MARS HILL, N.C. - The Newberry College Wolves could not hold onto a 21-14 halftime lead, as the Mars Hill College Lions converted two Newberry turnovers into scores and returned a punt for a touchdown to provide the difference in a 48-36 Mars Hill victory.
Newberry falls to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in South Atlantic Conference play, while Mars Hill takes over sole possession of first place in the conference at 5-2 overall and 3-0 in SAC play. Newberry hosts Catawba (4-2, 2-1 SAC) on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m. Mars Hill travels to Carson-Newman (4-3, 2-1 SAC) for a Thursday night television game.
Quarterback Bryan Ehrlich (San Antonio, Texas) completed 17-of-36 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions the Lions converted into touchdowns. He now has 1,852 passing yards this season to go with 23 touchdown passes, completing 122-of-209 passes. He currently ranks eighth in school history in single season yardage, 10th in single season completions and third in touchdown passes with a minimum of four games to play this season. He is also already tied for fifth in career touchdown passes at Newberry.
Receivers Brandon Bostick (Florence, S.C.) and David Pressley caught the majority of Ehrlich's tosses, with Bostick catching seven passes for 159 yards and a touchdown and Pressley catching six passes for 154 yards and an 80-yard touchdown that ranked as the eighth-longest passing play in Newberry history.
Despite the gaudy offensive numbers, Newberry's miscues helped give the Lions the win. After the first three drives of the game ended in punts, Newberry was able to drive down to the MHC 11-yardline on its second drive. Ehrlich threw towards the endzone, but safety Ray Ray McElrathbey picked off the pass at the 1-yardline. Mars Hill needed just four plays after McElrathbey's return to find the endzone, taking a 7-0 lead on 2-yard touchdown pass from Jon Richt to Allen Woerner.
Newberry responded with a 12-play, 77-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 13-yard rushing touchdown from Ehrlich on the first play of the second quarter. After the Wolves forced Mars Hill to go for it on fourth down and fail, Newberry running back Lyndon Ingram (Columbia, S.C.) capped a 6-play, 74-yard scoring drive with a 16-yard touchdown carry.
The Wolves held the Lions to a three-and-out on the next drive and proceeded to go on a 9-play, 90-yard scoring drive that ended on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ehrlich-to-Max Elliott (Clover, S.C.) to make it a 21-7 game with 2:35 left in the first half.
Newberry's defense appeared to hold MHC to another three-and-out on the next drive, but a defensive holding penalty kept the drive alive and gave the Lions the momentum they needed to complete a 10-play, 60-yard scoring drive on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Richt-to-P.J. Gore that made it a 21-14 Newberry lead at halftime.
The Wolves fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, but safety Ron Parker (St. Helena Island, S.C.) snuffed out a potential scoring threat with a spectacular one-handed interception in the end zone. Parker finished the day with 16 tackles, his fourth interception of the season and a fumble recovery that set up Newberry's final score.
However, the Lions forced Newberry to punt and tied the game on a three-play scoring drive. The Wolves took the lead back on a 24-yard field goal by Britt Blackmon (Kershaw, S.C.), but the Lions took the lead at 28-24 on a 47-yard Richt-to-Gore touchdown pass.
Momentum shifted further in the Lions' favor after a three-and-out and a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown by McElrathbey to give Mars Hill a 35-24 lead. The return was the first punt return for a touchdown allowed by Newberry since 2005.
The Wolves were not deterred by the largest deficit they had faced in the game, as Ehrlich found Pressley wide open for an 80-yard touchdown to narrow the deficit to 35-30 going into the fourth quarter.
Newberry picked up two first downs on its first drive of the fourth quarter and appeared to be headed deep into Lions' territory, but Curtis Riley picked Ehrlich off and returned the interception all the way down to the Wolves' 21-yardline. Mars Hill needed just five plays and 55 seconds to make it a 42-30 game. The Lions forced another Newberry three-and-out and Richt engineered a flawless 7-play, 87-yard touchdown drive to put the game out of reach.
The Wolves forced a Mars Hill fumble as the Lions attempted to run out the clock on the game, and Ehrlich found Bostick in the endzone as time expired to make it a 48-36 final.
McElrathbey was the defensive star for Mars Hill with three tackles, the interception in the endzone and the punt return for a touchdown. Josh Baker led the Lions with seven tackles. Richt was 18-of-32 for 330 yards with three touchdowns and just one interception, while Randolph gained 183 yards on 33 carries for two scores.
Parker's 16 tackles led the Newberry defensive effort while Arterio Arnold (Greenville, S.C.) and Apollo Stretch (Columbia, S.C.) each notched seven tackles with two tackles for loss.
