BOX SCORE PHOTO GALLERY
Wingate, N.C.----Catawba College senior wide receiver
Brandon Bunn (Virginia Beach, Va.) caught four touchdown passes as the Indians survived a valiant Wingate University rally 35-28 in South Atlantic Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field.
The contest was the SAC opener for both teams. Catawba is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. Wingate is 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the SAC. The Bulldogs visit Carson-Newman Saturday, Oct. 9 for a 3 p.m. league contest. Catawba returns home the same day, hosting Brevard College for a 1:30 p.m. SAC encounter.
Bunn established a new Catawba record for career receiving touchdowns (27) in the victory. He caught 10 passes for 247 yards and four TDs on a beautiful fall afternoon. In addition, he set new school high-water marks for receiving touchdowns in a game (four) and receiving yards in a game (247). The previous record for receiving yards in a game (215) was 42 years old.
Both quarterbacks had huge days. Catawba senior QB
Patrick Dennis (Durham, N.C.) completed 21-of-34 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Wingate redshirt junior signal-caller
Cody Haffly (Locust Grove, Ga.) was 28-of-50 for 316 yards and two scores. Indian junior back-up quarterback
Daniel Griffith (Salisbury, N.C.) completed a 52-yard Hail Mary TD pass to Bunn as time expired in the second quarter.
Bunn scored on the opening play from scrimmage, as Dennis connected with him on a 74-yard, catch-and-run play at the 14:40 mark of the first quarter. His final receiving TD with 11:28 remaining in the third quarter (27 yards from Dennis) gave the Indians a 35-14 lead after the PAT by junior place kicker/punter
Thomas Trexler (Wilmington, N.C.). The margin was the visitors’ second 21-point lead of the contest.
Special teams helped the Bulldogs get back in the game. Wingate freshman defensive back
Timmy Rogers (Sumter, S.C.) returned a blocked punt 18 yards for a TD with 3:13 to play in the third frame. Sophomore wide receiver
Josh Clawson (Clover, S.C.) did the honors with his first career blocked kick. The PAT by redshirt senior placekicker
RP Lopez (Lakeland, Fla.) made the score 35-21.
Rogers set up the next Wingate score with his own blocked punt. The play gave the Bulldogs the ball on the Catawba 36-yard line with 6:50 to play in the fourth quarter. Six plays later, Haffly found sophomore wide receiver
Chris Bowden (Forsyth, Ga.) with a 27-yard scoring strike to pull the hosts within a touchdown.
Catawba did not give the ball back, converting two huge third-down plays on the ensuing drive. Bunn and Dennis connected on a 46-yard pass on third-and-11 from the Catawba 31, giving the Indians their second third-down conversion of the drive and allowing the visitors to run out the clock.
In the first quarter, the Bulldogs answered Bunn’s 74-yard touchdown reception with a TD drive of their own. Haffly took his troops 11 plays and 70 yards in exactly five minutes, concluding the march with a two-yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior wide receiver
Delric Ellington (Charlotte, N.C.) at the 9:40 plateau.
Catawba wasted little time responding, thanks to a 71-yard kick-off return by sophomore defensive back
LJ McCray (Charlotte, N.C.). Two plays and one minute and one second later, Dennis found Bunn for a 14-yard TD. Trexler’s extra point made the score 14-7 with 8:39 to play in the opening frame.
The Indians scored two second quarter touchdowns to take a 28-7 advantage to the halftime locker room. Both scoring drives were seven-play marches. The first concluded when Dennis hit senior tight end
Grayson Downs (Mount Pleasant, N.C.) with a four-yard TD pass with 5:12 to go in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs drove the ball to the Catawba 14-yard line on the next drive, but Indian senior defensive lineman
Julian Hartsell (Columbia, S.C.) sacked Haffly and forced and recovered a fumble to end Wingate’s possession. On the last play of the first half, Griffith made the most of his only pass attempt Saturday. He lifted up a Hail Mary and watched it fall into Bunn’s hands as time expired.
Catawba was penalized for excessive celebration on the wild Hail Mary play, forcing the Indians to kick off from the 15-yard line to start the second half. Rogers returned Trexler’s kick-off 22 yards to the Wingate 42. Six plays later, Bulldog redshirt senior running back
Nelson Woods (Shelby, N.C.) scampered 31 yards to pay dirt to pull the hosts within two touchdowns at 28-14.
