WISE - - Ferrum and UVA Wise will meet on the gridiron for the first time since 1997 Thursday when the Cavaliers entertain the Panthers in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
UVA Wise leads the all-time series between the two Virginia schools 2-0 but much has changed in the 25 years since the two last met. Ferrum will be making its first trip to Carl Smith Stadium as the last time the two met, the facility was yet to be constructed and the game took place at JJ Kelly High School. Additionally, the Cavs have made the jump from NAIA Independent status to NCAA Division II during the 25-year gap between meetings.
Dane Damron enters his seventh season at the helm of the UVA Wise program looking to build off last season's five win campaign. The Cavs return 15 starters from the 2021 season, including six that earned Preseason All-SAC recognition.
Senior defensive lineman
Joel Burgess earned First-Team Preseason All-SAC as did sophomore defensive back
Markel Dailey. Burgess led the team with 62 tackles as a junior while Dailey picked off five passes in his inaugural collegiate season. On offense, senior left tackle
Daric Cotman picked up First-Team Preseason All-SAC acclaim after grading out at over 90 percent in 2021. Junior quarterback
Lendon Redwine, running back
Jaevon Gillespie and defensive back
Robert Carter all earned second-team status. Redwine completed a single-season school record 246 passes for 2,819 yards a year ago with Gillespie averaging five yards a carry and rushing for a team-high eight touchdowns. Carter intercepted three passes and recorded 35 tackles from the secondary.
Ferrum will have some new faces in key spots Thursday. The Panthers will enter the 2022 campaign without last season's starting quarterback, leading rusher, top pass catcher or leading tackler. Lackawanna transfer Brayden Hawkins will likely depend on Third-Team All-ODAC wide receivers Daniel Lamb and Devan Gray in his first action as a Panther. Meanwhile, sophomore Zac Smiley is slated to start at tailback after getting 76 carries as a freshman. On defense, senior linebacker Drew Hill is the team's top returning leading tackler with 70 stops in 2021. No other returning Panther accumulated more than 34 tackles last season. The new faces on the field will be replicated in the coaching staff as the Panthers will have a new offensive coordinator (JD Shaw) and defensive coordinator (Rahsaan Ellis Jr.)
An area of stability for Panthers' Head Coach Clieve Adams is in the kicking game. Sophomore Seth Deaton was perfect inside 40 yards as a freshman and made a pair of kicks beyond 40 yards.
The trip to Wise will be the first of three road games in the first month of the season for Ferrum. The Panthers open up the home portion of the season next week against Muskingum before visiting Langrange and Shenandoah.
The game will be the first of consecutive non-conference games for UVA Wise. Next week, the team travels to FCS North Alabama before a string of nine consecutive league games closes out the season.
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