2018 Football Preseason Preview: Newberry

Throughout this preseason, Purple & Gold will preview all of Western Carolina's 2018 football opponents.

Today we look at former conference mate, the Newberry College Wolves.

In the opening football game of the 2018 season, the Catamounts take on NCAA Division II Newberry College.  For this year's season kick-off game, the Cats will host another "White Out" game in E.J. Whitmire Stadium as the Cats will sport an all-white look with white Adidas jerseys over white pants. For the fourth-straight year, a postgame fireworks extravaganza follows the home-opener.




Newberry

When: Saturday, September 1, 2018 - Time:  6:00 pm

Where: Bob Waters Field, Whitmire Stadium - Cullowhee, NC

Radio: Catamount Sports Network

TV/video:  ESPN3 or ESPN+

The Series: Newbery and Western Carolina have not met on the football field since a 1993 meeting in Cullowhee. The two schools met nine times in the 1960s as members of the Carolinas Conference, and the Cats are 10-4 overall against the Wolves, having won the last 8 games. The series started back in 1948, and and most of the games were played when both teams were members of the Carolina's Conference in the 1960s.

Head Coach: Todd Knight - Todd Knight completed his ninth year at the helm of the Newberry program in 2017, having made his mark as one of the most successful coaches in program history. His 55-44 overall record makes him the second-winningest coach in school history and the only 40-game winner with a winning record in the 103 years of Newberry football. The 2016 South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year has a .556 winning percentage, good for second in school history among coaches with 10 or more games at the helm.



Last year’s record (Newberry):  5-6 overall,  3-4 conference,  2-4 away

In the offseason, The Wolves named a new offensive coordinator, Todd Varn, who joined the staff in February. Varn sent the last 8 seasons at local rival Presbyterian where he served as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for six. No stranger to Newberry, he coached the Wolves in various assistant roles on two separate occasions with his more recent stint ending in 2009. The Wolves also added a new offensive line coach, Taylor Cornett, and a new tight ends coach, Zach Edmond.

Newberry had 51 signees to mark National Signing Day. The Wolves signed one Shrine Bowler, 14 North-South All-Stars, and six Border Bowl participants, including the game's Most Valuable Player. The signing class also includes two Region Players of the Year and the 2A Offensive Player of the Year in Chesterfield quarterback Savion Watson.

Notable returning players:
-Jamarcus Henderson (DL)Henderson finished second on the team with 59 tackles, including 47 solo stops
-Keito Jordon (DL) finished the season with 30 tackles, including 24 unassisted, and had a team-high nine quarterback hurries.
-Joe Blue (LB) totaled 11 tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble
-Jawanza Adams (DB) six tackles on five occasions, had 2.5 tackles for loss, and had one quarterback hurry.
-Tyler Anderson (OL) made nine starts at left tackle and two at right tackle this season. The sophomore from Anderson has graded out at 92 percent or higher in six of 11 games
-Markell Castle (WR) – third in school history in 100-yard games (9), fourth in touchdowns (17), seventh in yardage (1,757), and 10th in receptions (110)

The Newberry Wolves had nine players named preseason all-South Atlantic Conference. Four of the nine garnered first team honors. Receiver Markell Castle was named to the first team offense, while Jamarcus Henderson and Keito Jordan make up half of the first team defensive line. Joe Blue also earned honors at linebacker. Running back Austin Barnes, lineman Tyler Anderson and the placekicker, Shea Rodgers were honored with second-team offense selections. Anfernee Moffett and defensive back Jawanza Adams finished out the selections named to the second team defense. The Wolves were picked to finish fourth in yesterday's preseason coaches' poll.


2017 Wolves Statistics:
Rushing Offense: 1839 yds
Yards per game: 167.2
Yards per rush: 4.2 yards
TDs rushing: 15
Passing Offense: 1953 yards or 177.5 yards per game
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 139-269-10
TDs passing: 20
Total Offense: 3792 yards or 344.7 yards per game
Passing 1st downs: 75
Rushing 1st downs: 103
Fumbles-Lost: 17-7
3d Down Conversions: 65/153 or 42%
4th Down Conversions: 5/12 or 42%
Field Goals - Attempts: 11-16
Red-Zone Scores: 26-33 - 79%
Red-Zone Touchdowns: 21-33 - 64%
Punts (No. Yards): 56-2210 Avg. per punt: 39.5 yds
PAT-Attempts: 34-35 - 97%
Field Goals-Attempts: 11-16
On-Side Kicks: 0 of 0


Game prediction:  Per the Massey Ratings, the Cats have a 95% probability of winning (37-14)

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