NEWBERRY — Senior Wolves quarterback Raleigh Yeldell has been named AstroTurf Co-South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Wolves’ 42-22 win over Virginia Union on Saturday.
Yeldell was 27-for-32 with 289 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Panthers, compiling three separate streaks of at least seven consecutive completions and going 24-for-26 in a stretch that spanned all four quarters.
Excluding a 43-second drive to end the first half, Yeldell led the Wolves’ offense to six touchdowns on its first seven drives of the game and helped Newberry to a 19-minute advantage in time of possession.
Four scoring drives took at least 11 plays, including a 98-yard methodical march down the field and a 16-play, 85-yard drive that chewed up over seven-and-a-half minutes of clock.
Yeldell’s completion percentage of 84.4 percent is the second-highest in school history since the statistic began being recorded reliably in 1997, falling just short of his own 85.7 percent mark (24-for-28) against Brevard last season.
For the season, Yeldell leads Division II in completions per game, ranks fourth in passing yards (736) and sixth in passing yards per game (368.0), and is fourth with 407.5 yards of total offense per game.
He is also the Wolves’ leading rusher this season and has led Newberry to top-10 national rankings in five statistical categories, including a No. 2 ranking with 58 first downs, the nation’s seventh-most prolific passing offense, and a 10th-place mark in third down conversions (54.8 percent).
The Edgefield native earns his second career Player of the Week selection from the league office. He shared this week’s honor with Wingate running back Lawrence Pittman, who rushed for 137 yards and a school-record five touchdowns on 20 carries in a 56-7 Bulldog win over Shaw.