Newberry offense shines in win over Catawba

NEWBERRY – The offense was able to find its rhythm early and the defense continued to play lights out as Newberry took care of business on historic Setzler Field, defeating Catawba 40-10 on Senior Day.

The offense had its best performance of the 2018 season with 479 yards. Greg Ruff passed for a career-high 224 yards, 42 of them coming on a touchdown strike to Markell Castle in the final seconds of the first half. Castle finished the day with five catches for 105 yards, tying Tymere Zimmerman (2003-06) for Newberry’s all-time lead in 100-yard receiving games.

The Wolves (5-5, 3-3 SAC) were able to get out to a quick 7-0 lead as Ruff found Bobby Irby for a 10-yrad touchdown. Catawba punted on the ensuing possession but after a muffed punt from Irby, the Catawba Indians were able to start the Newberry 13-yard line. With their backs against the wall, the defense did what they have done all year, and forced Catawba to settle for a 23-yard field goal after only gaining six yards on the drive.

The Wolves’ defense had another impressive day overall, holding Catawba to 10-for-24 through the air, the fifth straight game and seventh time overall in 2018 that the opponents’ completion percentage has dipped to 50 percent of lower. Catawba managed just 273 yards of offense, 104 yards below their season average, in becoming the ninth straight Newberry opponent to fail to reach their average offensive output.

Catawba was able to move the ball against the stout Newberry defense in the second quarter, reaching as far as the Newberry 19-yard line but came away with no points as Lee Brackman pushed his 38-yard field goal attempt the left. With Newberry coming up empty on the following drive, Catawba looked to keep the game close going into halftime, but freshman linebacker Alex Smith had other plans. The Irmo native secured the first interception of his career and returned in 25 yards to paydirt, stretching the lead to 17-3.

A Kevin Weber field goal and Castle’s touchdown lifted the Wolves to a comfortable 27-3 lead at the intermission. The Wolves got a big kick return from Chance Walker to open the second half as the sophomore from Gaston found a crease in the kickoff coverage and took the ball up the right sideline, returning it 72 yards and to the Catawba 28-yard line. Newberry kept the ball on the ground with four straight runs including an Austin Barnes three-yard scamper into the end zone.

The defense continued to play hard into the second half of a lopsided game, giving up a total of 10 yards in the third quarter. Joe Blue led the way on defense in tackles, passing his position coach, Jeremiah Jones, for eighth on the all-time tackles list at Newberry. Keito Jordan finished second on the team in tackles while Javhanee Neal recorded five solo tackles.

Jamarcus Henderson continue to wreak havoc with a game-high three sacks. He now sits tied for 26th in Division II history in tackles for loss (58.5) and is currently in second place in SAC history behind former Catawba linebacker Kyle Kitchens in both tackles for loss and sacks. Henderson now has 30 sacks in his illustrious career, surpassing Carson-Newman’s Steve Jouse with his final sack of the day.

Kevin Weber had a stellar game for the Wolves as he made all four of his field goal attempts, tying Chip Lingerton’s 1990 record for most field goals made in a game. Shea Rodgers continued his stellar season with three punts of 50 or more yards with a long of 58 on four attempts.

Newberry will hit the road for their final game of the season as they will face conference foe Mars Hill. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.