BOX SCORE

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University football team scored the first 20 points of the game and survived a furious rally, outlasting the Tusculum College Pioneers 33-27 in South Atlantic Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field.

Bulldog redshirt senior running back Nelson Woods (Shelby, N.C.) and redshirt senior placekicker RP Lopez (Lakeland, Fla.) set school and personal records for Wingate (4-2 overall, 1-1 SAC). Tusculum (4-3 overall, 0-3 SAC) drops its third straight decision with the loss. Wingate plays Brevard College next Saturday at Asheville High School’s Memorial Stadium. The kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. Tusculum continues its road trip the same day, visiting Lenoir-Rhyne College for a 2:30 p.m. tilt.

Woods ran three yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, giving Wingate a 20-0 lead following the Lopez PAT at the 8:07 mark. The score gave Woods 31 touchdowns for his Bulldog career, breaking the record (30) set by Tracy Bowen (1996-98). Lopez kicked a career-high four field goals Saturday. On the season, Lopez has not missed a kick. He is six-for-six on field goals and 19-for-19 on extra points.

The contest was a fan’s delight, as the two teams combined for 902 total offensive yards. Woods rushed 29 times for 109 yards and one touchdown. Wingate redshirt junior quarterback Cody Haffly (Locust Grove, Ga.) completed 21-of-40 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns, both to redshirt senior wide receiver Perry Floyd (Gastonia, N.C.). Tusculum sophomore quarterback Bo Cordell (Cincinnati, Ohio) completed 31-of-55 passes for 403 yards. Wingate’s defense made Cordell earn his yardage, as the Bulldogs sacked the TC signal-caller four times.

After holding Tusculum three-and-out on the opening possession, Wingate and Lopez got on the board early in the first quarter. The Bulldogs drove 51 yards on seven plays, with Lopez converting a 32-yard field goal at the 10:50 plateau of the first frame.

Wingate took advantage of a short TC punt to score its first touchdown. The Bulldogs needed only two plays for Haffly to connect with Floyd for a 39-yard touchdown strike. Lopez added the PAT to make the score 10-0 with 4:48 remaining in the first quarter.

Lopez hit a 23-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter to give the hosts a 13-0 advantage. The three-pointer concluded a 10-play, 50-yard drive that evaporated four-plus minutes from the clock.

Tusculum had its first scoring opportunity on the next possession, but Pioneer senior place kicker Gareth Rowlands (Benllech, Wales) missed a 39-yard field goal. Wingate responded with a 12-play, 78-yard drive that concluded with Woods’ record-setting touchdown. The Bulldogs led 20-0 with 8:07 showing on the second quarter clock.

Rowlands redeemed himself on the ensuing possession. The All-SAC performer nailed a 34-yard field goal with 5:36 to go in the second quarter. The triple climaxed a seven-play, 48-yard drive for the Pioneers. After Tusculum forced Wingate to punt, Pioneer junior running back Fred Jones (Appling, Ga.) scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns to cut the TC deficit to 20-10 with 75 seconds remaining before intermission.

Wingate wasted little time answering the Jones’ TD, as Haffly found Floyd for a 73-yard, catch-and-run touchdown on the third play of the second half. Lopez’ PAT put Wingate up 27-10 with 13:50 to play in the third frame. Rowlands hit his second field goal two-plus minutes later, trimming the deficit to 27-13 at the 11:23 mark.

Lopez would sandwich two field goals (29, 27) around Jones’ second TD run. The fourth and final Lopez three-pointer gave the hosts a 33-20 lead with 4:22 remaining in regulation. Cordell was intercepted in the end zone by Wingate freshman defensive back Timmy Rogers (Sumter, S.C.) the next the Pioneers touched the ball. The Bulldogs could not convert the takeaway into points, punting the ball back to the Tennessee visitors.

Tusculum and Cordell regrouped, scoring on the next drive to make things interesting. Cordell concluded a seven-play, 74-yard drive with a one-yard scoring plunge to make the score 33-27 with 46 ticks left on the fourth quarter clock. Rowlands’ on-side kick was caught in the air by Bulldog redshirt senior cornerback Terrence Stephens (Queen Creek, Ariz.). Haffly took a knee and the Bulldogs celebrated their 10th victory in the TC-WU series.

Haffly utilized seven different receivers Saturday. Bulldog sophomore wide receiver Chris Bowden (Forsyth, Ga.) caught five passes for 74 yards, while redshirt senior wide receiver Delric Ellington (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded five catches for 43 yards. Wingate redshirt junior wide receiver Marquise Allen (Monroe, N.C.) had three receptions for 41 yards. Floyd was one of four Bulldogs with two catches each. A first team pre-season All-American, Floyd’s two TD grabs covered 112 yards.

Tusculum junior wide receiver Deonte’ Gist (Wellford, S.C.) led all pass catchers with 11 receptions for 101 yards. Two teammates caught six passes each. Gist had 174 all-purpose yards, second only to Floyd’s 192. The Pioneers could manage only 43 net rushing yards on 23 carries.

Wingate redshirt senior punter Phillip Hilliard (Salisbury, N.C.) had arguably his most successful game of the season, averaging 42.3 yards on seven punts. He had one boot inside the 20-yard line and added a long punt of 54 yards. Thanks to Hilliard and the Bulldog special teamers, Wingate held a three-yard advantage in average field position (W33 to T30).

Stephens led all defenders with his 10 tackles (four solo, six assists). He added one pass break-up and a shared tackle for loss to his statistics ledger Saturday. Wingate redshirt junior defensive end Jack Taylor (Keystone Heights, Fla.) had two of the Bulldogs’ four QB sacks. Taylor had five solo tackles on the day. Redshirt senior linebacker Greg Harmon (Hope Mills, N.C.) had six tackles, one QB sack and three QB hurries. Bulldog redshirt sophomore safety Robert Fletcher (Lancaster, S.C.) recorded Wingate’s other interception.

Tusculum senior linebacker Zachary Norman (Greenwood, S.C.) led the visiting Pioneers with six tackles (three solo, three assists). He also contributed a pass break-up. Tusculum recorded 12 QB hurries (Wingate had seven), but could only manage two QB sacks.

POST-GAME NOTES

Woods concludes his Wingate career with three 100-plus yard performances against the Tusculum Pioneers. In 2009, Woods rushed 17 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns as the Bulldogs defeated the Pioneers 42-31 in a nationally-televised game at Tusculum. In four career games against TC, Woods has 91 carries for 444 yards and seven touchdowns.

Cordell recorded his sixth straight game with 400-plus yards passing. The Wingate contest was his first game without a touchdown pass since Oct. 10, 2009, when he came up empty in a 27-24 SAC road loss to Brevard College. The 2009 SAC Freshman of the Year, Cordell entered the day as nation’s leading passer in all NCAA divisions. On the season, Cordell has totaled 2,919 passing yards with 22 touchdowns.