Huntingdon knocks off Ferrum for fourth straight win

FERRUM, Va. – The Huntingdon football team took the lead on its first offensive play from scrimmage and put the game away with three touchdowns in the third quarter of Saturday's 35-16 win over Ferrum College.

The win was the fourth straight for Huntingdon (5-2, 4-1 USA South). With three conference games remaining, the Hawks are one of three USA South teams with a 4-1 conference record and among five teams with just one loss.

"It was a tough day and we had to grind it out to win. It wasn't easy, but it was a good win," Huntingdon head coach Mike Turk said. "I'm proud of the guys for finding a way to get it done."

The Hawks struck quickly as sophomore quarterback Luke Bailey found senior receiver Brantley Carr on a 72-yard touchdown pass. Jimbo Turk kicked his first of five extra points to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

The fast start didn't translate into a big first-half lead though. Bailey connected with Jamichael Bibb for a 9-yard touchdown early in the second quarter and Huntingdon carried a 14-3 lead into the half.

But two Jay Ware touchdown runs and a 28-yard Bailey-to-Bibb touchdown on the first three possession of the third quarter helped the Hawks build a 26-point lead. Ware scored on runs of 2 and 3 yards.

"We moved the ball well most of the day, but we shot ourselves in the foot in the first half. Penalties hurt us a couple of times and our drives just stalled out in the first half," Turk said. "But we executed better in the second half. We scored on our first three possessions of the third quarter and were pretty much able to put the game away."

Bailey finished with 295 yards and three touchdowns on a 15-of-28 day and also rushed for 31 yards on seven carries. Ware led the ground game with 60 yards and two scores on 14 carries. Bibb finished with five catches for 87 yards and two scores and Carr had one catch for 72 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Hawks gave up 416 yards but turned away several Ferrum scoring opportunities. The 16 points are the third fewest allowed by the Hawks this season and the fourth time Huntingdon has held an opponent to 21 points or less this season.

"The defense had some big stops in the red zone," Turk said. "We forced them to try three field goals in the first half and they missed two of them. I was proud of our effort. When our back was against the wall, we were able to rise up and get the stops we needed. That was definitely the difference in the first half."

In the first half, Huntingdon linebacker Jacob Wright picked off a pass to end one drive at the Huntingdon 23-yard line. The Panthers' lone score in the first half came when Ferrum reached the Huntingdon 1-yard line and had to settle for a field goal. On two other drives, Ferrum (0-6, 0-4 USA South) reached the Huntingdon 14- and 16-yard lines but missed field goals.

Linebacker Zach Brownell, who is averaging 12.6 tackles per game this season, led the Hawks with 16 tackles. Wright added 10 tackles and Jake Green, Anthony White and Anthony Wood each had seven tackles. Green had four tackles for loss.

Huntingdon returns to action at home on Oct. 25. The Hawks host LaGrange at 1 p.m.