No. 24 Newberry opens season with trip to Shippensburg
NEWBERRY – The Newberry College football team will kickoff their 2023 season this Saturday (Sept. 2) as they will travel to Shippensburg, Pa., to take on the Raiders of Shippensburg University.
This Saturday’s game will kick off at noon (est).
Newberry enters the 2023 season after winning the program’s fifth South Atlantic Conference Championship. In the 2022 season, the Wolves finished the season with a 9-2 record and a 7-2 SAC record.
The Wolves return 18 players (six offense, 10 defense two special teams) who have played in 10 games in the 2022 campaign. On the Offensive end, Tommy Washington, Noah Mangum, and Blake Arnoult received All-Piedmont Preseason honors. Defensively, Devante Gambrell, and Malik Devine-Brown, gained All-Piedmont Preseason honors.
The Coaches
Todd Knight enters his 15th year at the helm of the Newberry program in 2023 season, 21st season coaching at Newberry, having made his mark as one of the most successful coaches in program history. Knight signed a contract extension at the end of the 2022 season to continue leading the Wolves through the 2027 season.
His 89-62 overall record makes him the winningest coach in school history, a feat which he accomplished with his 73rd win in a 24-19 contest over Tusculum in front of the home crowd on September 25, 2021, remaining the only 40-game winner with a winning record in the 105 years of Newberry football. The 2016, 2021, and 2022 South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year has a .589 winning percentage, good for second in school history among coaches with 10 or more games at the helm.
The Wolves’ 31 wins from 2013-16, all under Knight, are the second-most wins in a four-year period in school history. Newberry’s 32 victories from 2006-09, the final six of which came during Knight’s first season as Head Coach following six seasons as Defensive Coordinator, are the current standard-bearer.
Mark Maciejewski ’92/’96M is in his 13th year as the head football coach at Shippensburg University. The 2023 campaign marks his 23rd season overall at his alma mater. In addition to his role as the head coach, Maciejewski also instructs the secondary.
A two-time AFCA Division II Region 1 Coach of the Year, Maciejewski has guided SU Football to an 80-44 record in 11 seasons of competition. He is second all-time on Shippensburg’s coaching wins list.
The Series
This will be the first time that the Wolves will face Shippensburg in program history. Shippensburg University will be the first team from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to face the Wolves.
Scouting the Wolves
- Newberry enters the 2023 season picked as the favorite in the SAC preseason coaches’ poll released Friday (Aug.4).
- The Wolves return 10 starters on the defensive end this season including preseason all-SAC defensive lineman Devante Gambrell and Malik Devine-Brown, along with 2022 second team All-Piedmont linebackers AJ Valentine, and Luke Taylor.
- On the offensive side of the ball the Wolves return all five offensive linemen. Under center will be Grad Student Pete Elmore.
Scouting the Raiders
- Shippensburg enters the 2023 season picked sixth in the PSAC East preseason coaches’ poll.
- Under center for the 2023 season for the Raiders will be redshirt sophomore division I transfer Joey McCracken. Offensively, the Raiders have the ingredients to bring the Seth Grove Stadium faithful to their feet under new Offensive Coordinator Scott Brisson.
- Sherard, a team captain a season ago, returns from injury to man the middle of the Raider defensive line. Senior safety Mike Brewer and redshirt-junior defensive end Chisom Ifeanyi are other key players on defense that are back from injury.One newcomer to watch is graduate linebacker Evan Townsend-Henry, a transfer from Pace University.
