Turner eclipses 1,000 yards in yet another close SAC loss for Football

Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team overcame a 13-0 deficit to take an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, but saw its opponent score a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute for the third time this season, as Newberry edged out with the victory 27-21 at Shuford Stadium over Homecoming.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Newberry recorded 26 first downs to 11 for Catawba

- The Catawba Indians rushed for 227 yards; the Wolves ran for 200 yards

- Newberry added 191 yards through the air while limiting Catawba to 46 yards passing

- NC ran 20 more plays on offense, recording 391 yards over 70 plays; Catawba took 50 plays for 273 total yards

- Both teams committed two turnovers in the game; Catawba had the lone fumble

- Newberry won the time-of-possession battle 34:04 to 25:56

- The Wolves were 5-of-12 on third downs; Catawba was 4-of-12

- Both teams failed to score on two red-zone chances

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- LJ Turner took 26 carries for 213 yards and two touchdowns, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark on the night

- Hunter Sheppard was 8-for-18 with 46 yards passing and an interception

- Deuce Linder caught a team-high four catches for 22 yards

- Juice Martin had two interceptions, returning one for an 89-yard touchdown

- Khalil Stimpson led the defense with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks

- Evan Simons added three tackles for loss

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- After forcing Newberry to punt on its opening possession, Catawba's punt was blocked and recovered in Catawba territory, but the Wolves could do nothing with it and punted it back

- A 26-yard completion to Ja'Corey Martin and a facemask penalty set up the Wolves in the red zone, but it resulted in no points as their 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide

SECOND QUARTER

- The teams traded punts on four straight drives until a muffed Catawba punt gave Newberry great field position inside the Catawba 20-yard line

- Newberry's Quez Spells capitalized with a one-yard touchdown plunge; the Wolves' extra-point attempt failed as the visitors led 6-0

- Catawba returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards and a personal foul moved the ball to the Newberry 16-yard line, but the drive stalled there and the 28-yard field goal was no good, as Newberry led 6-0 at the halftime break

THIRD QUARTER

- After the Wolves forced Catawba to punt on its opening possession of the second half, it drove 45 yards in five plays, capped by Dwayne Wright's eight-yard touchdown score to take a 13-0 lead

- The Catawba Indians once again drove the ball deep into Newberry territory, but a 37-yard field goal attempt was no good, keeping Catawba off the scoreboard

- On Catawba's next possession, Turner broke free for a 75-yard touchdown to cut the deficit back to a one-score game, 13-7

FOURTH QUARTER

- Wright's 39-yard gain set Newberry up at the Catawba 20-yard line, but the Catawba defense stood tall and forced a field goal attempt

- After a bad snap forced Newberry's holder to look to pass to convert the first down, Martin intercepted the errant pass and returned it 89 yards for a go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter

- On Newberry's very next possession, Martin intercepted Reed Charpia and returned it inside the Newberry 10-yard line

- Turner scored from three yards out as Catawba led 21-13 at the 13:12 mark

- The Wolves responded with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown scoring drive capped by Rico Dorsey Jr.'s 14-yard touchdown grab, but the potential game-tying two-point conversion failed to keep the lead in Catawba's favor, 21-19 near the 8-minute mark

- Newberry's defense stood tall and forced Catawba to punt; the Wolves converted a key 3rd &12 and scored two plays later on Spells' 18-yard touchdown run, leading 27-21 with under a minute to go after a successful two-point try

- Sheppard's first pass of the ensuing drive was intercepted and Newberry ran the clock out from there to hand Catawba its fourth single-score loss in SAC play this season

GAME NOTES

- Turner now has recorded 1,068 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the season

- The junior is already third all-time for single-season rushing in Catawba program history and 73 yards from Jamelle Cuthbertson's program-record 1,141-yard campaign in 2008

- Turner entered this week ranked second in Division II in rushing and eighth in all of college football

- Each of Catawba's games in its four-game homestand featured a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of regulation or in overtime; the Catawba Indians lost three of four games

- Martin's third and fourth interceptions in two seasons at Catawba, first pick-six of his Catawba career

UP NEXT

- Catawba hits the road for the first time in a month next week, traveling to Wingate to continue SAC play with a 3 p.m. kick