Tuesday, November 7, 2006
News and Notes Entering Bronze Derby
Presbyterian-Newberry Game Notes
SATURDAY’S GAME: Presbyterian welcomes Newberry to Bailey Memorial Stadium for the 60th meeting of the Bronze Derby and the 95th meeting all-time between the two institutions. Presbyterian is 6-4 (4-2 SAC) on the season after their 21-14 loss last Saturday to Catawba at Shuford Stadium, while the Indians are 10-0 (6-0 SAC) on the season after reclaiming the Bishops Trophy last Saturday in a 45-21 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne at Setzler Field. Last year with a 38-7 victory over Newbery, Presbyterian concluded the regular season unscathed in South Atlantic Conference play at 7-0. The game will be televised by SCETV. Emerson Phillips will provide the play-by-play, while former South Carolina State head coach Willie Jeffries will provide analysis.
THE COACHES: Presbyterian — Head coach Tommy Spangler is in his 6th season in charge of the Presbyterian College Blue Hose football program. Spangler, the 13th head football coach in Blue Hose history, led PC to a 10-2 record and an unscathed 7-0 mark in the South Atlantic Conference last year, taking the SAC crown in the process. Spangler spent four years as PC’s assistant head coach and defensive coordinator before taking over as head coach. A 1983 graduate of the University of Georgia, he came to PC after spending five years as the defensive coordinator at Georgia Southern University. Spangler holds a 41-234overall record. Newberry — Head coach Zak Willis is in his 4th season with the Indians. A 1990 graduate of Furman University, Willis has led the Indians to a 22-17 mark during his tenure, including a 10-0 mark this season and Newberry’s first South Atlantic Conference football title. Willis owns a 1-2 mark versus the Blue Hose.
HOSE HAPPENINGS: Linebacker Jutin Jones finished the Catawba game with a team season-high 3.5 tackles-for-loss ... Defensive back Kevin Molony had his best all-around game of the season for the Blue Hose in the Catawba game ... Molony had a team-best 10 stops in the game and also picked up one interception ... The Edgefield, S.C. native broke up two passes and picked up an assist on a sack ... Terrance Butler had his best day receiving in the game with the Indians ... The Socastee High School product had five catches for six yards ... S.J. Worrell concluded the Catawba game with 470 yards on the season after running the ball 16 times for 67 yards in the loss to the Indians ... Worrell also had a rushing touchdown ... Backfield mate Chetyuane Reeder scored the first touchdown of the game on an 18-yard run in the first quarter to give the Blue Hose two rushing touchdowns in the Catawba game ... The two touchdowns on the ground picked up by the PC backfield marked the fifth time in the 2006 season that the Blue Hose ground game has acquired two touchdowns in a contest.
BRONZE DERBY: The annual Bronze Derby game has been played 59 times. The game was originally played on Thanksgiving Day and billed as the Thanksgiving Turkey Day Bronze Derby Game. The game was moved from Thanksgiving day in 1992 due to the South Atlantic Conference moving from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. Overall, Presbyterian and Newberry have faced off on the gridiron 94 times since 1913. The only year since then that the two teams did not play was in 1918. The Blue Hose own a 34-22-3 lead in Bronze Derby games and a 57-32-5 series advantage all-time between the two institutions.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Newberry has owned the most prolific offense in the league throughout the entire 2006 conference season. The Indians average 34.5 points-per-game and have scored 345 points this season. Quarterback Josh Stepp has been the anchor of the offense this season. The Furman transfer currently leads the South Atlantic Conference in total offense, averaging 237.7 yards-per-game. The preseason All-SAC selection has thrown for 2,023 yards in 2006. Stepp’s favorite target has been Tymere Zimmerman, who has caught 48 balls for an average of 4.8 catches-per-contest. The Bennettsville, S.C. native has tallied seven touchdowns in 2006. Overall the S.C. State transfer owns all of Newberry’s single season and career receiving records. Alex Haynes leads the SAC in rushing with 843 yards gained on the ground this season for the Indians. The Summerville High product has five touchdowns this season and averages 6.4 yards