Newberry’s rally falls just short against Florida Tech

NEWBERRY (Newberry College) – In a series marked by games decided in the final minute, Saturday’s home opener against Florida Tech was no different.

Newberry mounted a furious comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, scoring the game’s final 14 points and driving into Florida Tech territory in the final seconds, but came up empty on a final heave into the end zone to fall to the Panthers 30-28 at Setlzer Field.

The Wolves (0-2) seized momentum on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Marcus Chestnut pried the ball from the grasp of Panthers’ (2-0) freshman quarterback Mike Diliello and Jarod Fountain pounced on the ball at the Florida Tech 40-yard line.

The Wolves needed five plays to march into the end zone, getting a huge chunk of yardage on a 22-yard completion from Dre Harris to Bobby Irby to move inside the 15, before Logan Bailey rifled a 9-yard scoring strike to Austin Gordon to cut the lead to 30-21.

Newberry’s defense forced a three-and-out, aided by Keito Jordon’s second sack of the day, and Newberry took over at its own 45. Harris found Irby for a 29-yard completion on the second play of the drive before Bailey, Catriez Cook, and Harris combined for 25 yards on three straight runs to move within a yard of the goal line.

Consecutive running plays failed to break the plane, but Harris called his own number on 3rd and goal to trim the lead to 40-28 with 7:46 remaining in the game. The Wolves’ defense forced another three-and-out, but the offense picked up just one first down and was forced to punt.

Newberry made one final stand and got the ball back on its own 12-yard line with 40 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The first play gained 20 yards on a pass to Tylik Johnson. The Wolves completed three more passes on the drive, driving 43 total yards in five plays to get to the Panthers’ 45-yard line with seven ticks remaining. An incompletion stopped the clock with two seconds left and, out of field goal range, forced a final throw to the end zone.

Harris dropped back, then stepped up in the pocket, ran left to avoid pressure, and lofted a pass for Deshun Kitchings at the pylon. Kitchings fought through tight coverage and attempted to make a spectacular catch by trapping the ball on the defender’s back, but the ball squirted free at the last moment to give the win to Florida Tech.

The sequence capped a fourth quarter that saw the Wolves outgain Florida Tech 155-37, with the Panthers gaining just one first down and being forced to punt three times over the final 15 minutes.

The final play was an excruciating near-miss for Kitchings, who was also involved in a momentum-shifting play late in the first half. A nine-play, 75-yard touchdown gave the Panthers a 17-14 lead with 47 seconds left in the second quarter to counter 14 straight points by the Wolves. Kitchings took the ensuing kickoff from the 2-yard line across the 20 but lost control of the ball near the sideline and the Panthers recovered at the Wolves’ 25.

Four plays later, Florida Tech was in the end zone on Diliello’s second rushing touchdown in a span of 35 seconds, upping the advantage to 23-14 after a missed extra point.

For the second consecutive week, Newberry spread the ball around to several different contributors. Dre Harris was 15-for-28 through the air for 188 yards and a score and was also the team’s leading rusher, carrying 11 times for 58 yards and a touchdown. He did not take a sack on the afternoon.

Bailey also found his way into the box score with a balanced game, throwing the 9-yard touchdown to Gordon on his only passing attempt and rushing seven times for 29 yards and a touchdown. Catriez Cook and Austin Barnes chipped in 49 and 25 yards, while Irby and Johnson led the Wolves in receiving yardage with 79 on four catches and 52 on three receptions, respectively.

Jordon had a monster game from his defensive end position, making all but one of his five tackles behind the line of scrimmage with a pair of sacks. His career-high four tackles for loss on the day gives him 26.5 for his career, surpassing Joe Blue and Apollo Stretch for ninth in school history.

Nick Yearwood led the team in tackles for the first time in his career, establishing a new personal best with nine total tackles. Ty Kelly, Trey Woods, and Drew Sprouse contributed a tackle for loss each, while Alex Smith recorded an interception for the second time in his career and made four tackles.

With four PAT’s on the day, Shea Rodgers moved into the top 10 in career scoring, now ranking ninth with 163 points by passing both Pete Bember and Alex Haynes. He passed both Matt Deaton and Eddie Taylor in PAT’s made, trailing only Ryan Lukshis with 100 in his career.

Down 10-0 early, Newberry opened its scoring with a methodical drive covering 68 yards in 10 plays that culminated with a 10-yard reception by Bryson Woodruff. Six plays later, Smith came up with the pick on a tipped ball at the Newberry 46-yard line and returned it two yards, setting up an eight-play drive that Bailey capped off with a 5-yard rushing score.

Florida Tech took a 3-2 lead in the series over its most common nonconference opponent and dropped Newberry to 7-4 in home openers under head coach Todd Knight. Four of the five meetings between the two programs have been one-score games, with the 2015 and 2019 editions decided on the final play.

Newberry opens the South Atlantic Conference slate next week with a trip to No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne with the Bishops’ Trophy on the line. Kickoff from Moretz Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m.