Wolves host Catawba on ESPN3 Saturday night
NEWBERRY – The national spotlight descends on Setzler Field Saturday night as Newberry hosts Catawba in a battle for South Atlantic Conference supremacy broadcast online nationally on ESPN3. The contest is one of two games broadcast nationally through the new television deal between Division II and ESPN, lending an additional level of excitement to Saturday evening.
WHO: Catawba College at Newberry College
WHERE: Historic Setzler Field on the campus of Newberry College
WHEN: 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 24
RECORDS: Catawba is 2-2 with a perfect 2-0 record in the South Atlantic Conference. Newberry enters the contest at 3-1 and 1-0 in the league.
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN3, www.watchespn.
LIVE AUDIO: www.newberrywolves.tv, WKDK-AM 1240 in Newberry County, www.wkdk.com, “WKDK” on TuneIn smartphone app
LIVE STATS: www.newberrystats.com
WEATHER FORECAST: Mostly clear with a low of 58 degrees and light and variable winds. There is no chance of rain.
MORE INFORMATION
For complete coverage, view game notes from the Newberry Athletic Communications staff, Catawba’s game notes, and the South Atlantic Conference’s Weekly Report.
NEWS AND NOTES
• Saturday is the 84th anniversary of the first meeting between Newberry and Catawba, a 9-2 Newberry win in Salisbury. The Wolves trail 36-40-3 in the all-time series but have won seven of the last 11 meetings dating back to 2005.
• 2016 will be the 67th consecutive season in which Newberry and Catawba have played. It is the Wolves’ second-longest active uninterrupted series (Lenoir-Rhyne – 71st season in 2016) and third-longest in program history (Presbyterian – 91 seasons 1915-2006).
• Saturday’s game features two of the three South Atlantic Conference teams that made the NCAA Division II playoffs last season. Catawba (No. 3 seed), Carson-Newman (No. 5), and Newberry (No. 7) gave the SAC a trio of postseason berths for the second time in three years.
• Raleigh Yeldell was named SAC Offensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks after wins over Virginia Union and North Greenville. His four-yard game-winning touchdown run with 1:04 to go at North Greenville was named D2 Play of the Week by HERO Sports.
• Yeldell has accounted for 81.7 percent (1,560 yards) of Newberry’s 1,909 yards of total offense.
• Jaquille Oden’s 5.0 tackles for loss at Tusculum last Saturday set a new school record. The Pioneers lost 23 yards on those plays. He also accounted for eight tackles (all solo), two sacks for 17 yards, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry.
• Cole Watson’s 39-yard punt return at Tusculum was the longest in the SAC this season.
• Newberry ranks eighth in Division II in both third down conversions (55.0 percent) and third down conversion defense (25.5 percent).
• Saturday marks the second time Newberry has been broadcast on ESPN3 after the Wolves’ first appearance on the network in the 2015 season finale at Wingate.
• Last Sunday’s game between the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs was the second-ever NFL regular season meeting of former Newberry players. Brandon Bostick did not record a statistic for the Jets, while Ron Parker of the Chiefs had three solo tackles and a pass defended.
• Last season’s Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings game was the first such NFL regular season contest. Former Newberry star Edmond Robinson is a Vikings linebacker.
