WILSON, N.C. - After an extended weather/lightning delay, Newberry held off Baton 20-17 Saturday night to improve to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the South Atlantic Conference.
Newberry took their opening possession and drove 65 yards before Avery Funderburk connected on his first field goal of the season to give the Wolves the 3-0 lead. After forcing a three and out on Barton's first offensive possession, Newberry would get the ball back at their own 23-yard line. Catriez Cook got the drive started with 16 yards on two straight rushes. Later in the drive, Dre Harris found Andre Banks for 17 yards to put the ball at the Barton 36-yard line. A personal foul on the Wolves moved the ball back to their 49 -yard line. Cook then broke off an 11-yard run and a 35-yard run to put the ball at the five-yard line. Mario Anderson found the end zone on the next play, and Funderburk drilled the extra point to make it a 10-0 game.
The Bulldogs took their first possession of the second quarter at the Newberry 40 yard line and scored a touchdown on their first play to cut the Newberry lead to three. Barton added a field goal with 17 seconds remaining in the half to tie the game at 10. Barton opened the second half by driving the ball 62 yards in 11 plays to score a touchdown and take their first lead of the game 17-10.
The Barton lead would not last long. On Newberry's first possession of the second half, Harris found Banks for 57 yards to get the ball down to the Baton four-yard line. Cook then had back-to-back two-yard rushes to get into the end zone and tie the game at 17. The game would remain tied at 17 to start the fourth quarter. Wolves would drive the ball down to Barton's 19-yard line, where Funderburk connected for his second field goal of the game to give Newberry the three-point lead. The Bulldogs had one last chance to tie or win the game, getting the ball back with 2:18 remaining in the game at their own 20-yard line. Barton would drive the ball down the field and get to the Newberry 38-yard line with five seconds remaining. Barton would attempt a hail mary, but David Vereen would intercept the pass and seal the Newberry victory.
Dre Harris finished the game 13-21 for 196 yards and one interception, while Andre Banks had six catches for a career-high 140 yards and a touchdown. Catriez Cook had 18 rushes for a career-high 132 yards on the ground. Defensively, Anthony Blue, Alex Smith, Ty Kelly, and Devante Gambrell each had six tackles. Kelly also led the defense with two tackles for loss, and Vereen had two interceptions on the night.
