NEWBERRY — The Wolves keep on rolling with a home win in the first round of the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs. Newberry College(10-1, 8-1 SAC) dominates Kentucky State(9-3, 7-1 SIAC) with a 45-24 win to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Setzler Field was filled with local fans and Newberry College alumni excited to see the Wolves back in the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and the first home playoffs game since 2016. They were dominant on both sides of the ball, but especially the offense.
Newberry started off the game scoring on their first four offensive drives of the game. It took two plays for the Wolves to march down the field and score on their opening drive. Reed Charpia found DeAndre Coleman for a 40-yard completion on the very first play of the game. Charpia then found Rico Dorsey Jr. for a short completion that turned in to a 35-yard touchdown with the yards after catch. The Wolves were successful on their two-point conversion attempt to take an early 8-0 lead.
The visiting Thorobreds drove the ball down the field in response, but had to settle for a field goal after their drive stalled inside of Newberry’s 10-yard line.
Newberry’s hot offense kept on rolling and added another touchdown to the scoreboard in the first quarter. This scoring drive took longer but ended with the same result. Jonah Norris rumbled into the end zone for a one-yard rushing touchdown to give the Wolves a 15-3 lead.
The first quarter fireworks continued because Kentucky State would respond with seven points this drive. A big pass play sparked this drive to put them back inside of the 10-yard line. The touchdown would make it one score game again, but Newberry still led 15-10 and they would take that lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter started with the Wolves driving the ball down the field and threatening to score.They did just that and Norris would punch it home with another one-yard touchdown run for his second of the day. Burke Nettles had an unlikely miss on the extra point, but the home team now held a 21-10 lead in the early parts of the second quarter.
Kentucky State couldn’t answer with a score, but instead had a turnover. Jalen Stradford intercepted the pass to give the ball right back to the Wolves’ explosive offense. Newberry would drive down the field but their drive stalled and they had to settle for a 33-yard field goal to extend their lead, 24-10.
The Wolves defense came up with a stop and forced a punt. Newberry would be forced to punt as well for the first time in this game at the 1:25 mark on the clock in the second quarter.
The Thorobreds momentum shift would be short lived because Charles Smith would get the Wolves second turnover of the game with an interception. Newberry would work their two minute offense after starting their drive on Kentucky State’s 26-yard line. Coleman would haul in a 24-yard reception and take into the end zone for a quick score. Newberry would go up 31-10 and take that lead into halftime.
Neither team could get anything going for majority of the third quarter, but Kentucky State would make a change at quarterback and that seem to give them a spark. They started a long drive with 11 minutes left on the game clock and it lasted for six minutes. It ended with a touchdown to bring them within two scores now, 31-17.
Kentucky State would attempt an onside kick but it was unsuccessful. Their defense would make a huge stop on the fourth down attempt and forced a fumble from Norris. Kentucky State would recover and take advantage of the short field. They quickly scored on the ground with a rushing touchdown from 30-yards out. Things got a lot tighter as they now only trailed 31-24 at the end of the third quarter.
Newberry had the ball to start the fourth quarter and they would finally shake off the second half rust to get into the end zone and extend their lead. Norris would get his third score of the game but this time through the air. Charpia found the running back out the backfield for a short touchdown pass to extend their lead, 38-24, in the early minutes of the fourth quarter.
Kentucky State would struggle to make the game closer and Newberry added a touchdown late for good measure. Charpia finished the day 25-of-34 with 288 passing yards and three passing touchdowns along with an interception. Dorsey had seven receptions for 83 passing yards and one touchdown reception. Coleman had five receptions with 102 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Norris didn’t get a lot of all-purpose yards but he had three total touchdowns(two rushing, one receiving).
“Two weeks to prepare for a game had us ready to come out the gate. We added a couple of little wrinkles here and there. We were excited to come out of the locker room and found ourselves in unique situation that we haven’t really been in this year, which was being up at halftime. We came out a little flat and didn’t perform as well as we should’ve in the third quarter but we kicked it into gear and finished it strong,” said Wolves head coach Todd Knight.
Now, the Wolves will turn their attention to the second round and a familiar foe waiting for them. Newberry College will head to Pensacola, FL to face University of West Florida. The two teams last meet in the 2021 Division II College Football Playoffs for a first round matchup. The Argos were fresh off winning the 2019 National Championship and were picked as a favorite in that game.
“It’s not uncharted waters. Like you said, we’ve been there, we’ve done that and we won. We have done it before and we can do it again. Our kids got a fire about them and we gone go back to work to try to go 1-0 next week,” said Knight.