FERRUM, Va. — The Catawba College football team opened its 2026 campaign in the win column with a 13-7 victory on the road against Ferrum on Saturday night.
While the final score painted the picture of a tight contest, the yardage totals told a different story as Catawba (1-0) out-gained the Panthers (0-1) 388-255 with a 20-14 gap in first downs. The Catawba Indians held possession for 33:28 of the contest and went 3-for-4 on fourth-down conversions. Ferrum had the upper hand in forcing turnovers, however, picking off two passes with a fumble recovery compared to Catawba's lone interception.
Mason Fortune piloted the offense, going 28-for-40 (70.0%) with 290 yards and two touchdowns through the air. He was also Catawba's No. 2 rusher on the day, picking up 36 yards in six carries. Jay Moore also ran the rock six times for 37 yards as true freshman Jayden Jones had a team-high seven rushes for 27 net yards.
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The Catawba Indians utilized 10 different pass catchers, highlighted by Mike Geter who hauled in five passes for 100 yards and a score. JP Gilchrist paced the receiving corps with seven grabs while putting up 75 yards and a TD. Coen Sutton registered four receptions for 31 yards as Nick Venezia cracked the top four with one 27-yard connection.
Jaylen Hinton was a menace on the defensive end, matching his career high in tackles with 12 stops including 1.5 for loss and a half-sack. Fellow linebacker Kyle Perry held down the secondary with eight tackles, all solo. Kunle Olaniyi stuffed the middle with six tackles in his Catawba debut. Sophomore defensive back Elijah Barber tormented the Panthers in the secondary, collecting four tackles — one for loss — and his first career INT.
How it happened
Catawba fumbled in its own territory on the opening drive, but the threat was mitigated by a Ferrum penalty and a sack by Hinton and Jy Favor that moved the hosts out of field goal range. Pinned at their own 4-yard line, the Catawba Indians opened the drive with two rushes for 27 yards by Moore. Fortune nickel-and-dimed to midfield, converting a fourth down using a 27-yard hookup with Venezia. Sutton pocketed a 16-yard catch to reach the 6, setting up Fortune to hit Gilchrist for the season's first touchdown.
After getting a big defensive stop at the end of the first quarter, Catawba threatened again as Fortune found Gilchrist for 20 yards to get into Panther territory. Geter and Josh Barron followed with grabs to put the blue and white in the red zone. On fourth and 4, Catawba drew a pass interference call that put the pigskin on the 2. The Panthers stood tall, fending off three goal-line punches to force a turnover on downs.
Ferrum got on the board with a 39-yard passing touchdown three minutes before halftime to level the score at 7-7. The Catawba Indians' ensuing drive was cut short by an interception, but the defense pulled through with pass breakups by Barber and Cam Anderson to force a Panther punt.
Catawba used less than 30 seconds on its next drive and Ferrum halted it, getting the ball back with a minute until the break. After charging to the Catawba 34, the Panthers were picked off by Barber, who bought the Catawba Indian offense one more drive with 40 seconds in the half. Back-to-back 9-yard carries by Fortune with an unnecessary roughness call against Ferrum put Catawba at the Panthers' 35. A last-second heave to Venezia fell incomplete, sending the game to break at 7-all.
Catawba's second drive of the second half started at its own 38, but a Jaylin Davis catch for 13 yards got the visitors across midfield. Two incomplete passes and a 7-yard pickup from Fortune to Gilchrist made it fourth and 3 from the Ferrum 42. Following a timeout, Fortune ducked a collapsing pocket and found Geter in the middle of the field, spinning past a defender and winning a 30-yard footrace to extend the Catawba lead to 13-7.
Late in the third quarter, the Catawba Indians found themselves starting a drive at their own 17-yard line and faced a third and 7 at the 20. The Panthers intercepted a shallow pass, taking it to the 6 with a chance to take the lead. Instead, Ferrum got stuck at the 1 thanks to a big fourth-down stop.
In the shadow of their own goalposts to start the fourth stanza, the Catawba Indians got out with a 34-yard pitch and catch to Geter. Later facing a fourth down, Catawba drew another timely personal foul to reach the red zone. The blue and white opted to kick it from the 8-yard line, but the Panthers blocked the try.
Catawba forced the Ferrum offense to a four-and-out drive, then milked the clock upon regaining possession. The Panthers got the ball back on their own 17, but gradually made their way downfield and reached the Catawba 29 at the two-minute timeout. A deep shot to the end zone was knocked away before Hinton dropped the quarterback 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Looking for a target on fourth down, Cameron Daniels applied heavy pressure to force an incompletion and seal the win for Catawba.
The Catawba Indians make their Shuford Stadium debut on Saturday, Sept. 5, against North Greenville at 6 p.m.
