NEWBERRY - The Newberry College football team will hit the road for a South Atlantic Conference matchup this Saturday in Greenwood, S.C., as they will play the Flying Fleet of Erskine College. The game will be set to kick off at 6:00 p.m. at Greenwood High School.

The Wolves are 2-1, 1-0 SAC as defeated the Wasps of Emory & Henry College in an NCAA Division II record eight overtimes 25-23

The Flying Fleet are currently 0-3 as they are coming off of a 62-0 loss to nationally ranked Lenoir-Rhyne. 


The Coaches
Todd Knight enters his 15th year at the helm of the Newberry program in 2023 season, 21^st season coaching at Newberry, having made his mark as one of the most successful coaches in program history. Knight signed a contract extension at the end of the 2022 season to continue leading the Wolves through the 2027 season.

His 91-62 overall record makes him the winningest coach in school history, a feat which he accomplished with his 73^rd win in a 24-19 contest over Tusculum in front of the home crowd on September 25, 2021, remaining the only 40-game winner with a winning record in the 105 years of Newberry football. The 2016, 2021, and 2022 South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year has a .589 winning percentage, good for second in school history among coaches with 10 or more games at the helm.

The Wolves' 31 wins from 2013-16, all under Knight, are the second-most wins in a four-year period in school history. Newberry's 32 victories from 2006-09, the final six of which came during Knight's first season as Head Coach following six seasons as Defensive Coordinator, are the current standard-bearer. 
Shap Boyd enters his third season as head football coach of the Flying Fleet.

Boyd served for three seasons as the Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach at the University of Virginia at Wise. Prior to his arrival, the Cavalier defense ranked 161st (out of 167) in scoring defense, 145th in total defense and 166th in passing defense. In his first season at Wise, the Cavaliers finished with the program's first winning season since 2008 and their six wins were more than the previous three seasons combined. Boyd's defense improved each year, becoming a force both in the Mountain East Conference and nationally. In his last season at Wise, his defense finished 4th nationally in tackles for loss, 14th in yards per play, 18th in yards per pass, 32nd in scoring defense, 25th in total defense, and 20th in passing defense.

The Series
This matchup will be the 37th matchup against the Flying Fleet. The Wolves have a 19-15-2 record vs. Erskine. Last season, the Wolves won 32-14 in Setzler Field. In last year's matchup, the Wolves took a 32-0 lead and never looked back as the offensive attack of Dre Harris and Mario Anderson had over 250 yards combined in the win.  

Scouting The Wolves

• The Wolves defense shined in the eight-overtime victory against the Wasps last Saturday. Sophomore linebacker Jalen Stradford led the way with six tackles and an interception on the afternoon for the Wolves. Senior cornerback Kevon Gregory grabbed his third interception of the season and had two pass breakups. The defense allowed only fourteen points in regulation and forced two interceptions and seven TFLs along with two sacks.  
• Offensively the Wolves had 319 total yards in the victory. The Wolves pulled a little tricker ation to get the win as quarterback Brayden Phillips handed the ball off Dwayne Wright. Wright tossed the ball to Andre Banks and Banks threw it back to Phillips in the endzone for a successful two-point conversion to give the Wolves a 25-23 win. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Keith Desaussure had seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Phillips completed 11 of 25 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

Scouting the Flying Fleet

• Offensively, junior quarterback Craig Pender completed 8 passes for 72 yards in the game. Redshirt junior wide receiver Jamaar Moore had a game-high 5 receptions for 47 yards for the Fleet in the 62-0 loss to nationally ranked Lenoir-Rhyne. Junior running back, Jalen Samuels leads the Flying Fleet's ground attack with 119 yards on the season.
• Defensively, redshirt sophomore defensive back Caleb Gleason led the Fleet defense with 9 tackles, while redshirt sophomore defensive back Dominick Hodge forced a fumble in last week's game against Lenoir-Rhyne.