NEWBERRY — Although most of the Newberry football team is made up of Carolina natives only four players attended high school in Newberry County — Joseph Foster, Perry Able, Tovaris Cureton and Josh Parker.
Joseph Foster, the only senior of the Newberry four, kicks for Newberry College. Foster chose Newberry College despite interest from Charleston Southern and The Citadel.
Foster said Newberry College was an obvious choice.
“Why not stay close to home and play ball?” he said.
Something that impacted his decision was his family’s history at Newberry including his mother, grandfather and both grandmothers.
Foster, a graduate of Newberry High School, played soccer, football, tennis, basketball, ran cross-country, and wrestled.
Coach Todd Knight said Foster has not missed a field goal or PAT since his arrival in 2012.
Long snapper Perry Able returned to Newberry after going to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Able left UAB when the program as dissolved last year, and was soon after contacted by coaches from Newberry College.
Able is a sophomore on the field, but a junior in the classroom, according to the Online Newberry Football Roster. Able said he decided to play football in college because it’s fun and he enjoys the game.
Tovaris Cureton, or TC as his classmates know him, plays receiver at Newberry College. Cureton, who has been playing football since he was 5, said “(he) wasn’t ready to give it up yet” when asked why he decided to play football in college.
Cureton’ parents went to Newberry College and his father played football on the team.
The younger Cureton said that they encouraged him to stay in Newberry, but left the final decision up to him. Cureton is currently a red shirt junior.
Little Mountain native Josh Parker is a defensive end for the Wolves.
“The coaches here seemed like they really wanted me and I wanted to be close to my family,” Parker said of his decision to attend Newberry College.
Parker said that his mother never directly said she wanted him to go to Newberry College, which was another influencing factor on his decision.
Parker is the only Newberry born player on the team to attend Mid-Carolina High School rather than Newberry High School.
Coach Knight said he wants to add more local athletes to the team.
“I like having the local kids, because a lot of people in community have followed them their whole high school career, and the family and everyone can come watch them play, and everyone has been reading about them in the newspaper their whole high school career,” he said.