Wolves quarterback Reed Charpia completed 23 of 37 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown, receiver Keith Desaussure caught 10 passes for 113 yards as Newberry College (6-1, 5-1) defeated Mars Hill 38-24 to move into sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic Conference.

Newberry rushed for a season-high 194 yards and compiled a season best 485 yards of total offense.

Quez Spells became the first player in Newberry College football history to have a rushing, receiving and kickoff return of 80 yards or more in one season when he caught a swing pass and turned it into an 82-yard score in the first quarter, his only catch of the game.

Last week he had an 84-yard touchdown run in the win at Tusculum and had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the season opening win at UVA Wise.

The win was the fourth straight for the Wolves and they are the only team in the SAC with only one conference loss.

For Desaussure it was his third consecutive game with at least 100 yards receiving and ten catches.  He now has 56 catches for 645 yards and seven touchdowns on the season.

Charpia now has 1,852 yards passing with 16 touchdowns and one interception while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes.

Newberry led the entire game, but Mars Hill cut the lead to three points, 24-20 after scoring on their second drive of the second half.

The Wolves responded with a 30-yard touchdown run on a reverse by receiver Rico Dorsey, Jr. to increase the lead to 31-21 with 1:08 left in the third quarter.

That play capped an impressive 8-play, 93-yard drive with Charpia completing six consecutive passes for 59 yards that led up to Dorsey's score.

The Lions responded by driving to the Wolves 25-yard line, but the defense held and only allowed a field goal which cut the lead to 31-24.

After fumbling the ball away, the Wolves' defense came up big again, stopping in the Lions on third down at the Wolves 38-yard line.

After forcing a punt, Newberry drove 57 yards in eight plays with Jonah Norris scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run with 5:45 remaining to put the game away.

The Wolves led 24-14 at halftime thanks to a 21-0 outburst in the first five minutes of the game.

Charpia ran an option play to the far side of the field, pitched to Tyleke Mathis who ran down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead just 1:20 into the first quarter.

The Wolves defense forced a three and out from the Lions and on third and nine from the Wolves 18-yard line, Charpia rolled to the near side of the field, threw back across to the far side of the field to Spells who sprinted 82-yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 Newberry with 10:54 left in the first quarter.

On the third play after the ensuing kickoff, Jalen Stradford stepped in front of a JR Martin pass at the Lions 30-yard line and returned it to the Mars Hill two-yard line. 

On the first play from scrimmage for the Wolves, defensive lineman Grayson White entered into the game in the backfield and ran in from two yards out for the touchdown to give the
Wolves a 21-0 lead with 9:59 left in the first quarter.

Mars Hill picked themselves off the deck with a 16-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown with 2:06 left in the first quarter to cut the lead to 21-7.

The Wolves came right back and drove 61 yards in 15 plays but had to settle for a 31-yard Burke Nettles field goal to increase the lead back to 24-7.

Mars Hill scored with 2:31 left in the half to make the score 24-14 heading into the break.

The Wolves outgained the Lions 287 to 223 in the first half with Charpia completing 12 of 20 passes for 203 yards and a score.

Newberry hosts Emory & Henry in a battle for first place Saturday night at Setzler Field.