EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team (1-0) took advantage of four Ferrum College (0-1) turnovers to defeat the visiting Panthers, 41-12, in the 2011 season opener for both squads. It was also Hall of Fame Day for E&H, as the Wasps honored the 2011 class of inductees to the Emory & Henry Sports Hall of Fame.
Emory & Henry got their first chance at offense at the 10:50 mark in the first quarter. The Wasps recovered a fumble at the Ferrum 30 yard line and found the end zone just two plays later on a 20-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) to junior running back Adam Pugh (Norwalk, Ohio).
The Wasps made their lead 14-0 on the first play of the second quarter when senior quarterback Dustin Beck (Connelly Springs, N.C.) found junior wide receiver DaVon Ross (Glen Wilton, Va.) in the back of the end zone with a 33-yard pass.
Ferrum got on the board with just under eight minutes to go in the half on a 24-yard field goal by Scott Puschell (Chantilly, Va.) closed the gap to 14-3. E&H answered with three points of their own 24-yards out 5:30 later on a kick by junior Matt Turchin (Salisbury, N.C.).
The Panthers recorded their only touchdown of the contest with 1:12 left before the break as senior quarterback Marcus Mayo (Lexington. Va.) found Dominique Lesine (Rocky Point, N.C.) with a 54-yard pass to draw the score to 17-10.
Emory & Henry would add a 30-yard field goal by Turchin with just nine seconds to go in the half to into the locker room with a 20-10 lead.
After the break, Emory & Henry put up 21 straight points to put the game out of reach. Pugh had back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter including a game-long 24-yard rush for his third score of the day.
Beck would score E&H's final points of the contest on a nine-yard run early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 31 points (41-10).
Ferrum would score one last time, catching the Wasps' offense in their own end zone for a safety.
Emory & Henry led the way in total offense (321-316) and first downs (25-15) while Ferrum took the time of possession battle, holding the ball for 32:30.
Ferrum's Mayo led all players with 256 yards of total offense while Boden had 139 yards though the air for the Wasps. Ross had 77 yards on five receptions with one score.
Emory & Henry senior linebacker Shane Wicks (Honaker, Va.) had a game-high 11 tackles while senior defensive back Michael Young (Lawrenceville, Ga.) had nine stops and an interception in the game.
Defensively for Ferrum, Delano Hall (Landover, Md.) had eight tackles while four other Panthers had seven tackles including Lynwood Pickett (Maple Hill, N.C.), who also had a forced fumble and a pass break-up.
Emory & Henry will remain at home next Saturday when the Pride of Greensboro College comes to Fred Selfe Stadium for a 1:00 p.m., kickoff. Ferrum has a week off before traveling to Hampden-Sydney College on Sept. 17.
---E&H---