Former Conway standout does it all for Newberry in winning effort

Why be a “one-trick pony” when you can do it all?

Such wasn’t necessarily the choice of former Conway standout Cole Watson on Saturday, an injury to the Newberry’s full-time punter thrusting him into duty.

Forever the team player, he did as was told — and succeeded.

Watson was named the South Atlantic Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week for his work on Saturday, his four punts averaging 49.5 yards per attempt. He also had three punt returns for 25 yards, to go along with his three catches for 32 yards in the Wolves’ 34-7 win at Brevard.

Another Conway alum also had a solid performance on Saturday, as South Carolina wide receiver Bryan Edwards hauled in his first touchdown pass at the collegiate level in the Gamecocks’ 34-28 win over Massachusetts. For the game, he had three catches for 42 yards and that trip to pay dirt.

In what was a busy Saturday on the college gridiron, here’s a look at how former local standouts performed:

Kyle Belack, Ohio (RS Fr., WR): The Myrtle Beach alum had 13 kick return yards for the Bobcats in a 17-14 win over Kent State.

Anthony Blair, North Greenville (Jr., DL): The Georgetown alum had two tackles and a pass breakup for the Crusaders in their 52-21 loss to North Alabama.

Cordell Brown, S.C. State (Jr., DE): The former Myrtle Beach standout had three solo tackles, one of which came for a loss. He also had a forced fumble for the Bulldogs in their 30-3 win over Delaware State.

Tyler Davis, The Citadel (So., OL): Anchoring the Bulldogs’ offensive line, the Waccamaw alum helped lead them to 240 yards — 190 of which were on the ground — in a 24-21 overtime win at Wofford.

Desmond Dozier, Johnson C. Smith (Fr., WR): The former Loris standout had four carries for -3 yards in the Golden Bulls’ 11-8 loss to Shaw.

Bryan Edwards, South Carolina (Fr., WR): A day he’ll remember for some time, the Conway alum had three catches for 42 yards and a touchdown — his first at the college level — in the Gamecocks’ 34-28 win over Massachusetts.

Colby Gore, East Carolina (Fr., DB): The North Myrtle Beach alum had a tackle and two assists, along with breaking up a pass in the Pirates’ 31-19 loss to Cincinnati.

Jordan Hemingway, Catawba (So., DL): The former Loris standout had two tackles for the Braves in a 41-31 loss to UNC Pembroke.

T.J. Jones, Florida A&M (Sr., OL): Part of an offensive line key in helping the Rattlers rack up 341 yards on the day, Jones and his teammates earned a 31-14 win over Hampton on homecoming.

Tyler Keane, Coastal Carolina (Jr., QB): The former Myrtle Beach standout completed 7 of 15 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns, adding 61 more yards on the ground in the Chanticleers’ 33-25 homecoming win over Central Connecticut.

Maxwell Kjosa, Coastal Carolina (RS Fr., TE): The Socastee alum saw time for the Chanticleers in their 33-25 win over Central Connecticut.

Jah-Maine Martin, Coastal Carolina (Fr., RB): Making his college debut, the former Conway standout had three carries for nine yards in the Chanticleers’ 33-25 win over Central Connecticut.

Naquez Pringle, Kentucky (Jr., DT): In a back-and-forth affair with Mississippi State, the Carvers Bay alum had two tackles and assisted on another to help the Wildcats to a 40-38 win.

Tyrell Richard, S.C. State (So., DB): The Carvers Bay alum had one tackle on Saturday for the Bulldogs, sacking the Delaware State quarterback in his team’s 30-3 win.

Octavius Thomas, Shepherd (Sr., LB): The former Myrtle Beach standout had seven tackles and an assist for the Rams, in addition to forcing a fumble in his team’s 21-7 win over Concord.

Delano Walters, Coastal Carolina (So., WR): The Socastee alum saw time for the Chanticleers in their 33-25 win over Central Connecticut.

Jordan Ward, Charleston Southern (So., LB): On what proved to be quite the night for the Buccaneers, the Georgetown alum returned to action to make a solo tackle and assist on another in a 38-3 win over Prebyterian.

Cole Watson, Newberry (Sr., WR): Proving he is a true jack-of-all-trades, the former Conway standout earned South Atlantic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors by punting four times, averaging 49-5 yards per kick. He also had three punt returns for 25 yards and three catches for 32 yards in the Wolves’ 34-7 win at Brevard.

D’Andre Wilson, Marshall (RS Jr., DB): The former Myrtle Beach standout saw time for the Thundering Herd in their 27-24 loss to Charlotte.

Hunter Windham, Wofford (Jr., RB): The former Aynor standout had three carries for 12 yards in the Terriers’ 24-21 overtime loss to The Citadel.

Ryan Yurachek, Marshall (Jr., TE): On a rough night for the Thundering Herd, the former Carolina Forest standout had four catches for 33 yards in their 27-24 loss to Charlotte.

This story was originally published October 24, 2016 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Former Conway standout does it all for Newberry in winning effort."