FERRUM, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team (1-0) accumulated 552 yards of total offense in its 42-12 rout of Ferrum College (0-1) Saturday afternoon at W.B. Adams Stadium. The game was delayed by 90 minutes in the middle of the first quarter due to lightning.
Head Coach Curt Newsome became the first Emory & Henry head coach to win his first game at the helm of the Wasps since the 1960's. It was the eighth-straight victory over the Panthers and 21st in program history.
The Wasps got on the board, 6-0, at the 8:07 mark of the first half on a three-year run by senior running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.). The plunge, which capped off a 10-play, 61-yard drive, was immediately followed by the weather delay.
After play resumed, E&H forced FC into a three-and-out, getting the ball back at its own 29 yard line. The Wasps went down the field in just 1:56 as freshman quarterback Kevin Saxton (Monroe, N.C.) hit sophomore wide receiver Jermaine Sanders (Charlotte, N.C.) with a 32-yard touchdown pass to make the score, 13-0.
The Panthers made it 13-3 with their first of four field goals on the afternoon as Hunter Ferguson connected from 25 yards out with 35 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. Ferrum closed the gap to 13-9 with second-quarter field goals of 26 and 43 yards.
Emory & Henry got the ball back with 2:21 on the clock before halftime and went 80 yards in 1:22 for its third touchdown of the contest. Senior wide receiver Josh Smith (Radford, Va.) capped off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown reception from Saxton for a 20-9 halftime lead.
After a missed field goal by the Panthers on the opening drive of the second half, the Wasps went back on their high-octane attack, striking down the field with an 11-play, 80-yard drive. Vaughn had a 22-yard rush to cross into Ferrum territory and sophomore tight end Rasheen Williams (Charlotte, N.C.) caught a three-yard pass from Saxton to make the score 27-9.
On its next possession, Ferrum was able to take advantage of three-straight personal foul penalties by E&H to get the ball inside the 10 yard line. The Wasp defense held strong when it mattered most and forced the Panthers to settle for a fourth field goal, this one a 23-yarder by Ferguson.
With a 15-point lead late in the third quarter, Emory & Henry's offense was able to shake off any remaining first-game butterflies and extend the lead with a pair of late touchdowns. Saxton opened his next possession with a 15-yard completion to Williams and pushed the score to 34-12 on a 21-yard touchdown catch by senior wide receiver Lucas Kirby (Covington, Va.).
The Wasps started their final scoring drive with 12:25 to go in the contest. Faced with third-and-11 after an illegal block, Saxton linked up with Sanders for a 72-yard catch and run to paydirt. The final 11-and-a-half minutes saw both teams exchange possessions as neither were able to add to the final 41-12 score line.
Emory & Henry's 552 yards of offense was the most since the Wasps racked up 600 yards at Methodist a year ago. The 223 rushing yards was the most since the first game of the 2010 season against the same Ferrum team. Saxton finished the game 17-for-28 for 329 yards and five touchdowns, which is tied for third in program history for touchdowns in a game.
Vaughn's touchdown on 103 yards rushing gave E&H its first 100-yard rusher since the fifth game of the 2012 season when he tallied 171 yards against Washington and Lee. Senior running back Kasey Jones (Jacksonville, Fla.) also added 98 yards on the ground. Eight different players caught passes for the Wasps, led by Sanders with two touchdown catches over 104 yards and Smith with five receptions for 49 yards and a score.
Defensively, junior linebacker Mitch Carter (Kingsport, Tenn.) made seven tackles including 1.5 for a loss while senior safety Roth Healey (Easton, Pa.) had seven stops as well. Senior safety Clint Peregoy (Salem, Va.) made five tackles and added an interception, which he returned for 18 yards. The Wasps allowed 282 yards, 168 of which came on the ground, but most importantly kept the Panthers out of the end zone all afternoon.
Ferrum quarterback Tim Reynolds was the catalyst for all of the Panthers' offense, passing for 114 yards and rushing for 89 yards. Dominique Lesine rushed for 48 yards while Troy Helton and Sedale Mullen had 29 receiving yards each. Four different FC players made 10 or more tackles led by Rashad Johnson's 14 stops. Johnson also added an interception, which he returned for 26 yards.
Emory & Henry will return to the gridiron next Saturday when it makes the trip to East Tennessee to face the Scots of Maryville College. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Randy Fannon