Burke Nettles kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired as the Newberry College Wolves claimed the Bishop's Trophy with a 20-17 win at Lenoir-Rhyne.

The win propelled the Wolves to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Jamar Blandin tripped up Bear quarterback Khamoni Robinson a half a yard short of a first down on fourth down at the Wolves 33-yard line with 2:30 left in the game.

Wolves' quarterback Reed Charpia engineered an 8-play, 66-yard drive to set up the game winning score.

Key plays included back-to-back completions of 16 yards to tight end Gray Leaphart and 11 yards to leading receiver Keith Desaussure.  Two plays later Charpia connected with De'Andre Coleman for 25 yards down to the Bears' eight-yard line to set up the winning score.

Charpia was a perfect 4-for-4 for 57 yards on the game winning drive.

He finished the night with 17 completions in 30 attempts for 199 yards and two scores, Quez Spells led the rushing attack with 67 yards on six carries with Charpia chipping in 61 yards on seven carries.

Desaussure led Newberry with seven catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns while Coleman had four catches for 72 yards.

Devron Williams returned to the Wolves lineup and led the defense with eight tackles while Jaden Kinard added seven tackles including one for loss and recovered and forced a fumble.  Blandin finished with six tackles and three quarterback pressures.

Charpia has completed nearly 69 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and no interceptions this season.

Desaussure has already caught 24 passes for 282 yards and five touchdowns.

The Wolves defense forced two critical turnovers in the third quarter and turned the Bears over on lost fumbles at the Newberry 46- and 47-yard lines.

Newberry led 7-3 at the half in a game that was delayed at the start by over an hour due to inclement weather. 

After a scoreless first quarter, Desaussure caught a 13-yard scoring pass in the back of the end zone to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead with 6:24 left in the half.

Avery McFadden broke up a pass on third down at the Wolves seven-yard line to force the Bears to settle for a 24-yard field goal just before halftime.

Lenoir-Rhyne took the opening kickoff of the second half and grabbed their only lead of the game scoring a touchdown after a 7-play, 75-yard drive to give the Bears a 14-10 lead.

Newberry came right back as Desaussure capped an 8-play, 75-yard drive with a 33-yard scoring pass from Charpia to give the Wolves a 14-10 lead.

Spells 52-yard run on the next to last play of the third quarter gave the Wolves first and goal at the Bears' one-yard line but had to settle for a Nettles 21-yard field goal to increase the lead to 17-10.

Lenoir Rhyne responded by driving 64 yards in seven plays to score a touchdown and tie the game with 11:11 remaining.

The Wolves return to historic Setzler Field Saturday night when they host Wingate at 7:00 p.m.

Todd Knight Postgame Comments

"I asked  two things and two things only before the game and the first one was for them to believe in each other and play their tails off and we did that."

"We changed a few things on defense, and we were patient and generated a couple of turnovers.  The kids never gave up and ran to the football."

"Offensively we found a way.  Reed did a great job extending the play with his legs.  He never wants to give up on a play.  He was poised tonight."