Football Loses Defensive Struggle at Newberry

NEWBERRY, S.C. -- Newberry held visiting Catawba to 165 yards and got two touchdown runs from quarterback Dre Harris in posting a 14-7 victory in South Atlantic Conference football action on Saturday at Setzler Field. The Wolves improve to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the SAC, while the Catawba Indians go to 4-1 and 1-1.

Catwaba scored first, marching 80 yards on nine plays, on its initial drive. Ken Avent threw a 20-yard strike to Kobe Christian for the score at the 2:38 mark of the opening quarter. Newberry answered midway through the second quarter when Harris ran in from 15 yards out. Passes of 37 yards to Bryson Woodruff and 22 yards to Bobby Irby helped set up the score.

Late in the third quarter, Newberry took advantage of a punt return to the Catawba 33 to score the winning points. On the first play of the final quarter, Harris scored on a seven-yard run to break the tie and put the Wolves up 14-7. Newberry missed a 35-yard field goal on its next possession, but the Indians could never mount a drive for a tying score.

Avent ran for 39 yards for Catawba and completed 13-of-26 passes for 85 yards. His interception on a deep pass inside the final minute marked the only turnover of the game. Daniel Parker and Kujuan Pryor each caught three passes.

Mario Anderson led Newberry with 129 yards on the ground. Harris completed 11-of-18 passes for 173 yards and ran for another 75. Woodruff led the receivers with four grabs for 45 yards.

Catawba travels to Mars Hill next Saturday with a kickoff with the Lions set for 1 p.m.