Staff report

NEWBERRY, S.C — Catawba’s football team did a lot right on Saturday.

The Indians didn’t turn it over. The Indians didn’t allow a sack. The Indians had only three penalties and a pretty incredible advantage in penalty yardage.

Still, the bottom line was a 38-31 South Atlantic Conference loss to the Newberry Wolves.

The one stat that really mattered when all was said and done was Newberry’s 372 rushing yards.

Yes, 372.

The Wolves chugged for 7.2 yards on their average running play, and they ran it often. It’s close to impossible to beat a team that’s running with that kind of efficiency.

Catawba staged a terrific comeback in the third quarter, as the scoreboard at Setzler Field transformed from a 17-10 Catawba halftime deficit to a 24-17 Catawba lead.

But at crunch time, the Wolves did the crunching with their running game. They scored three straight touchdowns to take a 38-24 lead.

The defining moments came when it was still 24-all early in the fourth quarter and obviously could have gone either way. Feeding on the energy provided by a homecoming crowd, Newberry drove it 90 yards on nine plays for a 31-24 advantage with a little under 10 minutes left.

After both teams got stops, Newberry scored an insurance touchdown with 90 seconds left.

Catawba scored with 5 seconds left to make the final score look tighter.

Newberry (4-3, 3-2) dominated time of possession and yardage in the first half, but Catawba (3-4, 1-4) was able to stay in the game.

Marquece Williams scored on a 3-yard run for Catawba, as the teams traded early touchdowns.

Catawba had a great chance to stop a long Newberry drive, but QB Jy Tolen scored on third-and-goal after Newberry had been pushed back to the 18.

Bryson Sims kicked a field goal in the second quarter for the Indians. Newberry answered with a field goal on the last play of the half to lead 17-10.

Third-quarter rallies have been frequent for Catawba, and the Indians did it again.

After Preston Brown threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Conner McCarthy, the Indians got a stop and a short field. Then Williams scored his second TD for a 24-17 lead.

Newberry tied the game at 24-all in the final minute of the third quarter.

Then the game swung Newberry’s way for good with that go-ahead, 90-yard drive.

The Wolves, who totaled nearly 500 yards of offense, were an outstanding 10-for-14 on third-down conversions. That helped them overcome an avalanche of 148 yards in penalties.

Newberry had the ball for nearly 38 minutes, compared to Catawba’s 22.

Brown was 15-for-26 for a modest 152 yards, with TD passes to McCarthy and Anton Popov, who caught the one at the end. Bo Pryor had seven catches, but was limited to 49 yards.

Deno Wardlow, a defensive back, led Catawba tacklers with 10. Defensive end Chase Rogers, playing against his former team, had eight tackles, including a sack.

Newberry beat Catawba for the sixth time in a row. Catawba hasn’t won at Setzler Field since 2014.

Catawba plays at Limestone next. That’s a 7 p.m. kickoff in Gaffney, S.C.