Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University football team built an early 10-0 lead and survived a furious Newberry College rally en route to a 31-29 South Atlantic Conference victory Saturday at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. The Bulldogs denied a Newberry two-point conversion with 1:45 to play. Twenty of the 22 games in the Wingate-Newberry series have been decided by 12 points or less.

The defending SAC champions, Wingate is 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the SAC. The Bulldogs visit Catawba College Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. contest. Newberry is 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the SAC. The Wolves return home next week to host Tusculum College for a 4 p.m. Homecoming tilt Saturday.

Newberry turned the ball over on its first two possessions. Wingate missed a 28-yard field goal attempt on the first drive after junior quarterback Bryan Ehrlich (San Antonio, Texas) threw an interception. Wingate senior place kicker Paul Grammaticopoulos (Paris, France) made a 21-yarder following a fumble by redshirt freshman QB W.T. Murden (West Columbia, S.C.) to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead with 8:30 remaining in the opening frame.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs marched down the field on a 12-play, 90-yard touchdown drive, capped by a four-yard touchdown pass from redshirt senior quarterback Cody Haffly (Locust Grove, Ga.) to junior wide receiver Chris Bowden (Forsyth, Ga.) to make the score 10-0 Wingate.

Newberry responded on its second drive of the second quarter, going 85 yards in nine plays. Ehrlich sealed the deal with a four-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Jason Livingston (Conway, S.C.) to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 9:58 until the half.

Wingate answered with an eight-play, 55-yard scoring drive, capped by a three-yard touchdown rush by junior running back Andrew Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) to make the margin 17-7 with 5:48 to play in the opening half. Nallenweg has two TD runs this season.

The trading of scoring drives continued, as Newberry went 42 yards after a 51-yard kickoff return by sophomore wide receiver Max Elliott (Clover, S.C.). The Wolves scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ehrlich to senior wide receiver Brandon Bostick (Florence, S.C.) to narrow the gap to 17-14 with 3:24 on the first half clock.

The Bulldogs once again flew down the field to pay dirt, as Haffly found sophomore tight end Brandon Ellington (Wilmington, N.C.) for a 25-yard touchdown pass. Wingate redshirt junior place kicker Matthew Sierk (Saluda, N.C.) nailed his third PAT of the first half to give the hosts a 24-14 lead with 1:41 remaining in the second stanza.

The Wolves who would land the final punch of the first half, as senior running back Alkeem Sherman (Conway, S.C.) dove into the end zone from two yards out as time expired to cap a nine-play, 66-yard scoring drive. Newberry senior place kicker Nick Kinney (Goose Creek, S.C.) missed the PAT wide left to leave the score 24-20 Wingate at halftime.

Kinney was unable to connect on a 49-yard field goal attempt on Newberry’s first drive of the second half, but he nailed a 39-yarder later in the quarter to narrow the margin to 24-23 with 5:03 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Haffly led the Bulldogs on a 14-play, 62-yard scoring drive that chewed up six minutes of the clock. The Capital One Academic All-America® candidate connected with redshirt freshman wide receiver Bryan Caffrey (Bayside, N.Y.) for a four-yard scoring strike. The TD and the subsequent Sierk PAT gave the hosts a 31-23 lead with 8:40 remaining in the contest.

After the teams traded punts, Murden saw a downfield pass intercepted by a leaping grab from Wingate redshirt junior defensive back Warren Brown (Miami, Fla.). The Newberry defense answered, as sophomore cornerback David Davis (Columbia, S.C.) intercepted a tipped ball at the Wingate 44 to give the Wolves another shot.

Newberry needed only five plays and 1:22 for Murden to lead the Wolves to the end zone. A 30-yard completion to Livingston on third-and-eight set up Murden’s seven-yard keeper for a touchdown. The Wolves attempted to go for the two-point conversion, but Murden’s pass was broken up at the goal line to keep the score at 31-29. An onside kick was recovered by the Bulldogs, who ran for two first downs to run out the clock and earn the win.

For Wingate, Haffly was 25-of-40 for 227 yards and three touchdowns. Caffrey caught a career-high 10 passes for 70 yards and one TD. Bulldog junior wide receiver Josh Clawson (Clover, S.C.) caught six Haffly passes as the Wingate signal-caller utilized seven receivers. True freshman running back Josh Covington (Charlotte, N.C.) ran 15 times for 65 yards.

For visiting Newberry, Ehrlich was nine-of-21 passing for 92 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Murden was seven-of-nine passing for 53 yards and an interception. He carried the ball 10 times for 47 yards and a score. Sherman led all rushers with 13 carries for 73 yards and a score, while Bostick was Newberry’s leading receiver with five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Grammaticopoulos made his first career field goal Saturday. He averaged 63.3 yards on six kick-offs Saturday. Newberry junior punter JoJo Morris (Lancaster, S.C.) averaged 42.2 yards per punt, with three of his five kicks pinning the Bulldogs inside their own 20-yard line.

Defensively, Wingate redshirt junior linebacker Jared Seate (Charlotte, N.C.) had nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Eight Bulldogs had four, five or six total stops. Newberry senior linebacker Apollo Stretch (Columbia, S.C.) led all defenders with 13 tackles, a tackle for a loss and a QB hurry. NC junior linebacker Joe Smith (Jonesville, S.C.) had 10 stops.

(Special thanks to Newberry Director of Media Relations Josh Manck for his contributions to this story.)