the second half and embarked on a 16-play, 53-yard drive that ate up 9:40 but was ultimately stopped by Ferrum's defense. CNU settled for a for a 24-yard Broskie field goal, trimming the Ferrum lead to 13-10. Following the next kickoff, it was Ferrum's turn to eat up the clock. The Panthers drove 78 yards in 10 plays, reaching the end zone on Silk's second TD, a 17-yard reception from freshman QB Jermaine Pitts (Winston-Salem, N.C./RJ Reynolds) on fourth-and-two. Corn's PAT was blocked and Ferrum led 19-10. The Captains wasted little time answering, driving 70 yards in 10 plays to score on wide receiver Brian Haygood's 13-yard TD reception from Jones. Broskie's PAT was good and the lead was down to 19-17. Ferrum's next drive, which covered 39 yards in nine plays, was stopped at CNU's 25 yard line, giving the Captains the ball back with just over six minutes left to play. CNU drove to the Ferrum 10 yard line, where Broskie's 27-yard field goal attempt with three seconds remaining in the game was wide left. Ferrum was led on the ground by senior fullback Moncrief Holmes (Yorktown, Va./York), who had 66 yards on 16 carries. Holmes eclipsed the 2,000-yard career rushing mark this afternoon. In four years with the Panthers, Holmes had 2,019 career rushing yards on 345 carries, for a 5.6 yards-per-carry average.

Pitts went 4-9 with one TD and no interceptions for 44 yards. For the season, Pitts was 30-for-73 for 505 yards through the air with six TDs and no interceptions. Silk had 33 yards receiving on two catches, both for TDs. This season, Silk made nine receptions for 171 yards, seven of which went for touchdowns. Junior defensive backs Leroy Howard (Miami, Fla./Miami Central) and Darren Venable (Covington, Va./Covington) each registered 11.5 tackles for the Panther defense. CNU was led offensively by Phillip Jones, who went 27-36 for 289 yards and two TDs. George Jones finished with 11 catches for 123 yards and a TD. Defensively, the Captains were led by DB Hosh Weekes and LB Kareem Morse, who had six tackles each. Weekes added an interception and one pass breakup. The win closes Ferrum's season at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the USA South. CNU is now 7-2 overall and for the third consecutive year finishes as conference co-champion. Shenandoah University earned a share of the USA South football title with a 35-14 win this afternoon at Methodist College. Ferrum and CNU split the last two league football titles (then the Dixie Conference), by virtue of identical 5-1 conference records each year, but the Captains earned the NCAA automatic berth with wins over Ferrum both years.

The Captains await word on who and where they will play next Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. For more information, please contact the Ferrum Sports Information Office at (540) 365-4306.


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