Kenton Caldwell(#10) carries the ball for a first down.
                                 Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com

Kenton Caldwell(#10) carries the ball for a first down.

Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com

<p>Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com</p>

Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com

NEWBERRY — Newberry High School(5-5, 4-2 region) advanced to the second round of the 2A state playoffs after winning 24-15 against Saluda(7-3,3-2 region) at home. The Bulldogs’ fans packed Mike Ware Field for the 7:30 pm kickoff.

Kenton Caldwell shined in the win for the Bulldogs. The sophomore two-way star finished the game with two rushing touchdowns and the game clinching interception late in the fourth quarter.

“I feel like I play just alright. I didn’t play to my best ability and still have some mistakes to fix but we will get those fixed by next week with whoever we play in the second round,” said Caldwell.

It was a defensive battle early in the game until about midway through the first quarter. The Bulldogs put together a long touchdown drive that included to fourth down conversions. The first fourth down conversion came near the redzone when Caldwell found Jamel Howse Jr. on a 10-yard completion to move the chains. Then, Caldwell scored from the one-yard line on a quarter back keeper to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead on fourth and goal.

The Tigers still couldn’t get anything going and their high-powered offense was held scoreless for majority of the first.

Newberry’s offense kept things rolling early in the second quarter and was able to find the endzone again. Caldwell scored his second rushing touchdown of the night on another read option play where he decided to keep the ball in his hands.

The Tigers finally were able to answer on a long 74-yard touchdown reception by Vic Gaines. They also converted the two-point conversion but still trailed 14-8.

The Bulldogs were able to put together three consecutive scoring drives that ended with a 26-yard field goal right before the half. They lead 17-7 at halftime.

Saluda immediately answered after halftime with another long touchdown reception by Gaines to pull his team closer. Unfortunately, that would be the last of the scoring for the Tigers.

The Bulldogs fumbled on the first play of their first offensive drive in the second half. It gave the ball right back to the away team. The defense had their offense back and stuffed the Tigers on a fourth down play.

Both teams struggled to put points on the board for much of third quarter and midway through the fourth quarter. Again, the Bulldogs’ offense found broke the scoring drought with a long touchdown drive that ended with BJ Jones finding the endzone on the ground from 10-yards away.

Newberry used about six minutes of the game clock and held a 24-15 late in the fourth quarter.

Saluda got in desperation mode as they were out of timeouts and had to find some points very quickly. Their offense drove the ball down the field, but Caldwell intercepted Drew Arant’s pass in the endzone with 38 seconds left on the clock and effectively ended the game.

The sophomore sensation said he was “at the right place, at the right time,” when talking about his incredible interception to seal it for his team.

The Bulldogs’ defense registered two sacks and force a turnover on Saluda’s last offensive drive of the game.

“I wish he could play DB the whole time. He’s one of the more talented guys we got back there but we depend on him to play quarterback too. He is a tremendous talent and a high character kid too. Good thing for us we have for a couple more years,” said Bulldogs head coach Cedrick Jeter.

The Bulldogs took a knee and celebrated as they became the only team in Newberry County to advance in the playoffs for the second consecutive season. They will be on the road for the second round of the playoffs, but didn’t know who their opponent would be by the time their game ended.

The full game recap will be available in this week’s print edition on Wednesday, Nov. 8th.

Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3117 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews