Greensboro College Football Falls In Soggy USA South Opener To Ferrum

Football Falls In Soggy USA South Opener To Ferrum
(from Wes Gullett, Greensboro College SID)

ROANOKE, VA – The Greensboro College football team traveled to take on the Panthers of Ferrum College on a cold and wet Friday night in a USA South Athletic Conference showdown. The Pride came out of the gates fast, but could not hold off the Panthers as they fell by a final score of 31-20.

The Pride got on the board first when they capped off a seven play 73 yard drive to open the first quarter of play. Mac Graham connected on two straight passes to Raymond Bridges to start the drive before hooking up with Armani Williams to give Greensboro the ball on the Ferrum six yard line. Once Greensboro reached the red zone, Cortez Vernon capped off the drive with a six yard touchdown run to make the score 6-0 following a failed point after attempt.

After the Pride took the early lead, Ferrum was able to answer right back with their own touchdown to take the lead back at 7-0.

However, Greensboro was able to regain the lead two drives later following a fumble recovery by Kirshawn Hairston.

With the ball on the 50 yard line, quarterback Mac Graham connected with Armani Williams once again as he dashed fifty yards to give Greensboro the lead once again at 12-7. The Pride then went for a two point conversion, but Graham’s pass went just wide of his intended target to keep the Pride advantage at five.

Following the Greensboro touchdown, Ferrum was able to run off 24 unanswered points over the next two and a half quarters of play to gain a 31-12 lead.

As time started to tick away in the contest, the Pride was able to find the end zone one final time.

On first down and ten to go from the Greensboro 17 yard line, Kenneth Purvis drug multiple Ferrum defenders up the field for 28 yards to give the Pride another first down. Later in the drive, Greensboro found themselves facing a fourth down and goal situation from the Panthers 22 yard line. Mac Graham, behind great protection from his offensive line, placed a beautiful pass to the back shoulder of Raymond Brides to cut the deficit to 31-18. On the ensuing point after attempt, Graham fooled the Ferrum defense as he converted the two point attempt as he ran a bootleg to the far side of the end zone to make the score 31-20.

From that point, Greensboro was not able to get another shot on offense as the Panthers ran out the clock giving the Pride the 11 point defeat.

“Ferrum did some nice things and they just executed better than we did tonight,” stated Head Coach Bill Young following the game. “We have to be more physical at the point of attack, but we will get back at it this week and get ready for LaGrange next Saturday.”

Despite the wet conditions, Mac Graham threw the ball for a total of 210 yards on nine completions with one of them going for a score. Armani Williams recorded a team high six catches on the day resulting in 112 yards while Bridges accounted for the other three accumulating 98 receiving yards. Cortez Vernon also had a good day for Greensboro. Vernon carried the ball for 126 yards and one touchdown.

On the defensive side of the ball, Micah McMaster led the way for Greensboro with 13 tackles. Chase Sams, Hunter Sheets, Noah Clark, and Reginald Rivers combined for four tackles for loss.

The Pride (1-3, 0-1 USA South) will once again hit the road for another USA South matchup next Saturday. Greensboro will go to LaGrange, Georgia to take on the Panthers of LaGrange College at 2:00 PM. For the latest on the Pride football team, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.