FERRUM, Va. – Freshman Chris Sonnenberg threw for 393 yards and six touchdowns Saturday as Shenandoah University downed Ferrum College, 49-31, in ODAC action at WB Adams Stadium.
 
Shenandoah (5-3, 4-3 ODAC) scored its first touchdown 50 seconds into the game and posted 14 points in each of the final three quarters to pull away from Ferrum (3-5, 2-4).

IN DEPTH

After the Panthers took a 14-7 lead at the 12:17 mark of the second, the Hornets offense began to heat up.
 
Sonnenberg, making his first-ever start, hit Casey Stewart for a 21-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-play, 60-yard drive.
 
Ferrum missed a 47-yard field goal attempt on its next drive and SU took just three plays to drive 70-yards with the go-ahead score.
 
Sonnenberg found junior Brant Butler for a 58-yard strike down the Shenandoah sideline to score that go-ahead TD and the Hornets would hold the lead for good.
 
Ferrum hit its only field goal on the opening drive of the second half to make it 21-17, but Sonnenberg had found his groove.
 
The freshman, who threw just one incompletion in the second half (on a third quarter throwaway), directed a seven-play, 81-yard drive that again ended on a 58-yard strike to Butler down the far sideline.
 
That play came on 3^rd-and-15 after SU had lost a combined five yards on two rushing attempts.
 
Another 70-yard drive, this one taking eight plays and 3:12, made it 35-17. Samuel Adams, who keyed the first touchdown drive by returning the opening kick 88-yards to the Ferrum 8, blasted over from the 3 for the squad's lone rushing touchdown of the day.
 
Sonnenberg had TD passes of 29 and 14 yards to Stewart in the fourth as the two teams traded a pair of touchdowns each. Stewart's last TD catch, with 6:08 to play, gives him a program-record 29 for his career. He breaks the record previously held by Rico Wallace '12.
 
The Panthers final TD came thanks to a blocked punt with 17 seconds remaining.
 
Shenandoah scored six touchdowns on seven possessions from the start of the second quarter until head coach Scott Yoder pulled his starters with four minutes to play in the contest.
 
Stewart finished the game with seven catches for 162 yards and three TDs and Butler three receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
 
The Hornets finished with 467 yards in total offense to 492 for Ferrum and saw the Panthers possess the ball for 35:59.
 
Sonnenberg was 21-of-27 for the 393 yards and six touchdowns.
 
Nate Hill had his seventh interception in eight games this season with Bernie Hayes III making 10 tackles and one interception.

QUOTABLE

"I thought the offense settled in as the game went on and the defense came up with some big turnovers," Yoder said.
 
In addition to the Hayes and Hill picks, the Hornets forced one fumble and blocked Ferrum's first field goal attempt.
 
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