WATCH: Newberry football receives send off to semifinals
The Newberry College football team received a send off Thursday morning from Newberry College.
The Series
This is the first meeting between the Wolves and Bulldogs.
Wolves As A Team
Newberry enters the game on a school record tying 10-game winning streak while Ferris State has won 28 consecutive games.
Newberry is unbeaten on the road this season (6-0) with victories at top region seed Albany State, #2 region seed West Florida, UVA Wise, Lenoir-Rhyne, Tusculum and Anderson after going 4-5 on the road the last two seasons.
The 12 wins are the most in school history, eclipsing the previous record of 11-2 set by the 2006 team in which Todd Knight was defensive coordinator and is the fourth team in Newberry College history to register double digit victories in a season (2025, 2021, 2016, 2006).
The 10 consecutive wins mark ties the 2006 and 2016 teams which each had 10 game winnings streaks. The 2006 started the season 10-0. That team lost their regular season finale but bounced back to beat Albany State at home in the first round of the playoffs 34-28. The 2016 team lost its first game, won its next 10 before losing in the first round of the playoffs at home to Tuskegee.
Close Games & Come From Behind Victories
The Wolves are 9-0 in one score games this season and in eight of those nine games the Wolves scored the decisive points in the fourth quarter or overtime including the second-round win at West Florida when quarterback Reed Charpia (Brookland-Cayce) completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Keith Desaussure (Fort Dorchester) with 4:55 left in the game.
Saturday’s win at Albany State also marked the third time this year the Wolves rallied from at least an 18-point first half deficit to earn a victory.
Earlier in the season Newberry rallied from down 21-0 at home to Wingate (won 43-42 in overtime) and 21-3, also at home, to Emory & Henry (won 36-34).
The Wolves trailed Albany State 21-3 12:31 into the game before rallying to score 28 consecutive points, including 21 points in the second quarter to earn the victory.
The Wolves have come from behind eight times this season to earn a victory.
Newberry posted a perfect 6-0 record against teams ranked in the final Super Region 2 poll defeating #1 Albany State, #2 West Florida, #4 Wingate, #6 Kentucky State, #9 Emory & Henry and #10 Carson-Newman.
What a Difference A Year Makes
The combination of Charpia and new offensive coordinator and former Newberry star receiver Cole Watson has produced big dividends this season compared to the previous two years.
Newberry is averaging 31.8 points, 282.5 yards passing and 379.8 total yards per game after averaging just 18.9 points, 115.8 yards passing and 288 yards per game over the last two seasons.
The Defense
The Wolves’ defense has been solid during the playoffs, holding some high-powered offenses in check.
Kentucky State came into the first-round game averaging 35.2 points per game and was held to 24. West Florida averaged 39 points per game before the Wolves held them to a season low 17 and Albany State was averaging 39.9 points per game until the Wolves also held them to 24 points.
The Wolves’ defense has not allowed a point in the fourth quarter in three playoff games.
Streak Breakers
Newberry has also been a streak breaker during the playoffs stopping winning streaks of 8 (Kentucky State) and 10 games (handing Albany State their only D2 loss of the season).
Wolves In The Playoffs
The semifinal matchup between Newberry College and Ferris State comes after the Wolves beat #1 seed and #13 ranked Albany State 31-24 in Albany, #2 seed and #9 ranked West Florida in Pensacola 24-17 and #6 seed Kentucky State 45-24 at home.
Ferris State has won all three of their games at home defeating Northwood (65-14), Ashland (56-24) and Minnesota State (52-29).
In the first round, the Wolves put up a playoff record 45 points to earn their second home playoff victory in school history.
In the three playoff victories the Wolves receiving trio of Desaussure, Rico Dorsey Jr. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and De’Andre Coleman (Hueytown, Ala.) has been effective. Desaussure has 16 receptions for 223 yards and a score, Dorsey, Jr. has 15 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown, and Coleman has 12 receptions for 229 yards and a touchdown.
Both Coleman (102 vs Kentucky State) and Desaussure (107 vs. West Florida) have registered 100-yard receiving games.
Running back Quez Spells (Summerville) has posted 350 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns while H-back Jonah Norris (Lexington) has scored four touchdowns, three rushing and one receiving in three playoff games.
Players To Watch
The Wolves are led offensively by Harlon Hill Trophy finalist quarterback Reed Charpia.
Charpia is the 2025 first team All-South Atlantic Conference quarterback and Offensive Player of the Year.
His 3,630 yards passing, 296 completions and 29 touchdown passes are all Newberry College single-season records.
In his first year as a fulltime starter, he has transformed the Wolves from a team that posted a combined 7-14 record and the 11th best pass offense in the league the last two seasons to a league title, the top passing offense in the conference.
In six games against teams ranked in the top 10 in Super Region 2 he averaged 313.5 yards passing per game with 17 touchdowns and a 67.9 completion percentage.
In three NCAA playoff games he has thrown for 948 yards (316 yards per game) and 6 touchdowns including a 416-yard, 2 touchdown performance in the Wolves 24-17 win over #9 West Florida.
In the team’s nine one-score victories, Charpia has thrown the game winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter or overtime four times, all against teams ranked in the top ten in the region, two of which went to the playoffs (Wingate, West Florida, Carson-Newman, Emory & Henry).
In two other games he led game winning drives that culminated in field goals with under 25 seconds remaining that won the game.
In the fourth quarter and overtime Charpia has completed 76.6% of his passes (72-94) for 966 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
Newberry has outscored their opponents 111-72 in the fourth quarter this year.
He did not throw an interception the final five games of the regular season and had a streak of 204 passes thrown without an interception.
