MOREHEAD, Ky. - Newberry College outscored Morehead State 20-7 in the second half, but could not overcome three first-half turnovers as the Indians fell 35-33 on the road in NCAA football action Saturday night. Newberry (1-1) put together a fantastic comeback and had 1:16 to cover 64 yards, but the Morehead State (2-0) defense buckled down, forcing five incomplete passes and sacking Newberry quarterback Josh Stepp (Pelion, S.C.) on the Indians' last gasp on 4th-and-10.
The Indians drove the field after the second-half kickoff, culminating with an Alex Haynes (Summerville, S.C.) 20-yard touchdown to close the gap to 28-19. MSU responded with its own score, a Casey McCoy three-yard run, to go up 35-19, the final points for the Eagles on the night. Newberry linebacker Charlton Grant (Early Branch, S.C.) picked up a Morehead State fumble which started another touchdown drive. Stepp found Tymere Zimmerman (Bennettsville, S.C.) for a 12-yard touchdown, followed by the two-point conversion to close to 35-27. On the ensuing Newberry drive, Stepp split the gap for a 14-yard touchdown rush of his own, but the two-point conversion was thwarted, making the score 35-33 in Morehead State's favor.
Things started well enough for the Indians, taking the opening drive all the way into the Eagle endzone for a 7-0 lead on the first Stepp-to-Zimmerman scoring play. Morehead responded with passing touchdowns by Brian Yost on its next two drives, and then capitalized on Haynes' fumble on Newberry's first-down play after the kickoff for a 21-7 lead off Charles Stockleman's halfback pass. On Newberry's next offensive play, Stepp threw an interception and the Eagles' Eli Parker scored off the turnover, going up 28-7 in the second quarter.
Newberry drew to within 28-13 after Stepp threw a 24-yard strike to Joe Don Reames (Seneca, S.C.) for his first score as an Indian. The blocked PAT attempt forced Newberry to go for two following the remainder of its touchdowns.
Newberry outgained Morehead State in total yardage (441 to 327), time of possession (33:45 to 26:15), and first downs (23 to 16), but lost the turnover battle--giving up three and gaining one--and with it, the game.
Stepp produced 340 yards of total offense, 228 through the air on 20 of 39 completed passes, three of them touchdowns. He rushed for 112 yards and a score. Haynes rushed 17 times for 118 yards and a touchdown, marking the first time that two Newberry backs have rushed for over 100 yards in the same game since the 2004 season opener.
Zimmerman caught seven passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns, leaving him one reception short of tying Newberry's all-time record set by Kendal Brown in 2003 (146 rec.). Reames had six catches for 48 yards and a score.
Defensively, the Indians were paced by All-SAC linebacker Terrance Leverett (Ware Shoals, S.C.), who recorded nine tackles and a forced fumble. Inside linebacker Mike Grase (Rock Hill, S.C.) also forced a fumble, and made three tackles.
