Newberry Falls At Home 27-10 To Wingate

NEWBERRY, S.C. (NC SID) — The Newberry Wolves could not find the offensive rhythm needed to get the scores they needed, as the visiting Wingate Bulldogs earned a 27-10 South Atlantic Conference win at Setzler Field in front of a capacity Homecoming crowd of 4,111. Newberry falls to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in SAC play entering next Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. game at Tusculum. Wingate is now 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the SAC and hosts Catawba at 1:30 p.m. next weekend. The Wolves scored first a 29-yard field goal by Kyle Mackey (New Ellenton, S.C.) with 1:28 left in the first quarter to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead. A Wingate drive spanning into the second quarter ended on a failed fourth down attempt in the redzone, but the Bulldogs held Newberry to a three-and-out and took the ball 52 yards in 10 plays on the ensuing drive, with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Robbie Nallenweg to Tim Nalesnik giving the guests a 7-3 lead with 6:41 left in the half. Neither offense was able to score again in the half, and a Hail Mary attempt by Nallenweg on the final play of the half was intercepted by Apollo Stretch (Columbia, S.C.), who rattled off a 53-yard return, but the clock had hit all zeroes and the halftime score remained 7-3. Wingate put 13 points on the board in the third, with Nallenweg connecting with Chris Bowden on a 25-yard touchdown catch and finding Bryan Caffrey from 21 yards out to make it 20-3. Newberry’s Joe Smith (Jonesville, S.C.) blocked the PAT attempt on the first try. The Wolves cut back into the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, when wide receiver Corey Washington (North Charleston, S.C.) executed a double reverse perfectly and found fullback Jordan McDonnell (Bluffton, S.C.) for a 36-yard touchdown to make it 20-10. Newberry held Wingate to a three-and-out on the next drive and had momentum, but a big loss on a rushing play put the Wolves in a hole and a fourth down conversion fell incomplete. Wingate capitalized on the opening and ate up 4:39 of clock on an 11-play, 69-yard drive, with Nallenweg connecting with Caffrey for a 13-yard score out of a timeout on fourth down to put the game at 27-10. The Wolves were able to drive and attempt to cut into the deficit, but a fourth down pass by quarterback W.T. Murden (West Columbia, S.C.) was intercepted in the end zone and the clock ran out on Newberry’s final drive with the Wolves inside the 10 yardline of Wingate. Newberry had 23 first downs to Wingate’s 22, but the visitors outgained the Wolves 419-370. Murden was Newberry’s leader on offense, completing 25-of-46 passes for 263 yards with one interception while also carrying the ball 11 times for 65 yards. He was sacked twice. Jason Livingston (Conway, S.C.) had seven receptions for 62 yards, as the Wolves had a total of 299 passing yards. Wingate’s Nallenweg was 28-of-40 for 315 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. Stretch and Smith led Newberry with 10 tackles apiece, while David Davis (Columbia, S.C.) and Kelton Hall (Clinton, S.C.) each had nine. Punter JoJo Morris (Lancaster, S.C.) had six punts for an average of 36.8 yards, with three pinning WU inside its own 20.