First-year Newberry head coach Todd Knight made his debut at the Orangeburg Touchdown Club Thursday and, judging by the reaction of those in attendance, Knight will definitely be asked back.

Describing himself as a "country boy" that was born just outside of Lancaster, Knight shared with the crowd the trials of being a first-year college coach.

He told of his first two road trips with the Indians, a victory over Valdosta State and a loss to Austin Peay. Against Valdosta, he said, Newberry was booked into a hotel that promised they would have rooms to view film in.

"We asked them about the rooms," Knight said. "They carried us around the side to this old restaurant that hadn’t been open for a couple of years. They told us we could use the main part of the restaurant and the kitchen. So, we had the defense watching film in the dusty, old restaurant and the offense in the kitchen with roaches crawling around everywhere."

The Indians defeated Valdosta, then ranked eighth in the country, 31-24. Last week, Newberry dropped a hard-fought game to Austin Peay 34-23.

"I thought this coaching thing was ‘Xs and Os’," Knight joked. "On the way, I learned it’s about everything else to. Half way to Austin Peay one of the air conditioners on the bus broke down and the players were fussing. So, we stopped at a truck stop, found out it was a fan belt, but there was no mechanic in sight. So, we changed the fan belt and got back on the road.

"Then, when we got to the hotel they were supposed to have a room for us to watch film in," he continued. "Come to find out, they say, ‘Coach, we double-booked the room. We have a wedding reception being held there.’ So, we had to talk to the bride and groom. The bride wasn’t having any of it. But, we got the groom to come around. We told them we would move everything back the way we found it if we could use the room. The bride and groom went out in the hallway and he came back in and said, ‘Coach, I’m going to take you at your word that you will put everything back.’ So, I had to fix the bus, watch the film and set up a wedding reception."

For the better part of his speech, Knight kept those in attendance laughing. Along the way he promised that Newberry would "win with integrity."

Prior to Knight’s speech, South Carolina State head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough gave the Bulldogs report.

Pough said that Sam Timothy was working into the center spot nicely with the loss of starting center Casey Fortune for the season. Pough also said that freshman Tristan Bellamy would figure into the mix, but added that he would like to "save" Bellamy for next year.

Bethune-Bowman tailback Tyrone Fairey was honored as the Offensive Player of the Week after rushing 24 times for 161 yards, five touchdowns and a 2-point conversion in his team’s 32-12 win over North. Bamberg-Ehrhardt’s A.J. Cann was named the Defensive Player of the Week after recording 16 tackles in his team’s 17-6 win over Barnwell.

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553.

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