FERRUM, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team (1-0) erased a 14-point deficit in the second quarter en route to defeating rival Ferrum College (0-1) by a 45-36 score Saturday afternoon at W.B. Adams Stadium. The Wasps take home the trophy of the 2012 Western Virginia Education Classic with junior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) being named Offensive MVP of the game.
The Panthers got things started on their second drive of the game as they went 88 yards on 11 plays to reach the end zone for their first score of the game. A 37-yard pass from Tim Reynolds to Makya Jackson was the difference maker as Ferrum took a 7-0 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
After an Emory & Henry miscue on special teams put Ferrum on the E&H 22, the Panthers only needed three plays for their next score. A 17-yard scramble by Tyler Brubaker to start the drive set up a three-yard surge by Jericho James to put the home team up 14-0.
On the next possession, the Wasps took over offensively starting what would be their first of five straight scoring drives. A six-play 61-yard strike by the E&H that took just 1:48 off the clock featured a 23-yard reception by senior wide receiver DaVon Ross (Glen Wilton, Va.) to enter Ferrum territory for the first time of the afternoon. Sophomore running back Kasey Jones (Jacksonville, Fla.) punched it in from two yards out for the score.
After forcing the Panthers to punt, E&H went on the attack again to knot the game at 14 points apiece. A 44-yard pass from junior wide receiver Chad Williams (Elkton, Va.) to senior wide receiver Adam Pugh (Norwalk, Ohio) resulted in Boden finding sophomore running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) in the flat for a four-yard score.
The Wasps added another touchdown before the end of the first half, to go into the break with a 21-14 lead. After the intermission E&H picked up where it left off driving 52 yards in 1:54 to set senior kicker Matt Turchin (Salisbury, N.C.) up for a 25-yard field goal.
Another Ferrum punt put E&H back on offense at its own 22 yardline. The resulting 14-play, 78-yard drive drained 6:20 off the clock with Jones scoring his second touchdown of the afternoon from two yards out to put the Wasps up 31-14.
The Panthers got back into the game scoring two straight touchdowns to cut the score to three at 31-28 but the Wasps still had plenty of offense up their sleeves. Boden connected with Williams on a 30-yard pass to extend the E&H lead back to 10 at 38-28.
Emory & Henry put together another scoring blitz, this time needing only four plays to go 72 yards with Boden hitting sophomore wide receiver Sam Edmonds (Roanoke, Va.) with a 30-yard pass to cap a 73-second scoring drive.
Ferrum would score one last time with 1:37 remaining in the contest, this time capping a seven-play 69-yard drive with a three-yard rush by James. Reynolds found Brubaker for the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 45-36. The margin would remain as the Panthers were unable to convert the onside kick and the Wasps ran out the clock for the victory.
Statistically for Emory & Henry, Boden completed 32 of his 50 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns en route to being named the game's offensive MVP. Vaughn led the Wasps' ground game with 65 yards and Jones had 36 yards and two scores while Williams caught 10 balls for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Edmonds was the leading receiver with a touchdown and 93 yards on six catches.
Reynolds led the Panthers in rushing and passing, going 11-for-19 through the air for 152 yards and two touchdowns and had 55 yards on the ground and another score. James rushed for 28 yards and another two touchdowns for Ferrum.
As a team, the Wasps had 470 yards of total offense compared to 316 for the Panthers. E&H won the time of possession battle by a single second, holding the ball for 30:01 but took advantage of better field position allowing Ferrum to reach the red zone only three times all afternoon.
Defensively, senior linebacker Devan Sproles (Norton, Va.) led the way for Emory & Henry with 10 tackles with 1.5 for loss, while senior linebacker Ross Ellis (Abingdon, Va.) and senior defensive end Duke Terry (Dacula, Ga.) had eight and seven tackles, respectively. The Panthers were paced by Tae Motley with nine tackles including two for loss and a pass break-up while Jatavious Adams and Marco McNeal picked up eight and seven stops, respectively.
Emory & Henry will remain on the road next week as it travels to Maryville, Tenn., to take on the Scots of Maryville College. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m., at Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium in the first meeting since 2000 between the two squads.
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