Ferrum, VA – For the third week in a row, the Apprentice School Football Team found themselves occupying the visitors' sideline at an NCAA Division III member school. This Saturday it was at W.B. Adams Stadium on the campus of Ferrum College, where the Builders would take on the undefeated Panthers. The game was a tale of two halves, and a strong second half comeback would come down to the final possession. However, it would not be enough for the guys in white, as they fell by a final of 30-28.
The first half saw the Apprentice defense start the game against a Panthers offense that, for the past two games, has been able to move the ball down the field. The Builders would tighten up on a 3rd down forcing Ferrum to only come away with a FG, taking the early lead 3-0. Both defenses were able to shut the offenses down, until the Panthers completed a 45-yard TD pass, to increase their lead to 10-0. Apprentice would have a few more opportunities to get on the scoreboard but, the Panthers' defense was able to get them off the field, which allowed their offense to add another second quarter TD, making the score 17-0. A Panthers' FG as the clock expired, would give them a 20-0 lead going into the half.
The Builders' offense came out of the locker room with a purpose and marched the ball down the field to start the second half. The drive ended with a Gabe Tejada TD run, cutting the score to 20-7. The defense once again stepped up and shut down the Ferrum offense, giving QB Mason Tatum and the offense another opportunity to cut into the Panthers' lead. Tatum would drive Apprentice down the field for another TD, as Gabe Tejada ran it in for a 2nd straight time. Unfortunately, the Panthers had an answer, as they took advantage of penalties, and converted a 31-yard FG to keep it a 2-score game. Once again though, The Builders answered with another TD. This time it was a run by Lawrence Reed. After a Jeremiah Morgan extra point, the Builders found themselves only down, 23-21. Apprentice had another opportunity, but Ferrum would pick off a Mason Tatum 3rd down pass and run it back for a TD, putting them back up by 9, 30-21. As they had done all second half, the Builders' offense put together another scoring drive with Tatum finding Ricardo Corpus in the endzone to pull within 30-28. The defense would stop the Panthers on 4th and 1 to give the offense one last chance to put together a scoring drive. However, the second half come back would fall just short and Ferrum came away the win, 30-28.
Apprentice was led offensively by RB Gabe Tejada who had 25 carries for 133 yards and 2 TD's, while WR's Leland Girdy and Ricardo Corpus combined for 6 catches, 112 yards and 1 TD. Defensively, Paul Massey, Jr, recorded a total of 11 tackles and Luke Jackson finished the game with 8 total tackles. The Builders will look to bounce back next weekend as they are finally back in the friendly confines of Builder Stadium, when they welcome in Guilford College. Kick-off on Saturday October 2nd is scheduled for 1:00pm.