every time he touches the football. University of Tennessee transfer and preseason All-SAC selection Heath Benedict is truly one of the largest reasons for the offensive output for the Indians. Hailed as the seventh-best offensive lineman in the nation coming out of high school, the Greer, S.C. native stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 320 pounds. The Indians have not just been strong on the offensive side of the football, owning the leagues top scoring defense as well. The Indians’ defense has given its offense a little breathing room by giving up just 14.0 points-per-game. Sophomore Will Newell has been the catalyst for the Newberry defense. Newell has acquired a SAC-high 92 stops in 2006 and has picked up three sacks. The Blue Hose have been led all season offensively by preseason All-America selection Justin Durant, who in 10 games has corralled a team-high 36 catches for 605 yards and six touchdowns. S.J. Worrell leads the Blue Hose attack on the ground this season. The Redshirt freshman had his first career 100-yard rushing game against Carson-Newman, finishing with 100 yards exactly and one touchdown. A native of Madison, Ga.. Worrell ended the Catawba game with a team-best 67 yards and one touchdown. Fellow backfield mate Chetyuane Reeder almost gave the Blue Hose two players with 100-yard performances in the C-N win, concluding his day with 99 yards on the ground. The Clinton High product scored a touchdown in the game with Catawba, busting loose to the right side to give the Blue Hose an early 7-0 lead. Quarterback Grayson Mullins has now started in four consecutive games for the Blue Hose, leading the team to victories in three of the four games. Mullins has passed for 870 yards in 2006, connecting on 81 of his 145 pass attempts. The sophomore transfer has thrown for five touchdowns in 2006. Defensively, linebacker Antwan Thomas is the leading tackler on the year for the Blue Hose. Thomas owns the team lead in stops with 74 on the 2006 campaign. The 74 cumulative stops place him fifth in the league in the department. Justin Jones had a team season-high 3.5 tackles-for-loss in the Catawba game. The Carrollton, Ga. native enters the Newberry tilt with the most solo takedowns on the team with 33. Defensive back Kevin Molony was the top defensive player for the Blue Hose in the Catawba game. Molony obtained a team-best 10 stops in the game and also picked up one interception to go along with two pass breakups and an assist on a sack. The interception gave Molony four on the season and tied him with two others for the team lead.
REGIONALLY RANKED: Presbyterian is ranked ninth in the latest NCAA Southeast Region poll, falling four spots after entering the top five last week after a convincing 28-7 win over Carson-Newman on Oct. 28. In total, four SAC teams are ranked in the top 12 in the region. PC’s opponent this week is ranked No. 1, while Wingate is ranked seventh and Carson-Newman is ranked just behind PC at No. 10. The NCAA Regional Ranking is a weekly poll of the top 12 teams in the four different regions in NCAA Division II football. The top six teams in the last region poll will participate in the NCAA Division II playoffs. However, earned access to the playoffs can be gained by a conference if a conference representative finishes in the top 10 of the final regional rankings.
ABOUT NEWBERRY: Quite frankly, the 2006 Newberry College football team on paper is the best football team in the programs history. The Indians have already claimed their first South Atlantic Conference title and enter the 2006 Bronze Derby game with a perfect 10-0 mark.
DEFENSIVE STANDOFF: The Presbyterian-Newberry football game will be a showdown of the best two defenses in the South Atlantic Conference. The Indians have the No. 1 defense in the league, surrendering 14.0 points-per-game. The Blue Hose defense is the second-best, giving up just 14.5 points-per-contest.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Will Newell has been one of the top defensive players in the SAC and the top for Newberry all season. The sophomore has 92 total takedowns on the season. His older brother John is a redshirt junior linebacker/snapper for the Indians. In an odd twist, their older brother Paul played offensive lineman for the Blue Hose.
BROWN BAG: The Blue Hose lead the South Atlantic Conference in sacks with 26 on the season. Presbyterian has caused opposing offenses to lose 161 yards in 2006 via the sacks.
