NEWBERRY — Senior wide receiver Braxton Ivery was named AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his fourth-quarter heroics that delivered the outright conference championship to the Wolves last Saturday.
Ivery caught four passes for 79 yards on the evening, but his most potent damage came while running the Newberry offense out of a wildcat formation.
Newberry trailed Wingate 22-14 with eight minutes to play when LaQuan White picked off a pass and pitched to Jaquille Oden, who rumbled to the 10-yard line to set up first and goal. Ivery took the direct snap and ran to his left behind Tyler Stasky’s block, angling into the end zone to cut the lead to two.
Newberry forced a three-and-out, giving Ivery and the Wolves’ offense the ball back one yard into Bulldogs’ territory with just under five minutes to play.
Ivery again took the direct snap, faked a handoff to Romelo Doctor, and probed to his right. With no running lanes developing, Ivery sprinted to his left behind the blocking of Bobby McNeil and sprung free.
A downfield block from Wesley Jordan helped him gain the sideline, where he slipped out of a tackle at the 30 and outsprinted two defenders into the end zone to send the crowd of 4,257 into delirium.
Ivery finished the day as Newberry’s leading rusher, carrying eight times for 74 yards and two all-important scores.
His fourth-quarter heroics lifted Newberry to the outright conference championship, a school-record 10th straight win, a 10th consecutive conference win, a playoff berth, and made the Wolves the 16th team in league history to win the title with an undefeated record.