Wingate received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the Woods’ TD. As a result, the Bulldogs experienced a kick-off from the 15-yard line. Catawba capitalized, as Indian sophomore defensive back
Scottie Floyd (Gastonia, N.C.) returned the ensuing kick-off 32 yards to the Wingate 37-yard line. Bunn’s final TD grab occurred five plays later, setting the stage for a wild finish.
Woods had a big day for the hosts, as he rushed 21 times for 82 yards and one touchdown. He caught seven passes for 67 yards as well. With his rushing TD, Woods ties the school record for rushing touchdowns in a career with 30. Wingate first team pre-season All-American
Perry Floyd (Gastonia, N.C.) topped the Bulldog all-purpose charts with 168 yards. He caught a team-best nine receptions for 93 yards. Floyd also had one rush for 33 yards. He compiled 42 return yards to fill out his stat sheet.
Catawba dominated the fourth quarter time of possession, as the Indians kept the ball for 10:27 in the final frame. Wingate won the total offense battle 391-328, thanks to a strong run defense. The Bulldogs held the Indians to negative nine yards rushing on 26 attempts.
Defensively, the big news was Catawba’s seven quarterback sacks. Hartsell led the way with two QB sacks. Indian sophomore linebacker
Cory Johnson (Fayetteville, N.C.) led all defenders with 17 tackles (six solo, 11 assists). He shared a sack and posted one quarterback hurry. Catawba recorded 11 tackles for losses, nine pass break-ups and six QB hurries Saturday.
For Wingate, redshirt sophomore safety
Robert Fletcher (Lancaster, S.C.) had nine tackles. Bulldog redshirt senior cornerback
Terrence Stephens (Queen Creek, Ariz.) and senior linebacker
Ben Hinson (Monroe, N.C.) had eight tackles each. Stephens had an interception, while Hinson notched a quarterback sack.
Catawba is 5-0 against Wingate in South Atlantic Conference season openers. Prior to Saturday, the Bulldogs had won four of the last six contests in the series. In addition, Wingate had won the last two contests at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field.
NCAA Division II Box Score (Final)
Catawba vs Wingate (Oct 02, 2010 at Wingate, N.C.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Catawba............. 14 14 7 0 - 35 Record: (3-1,1-0)
Wingate............. 7 0 14 7 - 28 Record: (2-2,0-1)
Scoring Summary:
1st 14:40 CAT - Brandon Bunn 74 pass from Patrick Dennis (Thomas Trexler kick)
09:40 WIN - Delric Ellington 2 pass from Cody Haffly (RP Lopez kick)
08:39 CAT - Brandon Bunn 14 pass from Patrick Dennis (Thomas Trexler kick)
2nd 05:12 CAT - Grayson Downs 4 pass from Patrick Dennis (Thomas Trexler kick)
00:00 CAT - Brandon Bunn 52 pass from Daniel Griffith (Thomas Trexler kick)
3rd 12:56 WIN - Nelson Woods 31 run (RP Lopez kick)
11:28 CAT - Brandon Bunn 27 pass from Patrick Dennis (Thomas Trexler kick)
03:13 WIN - Timmy Rogers 18 blocked punt return (RP Lopez kick)
4th 05:28 WIN - Chris Bowden 27 pass from Cody Haffly (RP Lopez kick)
CAT WU
FIRST DOWNS................... 17 22
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 26--9 34-75
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 337 316
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 35-22-1 50-28-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 61-328 84-391
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 0-0 3-27
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 5-159 5-119
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-0 1-3
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 7-31.1 6-35.5
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards............... 8-58 8-110
Possession Time............... 29:35 30:25
Third-Down Conversions........ 6 of 14 7 of 19
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 1 3 of 4
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-2 2-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 7-57 2-19
RUSHING: Catawba-Josh Wright 16-27; Brian Terwilliger 3-3; Patrick Dennis 7-minus 39. Wingate-Nelson Woods 21-82; Perry Floyd 1-33; Andrew Nallenweg 1-3; Cody Haffly 11-minus 43.
PASSING: Catawba-Patrick Dennis 21-34-1-285; Daniel Griffith 1-1-0-52. Wingate-Cody Haffly 28-50-1-316.
RECEIVING: Catawba-Brandon Bunn 10-247; Grayson Downs 4-33; Gerron Bryant 3-33;
Josh Wright 2-11; Eric Morman 2-9; Chris Peoples 1-4. Wingate-Perry Floyd 9-93;
Nelson Woods 7-67; Chris Bowden 5-97; Philip Thomas 3-24; Delric Ellington 3-24;
Andrew Nallenweg 1-11.
