The Fighting Muskies opened the gates at the Bullock Health and Wellness Complex to the community of New Concord as part of the first annual New Concord Community Day in conjunction with Muskingum University. What a great way to start the season as the town got to see their hometown College team beat the Ferrum Panthers in a 31 – 20 battle.
From the kickoff, the Panthers were pushing back as the Muskies tried to edge past their defenses, but neither team was able to lock down a score in the first quarter despite a close call from the Muskies with a large pass play that ended in a touchdown that was unfortunately canceled by a penalty.
Scoring for the game started shortly into the second period as Ferrum lined themselves up for a 35-yard field goal completed successfully by kicker Seth Deaton, giving the Panthers a 3 – 0 lead.
Muskingum University was able to answer back with a little over seven minutes left in the half, when Quarterback Doug Crawford found wide receiver Travis Roberson open and hit him in the numbers for a short pass that ended in a touchdown followed by Hunter Albers’s extra point kick to take the lead back at 7 – 3.
Just two minutes later the Panthers mounted an offensive that ended in a short run touchdown for their very own, flipping the scoring back in their favor at 10 – 7 after the extra point completion.
With just over a minute left in the first half Crawford found Roberson open again for a repeat performance to take back the lead before half time, with the kick from Albers they headed into the locker room up 14 – 10 over Ferrum.
After the halftime celebration, the Muskies hit the field in a big way. With 11 minutes left in the third quarter, quarterback Doug Crawford held onto the ball as he covered the 12-yard distance to the goal line slipping tackles along the way to bolster Muskingum University’s lead by 7 after Albers kick, lighting up the scoreboard to the tune of 21 – 10.
Crawford tossed the ball to wide receiver Ja’Lin Goodman for a 2-yard jump over the goal line with just 4:06 left in the third quarter giving the Muskies a powerful 28 – 10 lead.
Ferrum tried to use the majority of the fourth quarter to make a comeback with a 9-yard pass from Braxton Hughes to EJ Bratcher for a touchdown with 14:08 left in the game, followed by an impressive 40-yard field goal kick from Seth Deaton to close the gap at 28 – 20 Muskies at 4:13 left to play.
Despite the Panthers strong effort, with just 46 seconds left in the game, Hunter Albers stepped up to match Deaton’s 40-yard field goal ending the game with a 31 – 20 victory for Muskingum University.
Next up the Muskies head off to Otterbein to play the Cardinals in Memorial Stadium, Saturday, September 9th. Game time is at 12pm.