MARS HILL, N.C. - Newberry College racked up 502 yards of total offense and pitched their third shutout of the season as the 18th-ranked Indians defeated Mars Hill College 37-0 on Saturday afternoon at Meares Stadium.

The Indians (7-0, 3-0 SAC) totaled 355 yards on the ground and was led by Alex Haynes with 19 carries for 107 yards and one touchdown.  Deshon Rodell carried the ball only four times, but gained 74 yards.  Josh Stepp completed 16-of-20 passes for 147 yards on the day.  The defense dominated the Lions' (4-3, 1-2 SAC) offense, shutting them down to just 50 rushing yards on the afternoon. 
 
The Indians used a six-play 94-yard drive on their first possession of the game to go up by a score of 7-0 when Derek Young took a handoff in motion from Stepp and raced down the sidelines for a 69-yard scamper, his first touchdown of his career.  On Newberry�s second drive, Ryan Lukshis connected on a 26-yard field goal to give the Indians a 10-0 lead.

The Indians extended their lead to 17-0 on their third drive when Haynes, the South Atlantic Conference�s reigning Offensive Player-of-the-Week, scored from 12 yards out.

Newberry went on a 15-play, 91-yard drive just before the half to go up 24-0 when Stepp scored on a quarterback sneak from one-yard out with 23 seconds remaining in the first half.

In the third quarter, Rodell bounced out to the outside and raced down the sidelines for a 65-yard touchdown run to give the Indians a 31-0 lead.  Stepp scored on his second quarterback sneak of the afternoon to make it a 37-0 lead at the 3:01 mark in the third quarter.
 
Will Newell led the Indians on defense with eight total tackles.  Devin Robinson had three tackles-for-loss and one sack on the afternoon.
 
Kendrick Johnson led Mars Hill on the ground with 12 carries for 35 yards.  Ricky Spradling finished 9-for-19 for 105 yards. 

The Indians will face Wingate University in a pivotal SAC match-up next Saturday at Setzler Field.  Kickoff is set for 7:00 pm.