NEWBERRY LAST WEEK: Newberry College racked up 434 yards of total offense while Tymere Zimmerman became the South Atlantic Conference’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions as the 11th-ranked Indians reclaimed the Bishops’ Trophy, defeating Lenoir-Rhyne 45-21 on Saturday evening in front of a crowd of 3,981 at Setzler Field. With the victory, Newberry (10-0, 6-0 SAC) wrapped up the SAC regular season championship. After Newberry went up 3-0 on a 22-yard field goal by Ryan Lukshis, the Indians used an 8-play 49-yard drive to go up 10-0 when Josh Stepp connected with Zimmerman on a 30-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown was the 35th in the career for the senior Zimmerman, breaking the tie he had with former Lenoir-Rhyne player Terrance Steward with 34. The Bears strung together a 10-play 81-yard drive in the second to make the score 17-7. Quarterback Justin Sanders lofted a 32-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Edwards with 8:23 remaining before halftime. The Indians would score a touchdown with 6:00 remaining in the second quarter when Stepp found Charles Brandon open in the end zone for a 10-yard score. In the second half, the Newberry ground game got going as Alex Haynes scored on a five-yard run with 10:13 left in the third quarter. Fullback Cory Smalls capped off the Indians scoring when he plowed in from a yard and two yards out in the fourth quarter. Stepp, completed 15-of-21 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. The senior also rushed for 74 yards and scored on a one-yard rushing touchdown. Newberry was led on defense by linebacker Will Newell, who finished with 14 tackles. Mike Grase and Levi Bennett each recorded interceptions on the night. Sanders finished 14-of-25 for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Pete Goodman caught three passes for 62 yards and a score.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Catawba game was the last regular season road game of the season for the Blue Hose. Presbyterian was 4-2 on the road in the 2006 campaign.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BLUE HOSE: No. 25 Presbyterian gave up 14 unanswered points and the Catawba Indians defeated the Blue Hose 21-14 before 3,812 at Shuford Stadium. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Blue Hose. Presbyterian looked as if they might tie the game in the final minute of the contest, driving down the field to the Indians’ three-yard line, but Catawba’s Lester Sconyers intercepted PC quarterback Grayson Mullins to preserve the victory for the Indians. Presbyterian finished the game against Catawba with more yards of total offense than the Indians (213) with 239. In the end though Jamelle Cuthbertson, who finished the contest with a game-best 161 yards on the ground, and the Indians proved to be too much for the Blue Hose. S.J. Worrell led the way for PC offensively, finishing with 67 yards and a touchdown. Terrance Butler had the best receiving day for PC, concluding the game with 62 yards on five catches. Defensively, Kevin Molony had his best all-around day of the season for PC. Molony had 10 total takedowns in the contest and also had two tackles-for-loss and one interception. The defensive back acquired a half a sack as well in the game. Catawba took its first lead of the game in the third quarter when quarterback Brad Roach threw a six-yard touchdown to Brent Johnson to give the Indians a 21-14 advantage and its first offensive touchdown of the day. The touchdown would prove to be the game-winner. The five-play, 79-yard touchdown drive was made plausible by a 51-yard run by Cuthbertson. It was the longest running play of the year from scrimmage for the Indians. The score 7-7, Presbyterian put together a long drive in the second quarter to go on top 14-7. The 15-play, 61-yard drive took 6:08 and was punctuated by a one-yard touchdown by redshirt freshman S.J. Worrell. The lead would not last long though as Catawba obtained its second defensive touchdown of the afternoon in the final minute of the first half to tie the game at 14-14. Prior to the touchdown by the Indians, Presbyterian had acquired great field position when Kevin Molony intercepted a Brad Roach pass and then lateraled the football to Justin Jones who ran the ball to the Catawba 35-yard line. Looking to further their lead, the Blue Hose had those thoughts dashed when Catawba defensive lineman Ron Ellington forced PC quarterback Grayson Mullins into a fumble. Defensive back Thomas Presley then picked up the football at the Catawba 39-yard line and returned it 61 yards to even the game at 14-14 with 30 seconds left in the first half. Presbyterian blocked a punt by Catawba’s Cory Darnell at the 3:52 mark of the first quarter to place themselves in great position for the inaugural points of the contest. Derrell Doe blocked the punt and Terrance Butler corralled the ball out of the air, returning the ball to the Indians’ 18-yard line. Chetyuane Reeder wasted no time in taking advantage on the very next play from scrimmage, running up the middle for a couple yards and then busting loose to the right side to score a 18-yard touchdown and give the Blue Hose a 7-0 lead after Carl Stevenson’s successful extra point. The touchdown was the fifth of the season for the Clinton High product. Catawba evened the game at 7-7 at the 12:08 mark of the second quarter when they forced Reeder into a fumble at the 40-yard line. Indians’ defensive back Jasmon Carpenter opportunistically picked the football up off the gridiron and returned it 40 yards for the touchdown. Catawba had two players finish the contest with 10 tackles in Charles McAfee and Marcus Huntley. McAfee tallied a game-high five solo stops.
STREAK SNAPPED: Presbyterian’s loss to Catawba snapped a season-high three-game overall and conference winning streak for the Blue Hose. Prior to its loss four weeks earlier to Wingate on Oct. 7, Presbyterian had not fallen in a league game since the Indians of Newberry took the Bronze Derby 28-25 in the Blue Hose’s last contest of the 2004 campaign on Nov. 6, 2004. The Wingate loss snapped an eight-game league winning streak for the Blue Hose. The loss to Catawba last Saturday leaves the Blue Hose 11-2 in their last 13 SAC contests.
