NEWBERRY, S.C. --- Newberry scored 21 straight points in the second half as the Wolves edged visiting Tusculum 38-31 Saturday at Setzler Field in South Atlantic Conference football action.
The Wolves (3-1, 1-0 SAC) were opening conference play, while the Pioneers (1-3, 0-2 SAC) had their three-game road winning streak snapped.
Newberry rushed for 336 yards on 66 carries and dominated the time of possession by running 40:42 off the clock.
The Wolves had a pair of 100-yard rushers, as Braxton Ivery carried the ball 16 times for 108 yards and a touchdown, while Kevin Miller rushed for 100 yards on 12 carries.
Tusculum quarterback Luke Lancaster passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns. He went 18-for-44 through the air with an interception and one fumble.
Two of Lancaster's scoring tosses covered 74 and 75 yards to senior Ken Funnye, who finished the game with four catches for 162 yards. TC senior Justin Houston accounted for 11 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Newberry opened the scoring on a 20-yard field goal by Ryan Janssen with 4:44 left in the first quarter, while Tusculum tied the game up at 3-3 on a 25-yard field goal by freshman kicker Will Tommie on the following drive.
Tusculum took the lead on a 74-yard scoring pass from Lancaster to Funnye with 7:56 left in the first half. Newberry tied the game up at 10-10 on its next drive when Zach Blair connected with Jalen Cook for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 3:33 left in the half.
Tusculum went three plays and out on its next possession and were forced to punt. Newberry took over at its own 49, but on the second play of the ensuing NBY drive, TC sophomore Martez Thompkins picked off Blair and returned the interception 59 yards for a touchdown with 2:03 left before halftime.
The Wolves' next drive stalled at midfield forcing Newberry to punt. Kyle Clark pinned the Pioneers at the TC one-yard line. Newberry used its timeouts and after a Tusculum punt, the Wolves took over at the TC 24 with eight seconds on the clock.
Braxton Ivery then connected with Romelo Doctor for a 24-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the half to send the teams to the locker rooms tied at 17-17.
The Pioneers came out of the locker room with momentum as Lancaster and Funnye hooked up for another 75-yard scoring pass on the first play from scrimmage to regain the lead at 24-17.
Two drives later, Newberry had a drive start in Tusculum territory and five plays later, Baptiste Staggers scored on an eight-yard run to tie the game at 24-24 with 9:19 remaining in the third quarter.
The teams traded punts before Newberry defensive end Alstevis Squirewell picked off Lancaster and returned the interception 32 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
The Wolves extended their lead to 38-24 with a great drive, controlling the clock for 6:06 and going 49 yards in 12 plays, with Ivery plunging in from 8 yards out to give Newberry a two-score lead with 7:32 left in the contest.
The Pioneers answered with an 11-play, 92-yard drive, which was capped off by a four-yard TD catch from Houston to trim the deficit to 38-31 with 4:52 to play.
Newberry picked up three first downs on its last drive and a Clark punt was downed on the Tusculum two-yard-line with 13 seconds to play and no timeouts. The Pioneers got off two plays, but nothing that would move them into scoring position as time expired.
The Wolves finished the game with 407 offensive yards, while the Pioneers totaled 334 yards.
Defensively, Akeem Peoples and Brandyn Bartlett finished with 11 tackles each, while Irim Aiken and Emmanuel Gbunblee finished with eight tackles each.
The Pioneers return to action next Saturday as they travel to Brevard College for a 4 p.m. SAC contests and Brevard Memorial Stadium.
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