Clinging to a seven-point lead with just over 1:30 left in the fourth quarter Friday night, Woodruff's D.J. Jones broke up a potential game tying touchdown to preserve a 41-36 victory against Newberry in the second round of the 2A Division I state playoffs.

Facing fourth-and-5 from the Wolverine 7-yard line, Newberry quarterback Brandon Ahrens decided to go for everything. Tovaris Cureton was able to get his hands on the ball in the end zone, but Jones knocked the it away before he had possession.

"If I made the play, the game would be over. I had it in my mind to knock the ball and not try and catch it," Jones said.

"We wanted to throw the ball in the back of the end zone and we didn't throw it quite far enough. It comes down to who makes the big plays and (Woodruff) did," Newberry coach Phil Strickland said.

Despite the big stop on fourth down, the Bulldogs' offense had one last shot to win the game after Woodruff intentionally took a safety instead of punting. But Blake Bone intercepted an Ahrens pass as time expired.
Woodruff (11-0) jumped out to a sizable halftime lead on Ryan Perkins' three touchdown passes (16, 3 and 62 yards) and Ken Drummond's 45-yard interception return.

Newberry made the necessary adjustments in the second half. The Bulldogs scored on three consecutive drives spanning the third and fourth quarters before falling just short at the end.

"You knew they were going to come out with a changeup game plan and we withstood it," Woodruff coach Brian Lane said.

Shun Tribble did his part in countering the Bulldogs' comeback. Tribble scored on a 79-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive.

Woodruff hosts Cheraw next Friday in a third-round game.

"We're just playing a team. We have to know coming in next week, Cheraw is going to come in here and play us hard," Lane said.