WATCH REPLAY! Florida Tech Takes on Regional Rival Newberry College in Football Action

Florida Tech and Newberry have met four times during the first six years of the Panthers' program

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SPACE COAST DAILY TV: With a season-opening win against Savannah State that tested its resilience right out of the gate, Florida Tech heads to South Carolina seeking to extend its current win streak over regional rival Newberry College on Saturday at Setzler Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (Florida Tech video)

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NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA – With a season-opening win against Savannah State that tested its resilience right out of the gate, Florida Tech heads to South Carolina seeking to extend its current win streak over regional rival Newberry College on Saturday at Setzler Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

The Crimson & Gray were pushed to the limit in the first Sunday game in program history at Savannah State, which moved due to Hurricane Dorian.

Freshman quarterback Mike Diliello punched in a touchdown with just over two minutes to go in the game to give Tech a 23-16 advantage.

Then on the ensuing drive, senior safety Daniel Welch made a game-saving tackle on a two-point attempt with 14 seconds left to help the Panthers hold on for the 23-22 season-opening victory over SSU.

“It was a hard-fought game, got to give a lot of credit to Savannah State,” said head coach Steve Englehart.

“I thought they played well and obviously scored late in the game to give themselves a chance to tie for the win it with a two-point conversion. They went with the two-point conversion attempt, and I agree with the call. I would have done the same thing.”

The Panthers outgained the Tigers, 461-269, including limiting SSU to just 23 passing yards, the lowest given up by a Division II team since Ferris State held Harding to just 18 passing yards on Nov. 17, 2018. Tech did give up 246 and two touchdowns on the ground.

The Panthers did force six punts and held SSU to 3-of-12 on third down.

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SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Florida Tech Football opened their season with a thrilling 23-22 win at Savannah State on Sunday. Florida Institute of Technology head coach Steve Englehart spoke to Space Coast Daily’s Chris Bonanno about the win and the team’s next game on the road at Newberry on Saturday.

Senior signal-caller Trent Chmelik passed for the 10th most yards in program history in the win, going 16-for-26 with 331 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers utilized several running backs in the game versus SSU.

Drezyn Parson led the way with eight carries for 48 yards while Corey Lane took nine touches for 36 yards.

“We have a good set of backs and it’s a running back by committee right now,” added Englehart.

“This is not because we do not know who the guy is, it’s because we feel like all of them are very capable. In the GSC, we need to keep our running backs fresh for the long haul and get them as many touches as possible early in the season.”

Miles Kelly had a breakout game at wideout for the Panthers finishing with a career-high 143 yards on five catches. Kelly and Chmelik lead the GSC in receiving and passing yards through week one of the season. Max Linder and Simon Williams each caught a touchdown in the win.

Preseason All-GSC selection John McClure led the Panthers with 13 tackles in the game, including one tackle for loss.

Thierry Lafortune racked nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss and one sack. Welch, Evan Thompson and Patrick Banks ended with seven stops in the game while Tyrone Cromwell produced the first interception of the season deep in the Panthers end to keep points away from the Tigers.

With the victory over Savannah State, Florida Tech improved to 6-1 all-time in season openers and 4-0 when kicking off the season on the road.

MEET THE WOLVES

Newberry heads into the game fresh off a season-opening defeat to GSC member North Greenville on Thursday, Sept. 5 at NGU’s Younts Stadium in Tigerville, S.C.

The Wolves fell behind 10-0 in the third quarter but answered a few minutes later on a Colton Bailey 14-yard touchdown pass to Tylik Johnson. NC was unable to continue to rally and fell to the Crusaders, 17-7.

NGU outgained Newberry 370-287, including a 241-112 advantage on the ground. Dre Harris started the game for the Wolves, went 14-for-20 with 124 yards and an interception before being replaced by Bailey who ended with 51 yards and a passing touchdown on 7-of-12 passing.

Bobby Irby led NC in rushing and receiving against the Crusaders, earning 35 yards on three carries, while corralling 44 yards on five catches. Catriez Cook and Austin Barners picked up 28 yards on nine and six rushes, respectively.

Defensively, Newberry is led by Darryl Foster who had nine tackles and one tackle for loss in the game. Marcus Chestnut and Alex Smith had eight and seven tackles in the contest, respectively. Ty Kelly recorded two sacks in the loss North Greenville.

Newberry is coached by Todd Knight who is in his 11th season with the Wolves. He has amassed a record of 60-51 during his time at the helm of the Newberry football program.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

The matchup between the Wolves and Panthers has become a budding rivalry between the two schools located in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) and the GSC.

Tech and Newberry have met four times during the first six years of the Panthers’ program, more than any other non-conference opponent has.

The short all-time series among the teams is split 2-2 with both teams winning a game at home and on the road. Tech has won the past two games in the series, in 2016 and 2018.

Three of the four meetings between the Newberry and Florida Tech ended in one-score games besides the Panthers’ 42-28 win in 2016, the last time Florida Tech played at Setzler Stadium.

“I have a lot of respect for the Newberry program and what they bring to the table,” said Englehart.

“They are very well-coached. They are disciplined and play good sound, solid defense as they do not give up the big play very often. Offensively, they have a quarterback who can really move and make things happen. They have some really good receivers and a great run-pass option system that compliments each other very well.”

“Again, lots of respect for them and we know we will get a tough game this week going up there and competing on their home field. We have had a number of one-score games in the series. I expect it to be down to the wire again this year.”

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