WISE – The UVA Wise football team will open South Atlantic Conference play when they host Newberry Saturday at 6 p.m. This will be the first meeting since 2021 between the two teams, who were scheduled to play last season but the game was cancelled due to storm damage in the Newberry area.

Both teams will be seeking their first win of the season as the Cavs mounted a furious comeback last week but fell eight points short vs. Catawba while this is the season opener for the Wolves.

Newberry leads the series 2-0 with the last meeting being in Wise on Oct. 9, 2021. With the loss of Limestone, the SAC has gone back to a "everyone plays everyone" schedule and the two teams will face off yearly for the near future.

ABOUT UVA WISE
- The Cavs had 24 first downs to 19 by Concord last week and also held the Mountain Lions to 23 yards rushing while running for 181 yards themselves.
- The Mountain Lions had 389 passing yards, which turned out to be a big key in the game as they were able to control the ball for 34:59 to 25:01 by UVA Wise.
- Jake Corkren was 20-47-3 for 160 yards and two touchdowns, while Ian Scammell had 106 yards and a touchdown off of 16 carries.
- Corkren threw to eleven different receivers last week, with DJ Powell, Peyton McClanahan, and Tre'mell Washington being the his main three targets. All had around 40 receiving yards.
- Jimmie Simmons led UVA Wise with ten tackles, while Matt Strong had seven.

ABOUT NEWBERRY
- The Wolves have a lot of experience back from last season's 3-7 squad, and have taken advantage of the closure of Limestone to grab several players from there.
- Players to watch include Dwayne Wright, Keith Desaussure, Devron Williams, Jalen Stradford, DeAndre Coleman, and Jayson Eason. Wright enters the season with 1,828 career rushing yards in three seasons along with 15 rushing touchdowns and a 5.1 yards per carry average to go along with 17 career receptions for 157 yards and a score. Desaussure has 69 career receptions for 777 yards and two touchdowns and also has 43 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns. He has also seen time at quarterback.
- Williams led the Wolves in tackles lats season with 51 including 3.5 for loss to go along with a sack, a pass break up and a forced fumble, while Stradford has 92 total tackles including 63 solo, 4.5 for loss and one quarterback sack in his first three seasons at Newberry. 
- Coleman and Eason both transferred in mid-year and are expected to make an immediate impact.
- Newberry coach Todd Knight enters his 17th season with a 96-76 record.

UP NEXT
UVA Wise will hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Salisbury, North Carolina, to face Catawba at 6 p.m. on September 13.