BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- The Bridgewater College football team returns home for Homecoming Weekend with an ODAC match up against Ferrum at the Jopson Athletic Complex at 2 pm on Saturday.

Bridgewater vs. Ferrum
When: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Where: Bridgewater, Va.
Stadium: Jopson Athletic Complex
Kickoff: 2:00 pm
Gameday Forecast: Mostly Cloudy, temps in the 80s
Series Record: FC leads 11-9 (Last Meeting: BC won 52-28)

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: The Panthers got back on the winning track last week with a 28-0 win against Guilford during Ferrum's Homecoming Weekend. The Panthers had previously lost each of its last three games after starting conference play against Shenandoah, Hampden-Sydney and Washington and Lee. Ferrum stands at 3-4 on the season after getting a 34-0 win against N.C. Wesleyan and a 13-10 victory against LaGrange during its nonconference slate of games. In last week's win against the Quakers, Jahylen Lee ran 30 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns, while Nathan Carr kept the ball 14 times for 64 yards, including a 27-yard scamper, and also found the end zone two times. Carr was an efficient 9-for-13 through the air, as well. Defensively, Jameson Hackett shined with 4.5 TFLs costing the offense 38 yards. Involved in those 4.5 TFLs were 3.5 sacks that took 33 yards away. Julian Morgan led the way defensively with seven tackles.

FERRUM HEAD COACH:  Cleive Adams took over at the helm of the football program in 2020 after six years as the head coach at ODAC foe Averett. He previously was an assistant coach at Ferrum on two different occasions from 2003-04 and 2007-13 where he had roles such as the defensive coordinator. He also has coaching experience at Washington and Lee from 2005-06. Adams played college ball at Ferrum under legendary head coach Hank Norton in 1988 and 1989 where the team advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals. Adams was inducted into the Ferrum Alumni Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and was recently named the College's newest athletic director after a search took place this fall. Under his guidance, players have earned All-America honors twice and named USA South Defensive Player of the Year once. He has coached 49 all-conference selections as a head coach and also saw 22 players claim VaSID All-State honors.

LAST MEETING: The Eagles went to Ferrum last season and walked away with a 52-28 victory after opening up a 31-0 lead. Bridgewater started Halloween weekend with 666 yards of total offense, including 437 yards through the air with Malcolm Anderson tossing for 225 yards and a touchdown and Jaylen Wood pitching in 184 yards and a pair of passing TDs. Ronald Robinson Jr. also lit up the box score with 147 yards on the ground on just 11 touches and found paydirt two times, including a 64-yard score. Four receivers finished the day with at least 50 yards, including Dylan Maclachlan who had four grabs for 83 yards and a touchdown. The defense forced 11 negative yardage plays. Tucker Harris grabbed an interception and also hauled in his first career touchdown reception.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Ferrum leads the all-time series with Bridgewater, 11-9, with the first meeting coming in 1986. Bridgewater got its first win in the head-to-head in 1999. Ferrum's last win came in the 2021 season by a score of 14-10, but the Eagles have had the edge recently with wins in six of the last eight contests dating back to the 2010 campaign.

BEST IN THE LEAGUE: Bridgewater senior cornerback Aaron Moore had another stellar day on the field in last week's win at Averett as he earned ODAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He finished the day with five tackles to go with an interception and a fumble recovery. That recovery was taken back 26 yards for a touchdown after a bad snap on a punt found its way into the Roanoke, Virginia native's hands. The interception halted the Cougars drive and set BC up for a touchdown.

DYNAMIC DUO: The Bridgewater rushing attack has been one of its strongest facets on the season with Kennedy Fauntleroy leading the ODAC in rushing through eight weeks. This past Saturday, Fauntleroy added another 113 yards and two scores to his total, while Brendan Robinson pitched in 94 yards and two scores, as well. The two accounted for nearly all of the Eagles' 213 total rushing yards and four of the five touchdowns. BC averages nearly 195 yards rushing per game and sits third among the ODAC in the category. For Robinson, he now holds two of the longest rushing touchdowns in the league this season with a 94-yard run earlier this year and a 70-yard touchdown in the win against Averett.

I'LL TAKE THAT: The defensive unit for Bridgewater tallied six turnovers in the win against Averett a week ago. In addition to Moore's interception and fumble return, Aaron Nice had an interception and recovered a fumble, while Xavier Edelen returned an interception for a touchdown and Amari Presley hauled in the second interception of his young career. 

STEPPING UP WHEN NEEDED: Senior linebacker Samuel Adkins stepped into a starting role for the game last week after an injury and saw one of his best games as a collegiate player. Adkins was all over the field and tallied a team-best 11 tackles with six of those coming as solo tackles. The game doubled his tackles on the season and set a new career high for a single contest. Last season, Adkins racked up 10 tackles with 4.5 TFLs against Washington and Lee, which served as his previous career high. The 4.5 TFLs stands in the BC record books as a top five single-game tally. 

PUTTING UP POINTS: Bridgewater popped off for 53 points against Averett last week for its highest scoring game of the season. It marks the fourth time this season the Eagles have scored at least 35 points in a game and the second time crossing the 40-point mark. The Eagles are averaging 30.6 points per game, but have only scored under 24 twice this season, which were both losses to teams currently ranked in the top 10 nationally.

DEFENDING THE RUN: Ferrum enters today's game utilizing an option run offense, which means it is a run-heavy offensive attack. The Eagles are allowing just 94.6 rushing yards per game and have held four teams to 100 yards or less, including allowing just one yard against N.C. Wesleyan earlier this year. The team kept Averett to 100 despite entering the game averaging almost 200 yards per game and kept Shenandoah to just 29 yards on 21 runs.