His 29 touchdown passes are 26 more than the Wolves threw all of last season (3).
He is tied for the fewest interceptions thrown (6) among all NCAA D2 quarterbacks that have thrown at least 350 passes this season.
In his two seasons with the Wolves, last year he played in only six games due to injury, he has 4,607 yards passing with 32 touchdowns, becoming just the seventh player in Newberry history to amass 4,000 yards passing. His 32 touchdown passes rank eighth in school history, and his 366 completions are seventh despite not ranking in the top ten in pass attempts.
Desaussure and Spells are 1,000-yard men for the Wolves.
Desaussure, a first team All-SAC pick, is the Wolves leading receiver with 1,087 yards (2nd in Newberry history) on 92 receptions (school record) and 10 touchdowns (4th most). He needs 31 yards receiving to set a new single record. In his Newberry career he has 161 receptions (3rd) for 1,864 yards (7th ) and 12 touchdowns (12th). He needs two receptions to move into second, 35 yards to move into fifth and 71 yards to move into fourth ahead of Brandon Bostick.
He leads the team with 1,143 all-purpose yards, 1,087 receiving and 36 yards rushing.
He also has 2,132 all-purpose yards in his career.
Spells, the Wolves leading rusher and outstanding kick returner, is second on the team with 1,097 all purpose yards. He has 455 yards rushing, 369 yards on kickoff returns and 273 yards receiving.
He is also the Wolves’ most explosive weapon, becoming the first player in Newberry College history with four scoring plays of 80 yards or more in one season, nearly making it five in Saturday’s win at Albany State.
Spells had a 79-yard kickoff return in the third quarter.
His third such play came on the first play from scrimmage in the win at West Florida when he turned a short pass to the far sideline into an 82-yard touchdown reception.
He began the season with a 96-yard kickoff return for a score the first time the Wolves touched the ball in 2025 in the season opener at UVA Wise.
Spells also ripped off an 82-yard reception against Mars Hill and an 84-yard run against Tusculum.
First team All-SAC center Davion Pyles (Irmo HS) has led an offensive line that has sparked the Wolves to the league’s best passing attack that ranked 11th the past two seasons.
First team All-SAC linebacker Mikey Blandin (First Baptist School) leads the Wolves defense with 115 total tackles, 68 solo, 10 for loss including 4.5 quarterback sacks and eight quarterback pressures.
Fellow linebacker Devron Williams (Strom Thurmond HS) has 76 tackles, 42 solo, and had a monster game at Albany State, blocking a field goal and returning it 67 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the second quarter to give the wolves a 24-21 halftime lead it would never relinquish. He also had six tackles including one for a loss.
The Wolves’ other linebacker, Jalen Stradford (Rock Hill South Pointe) has registered 45 tackles, three for loss, one quarterback sack, three interceptions and four passes broken up and returns to the lineup after missing the Albany State contest.
Second team All-SAC defensive lineman Jaydon Eason (Silver Bluff HS) has 57 tackles including 5.5 for loss and also had a big game Saturday at Albany State, leading the Wolves with 10 total tackles, 1.5 for loss including half a sack.
Second team All-SAC cornerback Avery McFadden (Hillcrest HS) has 35 tackles, 3 interceptions and 8 passes broken up. Fellow cornerback Quan Peterson (Rock Hill South Pointe) has 42 total tackles, 10 passes broken up, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery (Saturday at Albany State).
Safeties Santory Jones (Cross) and Jaden Kinard (Spring Hill) have combined for 101 tackles, four interceptions and three passes broken up and two forced fumbles.
The Wolves also feature all-purpose kicker Burke Nettles (Kingsland, Ga.) who handles all kickoff, placekicking and kickoff duties.
He is averaging 39.9 yards per punt with 22 fair catches, 13 inside the 20-yard line and four kicks of 50 yards or more. He is 12-of-18 on field goal attempts with a long of 42, 42 of 44 on extra points and has 31 touchbacks in 74 kickoffs (41.9%).
Opponents have only returned eight of his 52 punts this season.
Head Coach Todd Knight
Todd Knight was named the 2025 South Atlantic Conference Coach Of The Year after leading the Wolves, picked to finish seventh in the 2025 SAC preseason poll, to a league title.
It marks the fourth time that Knight has earned SAC Coach of the Year Honors. He also won in 2016, 2021 and 2022.
Knight is the winningest coach in Newberry College history with a 108-76 record (.582) in his 17th season as head coach and his 23rd season overall on the staff (six previous seasons as defensive coordinator). He won his 100th game this season in thrilling fashion in the 43-42 overtime victory over Wingate.
Knight is the winningest coach among current head coaches in the South Atlantic Conference and ranks fourth all-time in league history in total wins and league wins (74-48).
This is the sixth time Newberry has made an appearance in the NCAA Division 2 playoffs and Knight has been involved in all six appearances: five as head coach (2013, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2025) and once as defensive coordinator (2006).
This year Knight earned his fourth SAC regular season title (2016, 2021, 2022, 2025) as head coach with two other SAC titles under his belt as defensive coordinator (2006, 2008).
Wolves Playoff History
In this team’s run to the national semifinals, the Wolves have beaten a team it hasn’t faced and two teams that they had beaten in their only previous meeting which was also in the playoffs.
Saturday’s win over Albany State was the Wolves’ second playoff victory over the Golden Rams, having also defeated them on November 18, 2006 34-28.
That game was the first NCAA postseason appearance for the Wolves and current head coach Todd Knight was the program’s defensive coordinator.
Wolves quarterback Josh Stepp threw four touchdown passes, three of which went to Tymere Zimmerman.
