It was actually celebration, mixed with a helping of relief as the ‘Dogs edged the Eagles 36-33 in a thriller Friday in Chapin.
The Bulldogs (2-2) led 28-7 in the first half, but had to score a touchdown midway in the fourth quarter and stop Chapin twice in the waning minutes to escape with the win.
“I told them after the game that they had plenty of chances to say to heck with it, but they fought hard and won a ballgame against a really good football team,” Newberry coach Sam Baird said. “Hopefully we can build on this going into the region (in two weeks). If they're going to fight that hard, they'll find a way to win some football games.”
The ‘Dogs appeared poised to cruise to an easy win, until a huge mistake in the final seconds of the first half gave the Eagles a huge shot of momentum heading into halftime.
Newberry quarterback Treyvon Smith fumbled a snap under center and Chapin recovered the loose ball at the Bulldogs' 7-yard line with 29.4 seconds to play in the half. After a false start penalty, Miller connected with Neil Sawyer on a fade for a 12-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 28-14 going into the half.
“We fumbled the snap and gave them an easy touchdown going in,” Baird said. “That seemed to change things.”
That touchdown started a run of 26 consecutive points that included a Miller-to-Sawyer 54-yard scoring strike, and a Miller touchdown on a quarterback sneak that gave the Eagles a 33-28 lead with 7:18 to play in the game.
Chapin's go-ahead drive was a 55-yard, 11-play march after the Bulldogs' third lost fumble of the game.
But one of the Bulldogs' young pups had an answer.
On the third play of the next drive, freshman fullback Tyrone Neal barreled through the line and rumbled for a 56-yard touchdown. Smith connected with Colby Rosemond for a two-point conversion to lift the Bulldogs' advantage to 36-33 with 5:55.
Chapin worked the ball down the field on its next possession on the, but Joe Rister missed a 45-yard field goal wide left with 1:29 to play. Rister connected on two previous field goals, including a 43-yarder in the third quarter that bounced in off the left upright.
The Eagles got the ball back with 16.7 seconds to play after a Newberry three-and-out, but couldn't pull off any last-second heroics on their homecoming night.
“This was a heck of a football game,” Baird said. “To be up that much, and then go down, it was tough. But our kids kept fighting. Tyrone got loose and that puts us back up. Chapin didn't quit and they came back. These kids just didn't want to lose. Last week (39-3 loss at Fairfield Central) was embarrassing, and they talked about that in practice, and they wanted to redeem themselves.”
Newberry dominated the game early, racking up 293 yards total offense in the first half. Running back Montagus Caldwell piled up 127 of his game-high 137 yards in the first half, including touchdown runs of 64 and 22 yards that gave the ‘Dogs an early 14-0 advantage.
Neal finished the game with 68 yards on six carries, while Marcus McMorris rushed four times for 41 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown midway through the first half.
For the game, Newberry ran the ball 39 times for 270 yards.
“A lot of people did a lot of things well tonight,” Baird said. “We've got five or six people that anytime they touch the ball, they can score.”
Smith connected on 8-of-10 passes for 67 yards, while Lance Brehmer came off the bench and found Sean Campos-McJunkins for a 36-yard touchdown that gave the ‘Dogs a 28-7 lead with 4:02 to play in the first half.
Miller completed 8-of-25 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns - all to Sawyer. Sawyer racked up 158 yards on five receptions.
Fullback Graham Montgomery led Chapin in rushing with 76 yards on 19 carries.
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