CATAWBA (2-2, 2-0 SAC) at NEWBERRY (3-1, 1-0 SAC)
Setzler Field — Today, 6 p.m.

Live video: ESPN3, www.watchespn.com
Radio:1280 AM, 1410 AM, 98.3 FM

COACHES: Newberry — Todd Knight is 40-36 and is in his eighth season at Newberry. Knight is 4-3 against Catawba. Knight played linebacker at Gardner-Webb and his coaching background is on the defensive side of the ball. He served as defensive coordinator at Charleston Southern and Newberry before getting the head job with the Wolves. As far as winning percentage, he’s been the most successful coach in school history. Catawba — Curtis Walker is 23-15 and is in his fourth season at Catawba. Walker is 2-1 against Newberry. Like Knight, Walker is a former linebacker.

LAST WEEK: Newberry’s Wolves jumped on top, 20-0, and won handily, 37-10, at Tusculum in their South Atlantic Conference opener. Newberry’s star QB Raleigh Yeldell was 30-for-39 passing for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
Catawba did almost everything right on a draining, 90-degree day at Wingate and pounded the Bulldogs, 48-26. Catawba’s defense forced seven turnovers, and most were legit takeaways via strips or punishing hits. The defense constantly provided good field position. The offense capitalized and lit up the scoreboard.

SERIES: Catawba leads 40-36-3 all-time, although the series has tilted toward Newberry in recent seasons. Newberry has won seven of the last 11 meetings. The teams are meeting for the 67th consecutive season.

LAST SEASON: Newberry was the single most important game for Catawba in 2015. Catawba QB Mike Sheehan’s 60-yard dash swung that game and led to a 17-13 victory that turned around the season. Catawba went on to win the SAC championship and made the Division II playoffs for the first time since 2007.

WORTH MENTIONING: A senior, Sheehan has been a fine quarterback for the Indians for three seasons and is the reigning SAC Offensive Player of the Week, but Yeldell is everyone’s pick as the league’s most dynamic offensive player. He’s been the SAC Offensive Player of the Week twice this season and throws for 320.3 yards per game. He’s had a hand in 14 touchdowns — 10 passing, four rushing.
Yeldell accounts for 81.7 percent (1,560 yards) of Newberry’s 1,909 yards of total offense. In terms of yards gained, Newberry’s passing offense is ranked 14th nationally.
Walker is even more concerned about Yeldell’s ability to break containment and make big plays with his legs then he is with his arm. Yeldell holds the Newberry rushing record for quarterbacks.
“He missed about the half the conference games last season and was still second team all-conference,” Walker said. “He’s a talent, but we still want our defense to be stingy.”
Catawba’s experienced defense should prove a worthy adversary for Yeldell. The Indians are tied for first in the nation in turnover margin (plus-10) and are No. 1 in fumble recoveries with 10. The Indians also have five interceptions. Cornerback Case Woodard is making a case for All-America honors. He’s scored on defense two weeks in a row.

Catawba punter Caleb Berry will have extra incentive today. It’s a homecoming for him, and he’ll have a lot of family and friends in attendance. He’s from Lexington, S.C., about 45 miles from Newberry.
“Newberry recruits most of their players from that area, and I played with several of them in high school and played against a whole lot more,” Berry said.

A homecoming worked out well for Catawba last week. Receiver Sam Mobley, from nearby Monroe, caught a 67-yard touchdown pass against Wingate.

The weather this evening will be much different than it was at Wingate. It’s expected to be pleasantly cool with little wind and no chance of rain.

WATCH FOR: Entering the season, Catawba knew the first five weeks were going to be a relentless gauntlet of troublesome opponents. After setbacks to West Georgia and Winston-Salem State, Catawba has played with more passion and better execution the past two weeks. “We looked at ourselves in the mirror after Winston-Salem State and we realized we weren’t doing the things we needed to do,” Walker said. “The last two weeks we’ve been very prepared and very focused.”
Newberry is very good and very talented, but if the Indians can win today they are a great bet to repeat as conference champions. The flip side of that is a win by the Wolves today would make them the favorite.
This should be an electrifying game. Both teams were in the D-II playoffs last season.