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Newberry College upsets West Florida in overtime, 33-30

The Wolves advance to the second round of the Division II playoffs with a clutch road win against the 2019 national champions.
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

COLUMBIA, S.C. — PENSACOLA, Fla. – Redshirt-sophomore Mario Anderson capped off a 19-point comeback for the Newberry College (10-2) football team as they knocked off the third-seeded and defending national champion Argonauts of West Florida in an overtime thriller at the Blue Wahoos Stadium on Saturday, November 20, 2021.

Anderson and redshirt-senior Dre Harris were the two leading rushers for a Newberry program that posted 169 yards on the ground in the contest, with Anderson recording a pair of scores, including the game-winner, and Harris adding a score as well.  Redshirt-junior Bryson Woodruff led the receiving core on the afternoon for the Wolves as he hauled in seven catches for 131 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Wolves were led by tsenior Anthony Blue who hauled in two interceptions in the contest, both stopping Argo drives at pivotal moments. Graduate student Nick Yearwood led the team with six tackles, including half credit for each a tackle-for-loss and a sack.  Sophomore Ja-Quez Smith recorded the third interception on the afternoon for the Wolves while also recording three tackles.

After taking the opening kickoff for a touchback, the Wolves attacked quickly as after a nine-yard reception by Brentley Allen, Harris would find Woodruff along the right-hand side of the field who then made one move back to the inside of the field and went the distance scampering 66-yards down the sideline to give the Wolves the 7-0 lead just 43 seconds into the contest. A nine-yard Harris touchdown run gave Newberry a 14-0 lead.

After UWF scored 27 unanswered points, sophomore Ke-Shoun Williams delivered the turning point, a blocked punt which ended up in a 25-yard scoop and score and the lead was down to 27-20.

Blue's second interception led to a one-yard touchdown run by Anderson to tie the game at 27.

In overtime, West Florida took the lead on a field goal before Newberry drove the 25 yards for the win. Harris scampered for 12 yards on a 2nd and 13 and then Anderson would cap off the drive a few plays later with another one-yard touchdown, giving the Wolves a dramatic 33-30 win in overtime.

Newberry will now make the trip up to Bowie, Md. as they will take on the Bulldogs of Bowie State University.  While the game date is known for Saturday, November 27, the game time has not been released, but is expected to be 1 p.m.

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