BLOG 62: Ferris shutout in disappointing homecoming contest

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State running back Leonard Curry (34) carries the football through traffic during Saturday afternoon’s contest against Wayne State (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – With its offense unable to finish even a single drive with points, Ferris State’s annual homecoming game turned into a nightmare.

Wayne State, battling for its slim playoff hopes as Ferris was, used four field goals from Dave Chudzinski and an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown from Jeremy Jones to score a 19-0 win over the Bulldogs before a crowd of 3,869 at Top Taggart Field. The Warriors improved to 6-2 (5-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and strengthen their credentials for the playoffs while the Bulldogs dip to 5-3 (4-3 in the GLIAC) and now are major long shots for post-season action.

Sometimes statistics lie. Ferris earned more yards of total offense (311 to 179). But, the Bulldogs threw three interceptions, fumbled the football three times (lost one) and simply could not finish drives in spite of dominating the time of possession (35:32 to 24:28).

“It’s very disappointing,” said Ferris head coach Jeff Pierce, who clearly was under the weather and barely able to speak as he spoke in Wheeler Pavilion during the post-game press conference. “I think Wayne State played a good football game. We didn’t execute on offense and we have to make those football plays when we get opportunities … we didn’t.”

Ferris had chances, but could not penetrate the end zone.

The Bulldogs’ most disappointing drive ending occurred in the third quarter as Paris Holloman rushed for nine yards to just short of the Wayne goal line to set up second down. Quarterback Kyle Parrish was stopped on a quarterback sneak for no gain. Running back Leonard Curry was stopped on a second-down run up the middle to set up fourth down for no gain. Trailing 12-0, the Bulldogs decided to go for it on fourth down. The ball was snapped high and mishandled by Parrish who recovered it for an 11-yard loss and a turnover on downs at the 2:08 mark.

“That’s another situation where we’ve got to put the ball in. … We obviously needed a score right there,” said Pierce, whose Bulldogs were shut out at home for the first time since a 28-0 loss to Grand Valley during the 1989 homecoming game. “We missed a post (pass) play early in the game that would have been a score for us and then we didn’t (convert) there when we had another good chance to score.”

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com