FREE FOOTBALL: Prior to its overtime victory over Mars Hill earlier this season, Presbyterian had not played in an overtime contest since 1999, falling to Lenoir-Rhyne 24-21 in Hickory, N.C. The Blue Hose have not fallen to the Bears since, winning seven straight including this year’s 24-13 victory on Sept. 30 at Bailey Memorial Stadium.
PC-NEWBERRY LAST YEAR: Presbyterian College scored 14 points in the game’s first six minutes, then scored 24 unanswered in the second half to defeat Newberry, 38-7, in the South Atlantic Conference finale for both teams. PC’s Zach Ellis threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Blue Hose to the perfect 7-0 finish in conference play and a 10-1 overall record.Newberry dropped to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the conference, good for third place in the league. PC receiver Justin Durant caught Ellis’ first touchdown toss from 19 yards out to open the scoring. Less than three minutes later, the Blue Hose blocked Newberry’s punt attempt from its own endzone, where James Mitchell fell on the ball for a 14-0 lead. With PC threatening again, Newberry defensive end Antoine Morgan recovered an Ellis fumble and brought it back to PC’s 20 yard line. Five plays later, fullback Titus Davis motored in from three yards out to close the gap to 14-7, where the score stood at halftime. On the first Presbyterian drive after intermission, Ellis went deep to Brett Wilhoit for the 44-yard completion and the score. After stopping Newberry on fourth-and-one, the Blue Hose moved 45 yards in seven plays, capping the drive with Durant’s second receiving touchdown to put the visitors on top 28-7 after three quarters. PC scored twice in the final frame as well, getting a 29-yard field goal from Andy Schlimmer and a three-yard touchdown run from freshman Chetyuane Reeder. Statistically, the Blue Hose won out in every category. First downs favored Presbyterian 24 to 13, and PC had more than double the total yardage of Newberry (400 to 183). The anticipated battle between the SAC’s two best quarterbacks was anticlimactic, with Ellis topping Josh Stepp 292 to 103 in passing yards. Chris Pope led all receivers with eight catches for 93 yards, while Tymere Zimmerman paced the Indians with five receptions totaling 37 yards. Alex Haynes was tops for Newberry in rushing with 31 yards, while PC’s Reeder had 96. Newberry’s Terrance Leverett ended his career with another great performance, totaling 13 tackles. Freshman sensation and last week’s SAC defensive player of the week Will Newell recorded 13 stops and a sack. Antwan Thomas led the Presbyterian defense with eight tackles and an interception.
ABOVE THE FOLD: The Blue Hose commenced the Tusculum contest four games ago at 3-3 and in danger of falling under .500 with a loss. With the victory over the Pioneers, Presbyterian has not fallen below .500 in over two years. The last time they fell below the mark was in 2004 when they fell to 2-3 after a 19-14 loss to Catawba on Sept. 25, 2004. The Blue Hose managed to finish that particular season above .500 at 6-5 overall and 4-3 in league play.
400 AND COUNTING: PC’s football program, which began play in 1913, entered the 2006 campaign with 461 all-time wins. After Presbyterian’s loss to Catawba, PC’s record all-time is 467-419-35.
ON THE AIR: PC football can be heard on WPCC 1410 AM as Chris Burgin and Sandy Cruickshanks handle the play-by-play chores. PC football comes on the air 45 minutes prior to kickoff. On Thursday nights, the PC Football Show will air live from Gooney Bird’s in Laurens. Burgin and Coach Spangler will discuss football at all levels, while taking calls from fans and having special guests throughout the campaign.
BLUE HOSE FOOTBALL ON THE INTERNET: Presbyterian College football can be heard via the Internet again this season. To hear the broadcast, just to go http://www.presby.edu/bluehose and click on the GoLive Logo. The Texas Sports Radio Network and GoLiveSports.com are providing the internet broadcast this season.
TOMMY SPANGLER’S COACH’S SHOW ON INTERNET: Presbyterian College head football coach Tommy Spangler will have his weekly coach’s show available via the internet this season. Radio voice of the Blue Hose, Chris Burgin, will host the show each week. To download the show each week go to: http://www.presby.edu/bluehose/coaches_shows.html.