SALISBURY, N.C. — Under heavy rain showers all evening long, the Catawba College football team was outlasted by Newberry, 28-17, on Saturday at Shuford Stadium.
The Catawba Indians (3-4, 2-3 SAC) possessed a 17-7 lead before falling victim to a second-half Newberry (4-2, 3-2 SAC) surge of 21 unanswered points. Total offense favored the Wolves by a 363-253 margin, largely attributed to their 273 passing yards. Newberry had a variety of special teams follies but made up for them by forcing three turnovers and committing none. Neither team converted any of their six combined fourth-down plays as the visitors went 0-for-4, despite a robust 8-of-16 mark on third down rivaling Catawba's 5-of-15.
The blue and white were most effective on the ground, paced by Tareavion Mageo with 51 yards on 12 carries in a breakout performance. Jayden Jones toted the rock just three times but picked up 49 yards, averaging 16.3 yards per touch. Saeed St. Fleur took four handoffs to net 40 yards highlighted by a 31-yard touchdown run, giving Catawba three 40-yard rushers for the first time in 13 games.
Mason Fortune threw for 110 yards on 16-for-24 passing with one TD. He found Jay Moore five times for 40 yards, followed by Mike Geter with four catches for 24 yards and Josh Barron's three receptions for 22 yards and a score. Francisco Garcia Rodriguez nailed his field goal attempt from 44 yards while putting both extra points through the uprights.
Elijah Barber topped the tackling list with a career-high eight stops as Braylon Baker checked in with seven. Jaylen Hinton added two tackles for loss while totaling five for the day. Jymiek Sampson also logged two TFLs as Jaylen Houston, RJ Brown, Kyiev Bennermon, and Jamari Broady each registered one each. Brown was credited with the lone sack dealt by Catawba, while Baker and Kyle Perry each registered a QB hurry. Both of the Catawba Indians' pass breakups were credited to Broady.
Catawba makes its first-ever trip to Anderson, S.C., for a South Atlantic Conference clash against the Trojans next Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m.
