Newberry College sets sights on conference title, playoff spot in 2021

Newberry College football laid the groundwork in the spring. The question now — can it translate?

The Wolves and coach Todd Knight went 5-1 in the short spring season caused by the COVID pandemic. A powerful rushing attack and stingy defense led the way, and now Knight wants to see something more.

“Nobody’s ever played a season in the spring,” Knight said. “It was a learning opportunity for all of us. I think that, for our team, what we’ve learned about ourselves in the spring is going to hopefully pay dividends for the fall.”

Just about everyone returns from that spring squad. That includes dual-threat speedster quarterback Dre Harris. It includes tailback duo Catriez Cook and Mario Anderson, who combined for more than 140 yards a game. It includes the top three receivers.

That set of players combined to lead an offense that averaged 416.5 yards per game, 264.7 on the ground.

One edge the team has is with experience. The roster includes 14 graduate students. The staff has also had continuity on the defensive side, so players have had the same approach throughout.

That unit held opponents to 4.5 yards per play in the spring, with just 11 touchdowns allowed in six games. The Wolves pulled off an early win against Catawba and closed the season by blowing out Wingate.

Knight and his squad have seen what it takes to get to the top. The 2016 edition of the team went 10-2 with a conference title, finishing two games ahead of the field.

Now they’re aiming to chase that kind of success again, but they know it’s a difficult road.

“If you drop one or two, then you probably won’t get a chance to play for it,” Knight said. “You might get lucky and lose one and still get a shot at it, but if you lose two in our league, you’re done.”

Can’t-miss game

Every game matters in Knight’s mind, but Lenoir-Rhyne on Sept. 18 looms large. The Bears have not lost a conference game since 2017 and handed the Wolves their only defeat last season.

Lenoir-Rhyne was picked to win the South Atlantic Conference in the league’s preseason poll, with Wingate second and Newberry third.

What constitutes a successful season?

Success for the Wolves will be whether the team is in the hunt for a conference title and for a Division II playoff spot.

Three players to watch

▪ Offensive lineman Alec Blackman: Knight called the Newberry High School product an anchor on the offensive front. The 6-foot-1, 280-pounder helped the team average 264.7 rushing yards per game on 5.7 per carry.

▪ Defensive lineman Ty Kelly: A well-built edge rusher from Camden, the fourth-year player led the team in sacks and tackles for loss in the spring. That was coming off a 2019 when he posted nine sacks and 11 1/2 tackles behind the line.

▪ Defensive back Anthony Blue: A graduate student, Blue has anchored the Wolves secondary the past three seasons. The Dillon product posted 21 tackles last season and broke up three passes.

Newberry football 2021 schedule

• Sept. 4, at Barton, 2 p.m.
• Sept. 11, North Greenville, 6 p.m.
• Sept. 18, Lenoir-Rhyne, 6 p.m.
• Sept. 25, at Tusculum, 1:30 p.m.
• Oct. 2, at Mars Hill, 1 p.m.
• Oct. 9, at UVA Wise, noon
• Oct. 16, Catawba, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 23, Carson-Newman, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 30, at Erskine, 1 p.m.
• Nov. 6, Wingate, 1 p.m.
• Nov. 13, at Limestone, 4 p.m.