Bridgewater came one possession short of grinding out a victory over Ferrum, with the Panthers scoring the winning TD in the final two minutes to take it 14-10.
The Eagles had forced six straight punts when Ferrum took over with three minutes remaining. A pass interference call got the Panthers going and Titus Jones completed consecutive 26 yard passes to Daniel Lamb and Nic Cook to reach the end zone- two of the five longest offensive plays of the game for the visitors.
Bridgewater did drive to the Ferrum 34 yard line on its last gasp chance, but a fourth down pass was intercepted by Ja’Kari Williams at the 12.
Brett Tharp totaled 11 tackles along with a sack to lead the Eagles’ defense. Nazeer Jordan had eight tackles and a sack, and Jayden Johnson recorded four tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Fourth down attempts defined the early going. After Stephen Kloosterman had picked up 20 yards on third down, Viante Tucker converted a fourth down to the five yard line. Jackson Hendren‘s field goal put the first points on the board for BC.
Bridgewater then got a fourth down stop the other way as the Eagles sniffed out a fake punt attempt. Matt Lawton converted a fourth down sneak out of a jumbo formation, but a missed field goal prevented BC from doubling its lead.
Third downs then keyed the lone touchdown drive of the opening half. Two third down catches by Ronald Robinson Jr. sandwiched a deep 3rd down conversion to a wide-open Tucker. Demetreus Jalepes scored off left tackle to make it 10-0 Eagles.
That scoring drive had been set up by a Preston Turner/Johnson sack for a big loss after Ferrum had crossed midfield. The next time the Panthers had the ball, Jordan also recorded a sack to end the possession.
Ferrum’s Joshua Ellerbe caught a 26-yard swing pass and then broke a 28-yard rush on the next play to key an early third quarter touchdown drive that made it 10-7.
Jalepes broke a 63-yard run to give Bridgewater a chance to extend its lead, but Ferrum intercepted a pass in the end zone to stay within a possession.
Bridgewater falls to 2-4, 0-3 ODAC and will host Apprentice next weekend in a non-conference matchup. Ferrum improves to 4-1, 1-1 on the year.
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