By Tim Tassa -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — Shenandoah quarterback Vern Lunsford is making week-to-week improvement, according to head coach Paul Barnes and offensive coordinator Brian Wolf, after his school-record 18 completions in last week's 17-7 loss to Albright.

But for opponents to begin game planning for the threat of pass-dominated drives, Barnes still believes it may take a a full season to at least curb the stigma of an offense reserved to rushing the football — Shenandoah's yearly offensive hook.

The Hornets' 13-play, 97-yard drive that featured eight pass completions in a two-minute style attack against the Lions, however, is a way for teams to catch on even sooner, and hopefully show less mind to Shenandoah's old faithful — the running game.

"We still have to prove it, we still have to prove it all year before people go, 'Oh wow,'" Barnes sad. "But each week I think we have really improved on it."

Lunsford was 18-of-28 for 178 yards in Shenandoah's second loss of the season, completing passes to seven receivers. Lunsford's total broke his previous school-record mark of 15 completions, which he set in last season's finale against Methodist.

The Hornets completed just five passes against Ferrum last season, which hosts the Hornets in the teams' USA South Conference opener on Saturday.

"I think that's what Vern gives us — he's making smart decisions, he's not forcing the ball, he's staying in the pocket, he's making his reads, he's maturing as a quarterback, being able to do what we need to do," Wolf said.

Added Barnes, "We're starting to get more than one receiver, and we need to and we're trying to be more of a balanced team and I thought Saturday showed what Vern can do throwing the football."

Flanker Derek Heath led the Hornets in receiving, tying a school record with eight catches and 45 yards in his first career start, playing for injured senior Adam McGhee.

Heath accounted for four receptions on the Hornets' lone scoring drive of the game, which saw Barnes employ his two-minute offense and work primarily out of the shotgun. Receiver E.J. Brown added four receptions for 95 yards.

"It was a great feeling knowing that we could do that, and I was kind of feeling like we should do that more often," said Heath, who figures to resume his backup role this week with McGhee returning to action.

"It was nice ... nice to give Kevin [Roberts] a break — [he is] always running the ball."

* THIRD AND LONG: Wolf was candid on Wednesday, explaining a first-half situation for the Hornets that quickly went from promising to bleak. From the Albright 46-yard line, Lunsford was sacked on first down before completing a pass to Evan Young on second-and-15. On third and 6 from the 42, Lunsford completed what appeared to be an 11-yard first down to Heath, but an illegal block penalized the Hornets 20 yards on the play.

A lack of execution, blown assignments and a stingy Albright defense held Shenandoah scoreless in the first half.

"You get in a third-and-18, third-and-20 — I just don't have too many plays for that. You get what you can out of that — just don't turn the ball over, don't make stupid mistakes, don't get a sack and turn 20 [into more yards] ... live to play another day," Wolf said.

Roberts said the Hornets were back to fundamentals this week, working on their techniques.

"We held them to three points in the first half, so I mean there's no reason why we shouldn't have scored when we had the opportunities; we have to put it in the red zone," said Roberts, who rushed for a season-low 41 yards on 17 carries. "The defense gave us the ball, we just couldn't put it in there for them."

* FRESH MEAT: Against two freshman cornerbacks this week, the Hornets are going to be more cautious than reckless in the passing game, they said, despite a perceived experience mismatch. Darwin Nichols and Demetrious Brown will match up with Brown and McGhee on the outsides, creating an intriguing situation for the Shenandoah attack.

"They have confidence in them; their coaching staff has confidence in starting two freshmen cornerbacks from the get go, so they can't be bad," Wolf said. "I don't know if we'll test them but we'll certainly take advantage of things that are presented to us in the run game and passing game. I don't know if it's a weakness for them because the rest of their defense is so good."

In comparing Ferrum to Albright, Wolf said the Panthers are more athletic and are strong up front, and much of the Hornets' attack will hinge on game-time decisions and adjustments.

"They can show one thing on film for three weeks and play something totally different on us," Wolf said. "That's what coaching on Saturday is all about and it's making adjustments."

*Contact Tim Tassa at ttassa@nvdaily.com