Newberry WIns Opener 46-20

NEWBERRY, S.C. (NC SID) — Brian Spencer (Columbia, S.C.) returned an interception on the season’s second play from scrimmage for a 40-yard touchdown to set the tone, as the Newberry Wolves rolled to a 46-20 victory over Elizabeth City State in both teams’ season opener at Setzler Field on Saturday night. Newberry moves to 1-0 on the season and hosts Shorter next Saturday at 6:30 p.m., while the 0-1 Vikings host Delta State for a 6 p.m. kick. The Wolves made the Vikings pay for early turnovers to pull ahead in the first quarter. After ECSU tied the game on its second possession of the game on a Namon Jones 4-yard quarterback keeper, the Newberry offense took over for its first drive of the game. W.T. Murden (West Columbia, S.C.) went 3-for-3 on the drive with an excellent 40-yard pass to Jason Livingston (Conway, S.C.) capping off a 4-play, 65-yard scoring drive to make it 13-7 after a missed PAT. A.J. Booker (Spartanburg, S.C.) recovered a Jones fumble on the second play of the next drive at the Viking 24, and Newberry needed just two plays to make it a 20-7 lead on a 13-yard scoring pass from Murden to Corey Washington (North Charleston, S.C.). After forcing ECSU to punt, the offense encountered its first resistance, with the drive stalling at the Newberry 30. JoJo Morris (Lancaster, S.C.) boomed a 45-yard punt and Arnez Gray (Greenwood, S.C.) forced a fumble on the return which was recovered by Lance Richardson (Ware Shoals, S.C.) at the Viking 30. Just four plays later and two plays into the second quarter, a John Gadson (North Charleston, S.C.) 3-yard TD carry made it a 27-7 lead. Neither team scored again in the first half and Newberry had to settle for Kyle Clark (Beaufort, S.C.) field goal attempts on its first two drives of the second half, with a 43-yarder blocked and a 33-yarder good to make it 30-7. After forcing a Viking three-and-out, the Wolves added to the lead with Dureal Elmore (Abbeville, S.C.) sealing a 13-play, 54-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown plunge and gave the Wolves a 37-7 lead. ECSU found paydirt in the fourth quarter on a pair of touchdown passes from Namon Jones to Antonio Huff, but the quarter’s highlight was a 67-yard carry by Lyndon Ingram (Columbia, S.C.) which set up a 3-yard touchdown carry by Wesley Brown (John’s Island, S.C.). Following the Vikings’ final touchdown, the guests appeared to connect on a PAT, but a penalty called it back. On the second attempt, Joe Smith (Jonesville, S.C.) burst through the line and blocked the kick and the loose ball was scooped up by Alstevis Squirewell (Great Falls, S.C.), who returned it all the way to the endzone for a 2-point defensive PAT to seal the final score. Newberry’s offensive numbers were not stellar, but they didn’t need to be, as the defense set them up fantastically. Newberry ran only 58 plays for 356 yards to ECSU’s 95 plays for 423 yards. ECSU had seven fumbles, three of which were recovered and nine of Newberry’s points came directly from the defense. Apollo Stretch (Columbia, S.C.) led the Wolves with 12 tackles, all of which came in the first half with Kelton Hall (Clinton, S.C.) and Dominique Walker (Rock Hill, S.C.) each making eight stops. Newberry quarterbacks completed only six passes on the night and no Newberry receiver had more than one reception. Murden was 5-of-12 for 102 yards and the two touchdown passes, while Dave Nidiffer (Columbia, S.C.) was 1-for-4 for 16 yards with one very unfortunate deflected interception deep in ECSU territory.