Wolves pound out 31-7 win over Barton
WILSON, N.C. (Newberry College) – After holding off a late rally by Barton in the spring to win 20-17, the Wolves dominated the Bulldogs 31-7 in the season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.
Newberry took the opening kickoff and marched down the field. The big play of the series was a 20-yard pass from Dre Harris to Bryson Woodruff to put Newberry inside the red zone at the Barton five-yard line. After the Barton defense tackled Mario Anderson for a two-yard loss, he would punch the ball in for a seven-yard touchdown, and with the extra point, the Wolves took the 7-0 lead.
The Newberry defense came out and held the Bulldogs on their first series to a three and out. After the punt, Harris found Bobby Irby for 32 yards to move the Wolves down to the Barton 24 yard line. A defensive holding call moved the ball to the 16-yard line, and Harris again hooked up with Woodruff, this time for 16 yards and a touchdown; the Wolves missed the extra point to make it a 13-0 game.
The Bulldogs finally got the momentum going on offense on their next possession. Barton drove 64 yards in six minutes and found the end zone to make it a six-point lead with just under twelve minutes left in the half. With 7:41 remaining in the half, Newberry took over at their own twenty-yard line. After a holding penalty on Newberry made it first and twenty from their own ten-yard line, Anderson busted off a 51-yard run to move Newberry to the Barton 39-yard line. Harris then picked up the first down with his legs with a 10-yard run. On the very next play, Harris hooked up with Irby again, this time for 29-yards and a touchdown. The Wolves went for two, and Brentley Allen completed a pass to Harris and made it 21-7 going into the half.
Newberry pulled away in the second half with an Avery Funderburk field goal and a four-yard touchdown by Malory Pinkney. The Wolves’ defense shut the Bulldogs out in the second half to seal the victory. Newberry out gained Barton 296-260 and punted just one time. The Wolves were also four for four inside the red zone.
Harris was an efficient 7-13 for 117 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and he also ran for 31 yards. Anderson led all rushers with 169 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown. Irby was the leading receiver for the Wolves with three catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Defensively Alex Smith and Marcus Morgan each had seven tackles to lead the team. David Vereen, Luke Taylor, and Ty Kelly had one tackle for loss, while Smith and Craig Barksdale had one-half of a tackle for loss.
The Wolves turn their attention to their home opener as they host North Greenville next Saturday at 6:00 pm.
