Livingstone’s Blue Bears take on their second South Atlantic Conference opponent of the season on Saturday, and Greg Richardson hopes his club can bounce back this week.

Livingstone, two-time defending champion of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, fell to Tusculum 11-9 in Greeneville, Tenn., in the season opener for both teams last Thursday.

Newberry started its season with a 16-14 non-conference victory over West Virginia State.

Saturday’s contest at Newberry, S.C., is set for 7 p.m.

“Newberry is pretty much like Tusculum, maybe not quite as big as Tusculum,” said Richardson. “They’re a very basic team. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. It’s going to be a challenge for our kids. Their kids believe in hitting. They are very aggressive. We have to stop their running game and their kicking game in order for us to have a chance to win.”

Livingstone had 401 yards total offense to 179 for the winning Pioneers.

“It’s always very, very frustrating when your team has executed fairly well, particularly on the defensive end. Our defensive players played extremely well,” said Richardson.

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PRODUCTIVE OFFENSE: It was just like 1998 with the powerful Livingstone offense, except for five turnovers, which proved costly.

Running back Carlton Jones ran for 140 yards in 16 carries, including an 88-yarder. Quarterback D’andre Hopper added 82 yards in eight attempts.

The Bears finished with 401 total yards, including 306 on the ground. Hopper passed for 90 of his team’s 95 yards through the air.

As for his team’s losing four fumbles, the Livingstone coach said, “We have tried to re-emphasize to them (offensive backs) that they have to concentrate more, make sure they have a better handle on the football. We’re hoping that the experience of losing a game that we should have won will also come into play mentally, reducing turnovers and mistakes so that they will be prepared to deal with the situation when it comes up again.”

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DEFENSIVE TERRORS: The Bears not only allowed Tusculum just 179 total yards, but the Pioneers made only six first downs.

Prior to the game, Richardson said defense would be his team’s strong suit early in the season, and he had predicted a low-scoring game, which it turned out to be.

Linebackers Rodney Hunt and Marcus Bankhead led the way with 12 tackles each, and Hunt had five unassisted hits. End Demetrius Rudolph and strong safety Danotric Nash were each in on seven tackles.

End Ronnie Washburn, the CIAA defensive player of the year last season, had two sacks for 20 yards in Tusculum losses and three tackles for 21 yards in losses. Tackle Brad Wells had two tackles behind the line of scrimmage for 12 yards in losses.

Rudolph had two sacks, while Hunt and linebacker Wayne Majors had one apiece.

Nash and Rudolph intercepted passes, and Nash recovered a fumble. Tremaine Whitmore also had a recovery.

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HOMECOMING: Saturday’s contest will be the only game in which 10 Livingstone players will be playing in their home state.

Marcus Bankhead of Clover; Tremayne Gilmore of Darlington; Alfonso Hart of Greenville; Damion Montgomery and Brian Sumpter of Columbia; Terrence Turner of Sumter; Matthew Cousar of Fort Lawn; Brad Wells of St. Stephens; and Tremaine Whitmore and Alexander Cheeseboro of St. Matthews all hail from the Palmetto State.

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SAC HONOR: Newberry’s Jonathan Taylor was one of three players honored as players of the week last week.

Taylor, a 185-pound junior defensive back from Newberry High School, intercepted a pass with 4:20 left in the game to set up the Indians’ winning touchdown. Taylor also picked up a fumble recovery, setting up a Newberry field goal. He had nine tackles and broke up a pass.

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