BOX SCORE
Mars Hill, N.C.----The Mars Hill College football team scored 28 consecutive points to end the game Saturday, rallying for a 42-35 victory over Wingate University at the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium on the MHC campus. The Lions compiled 508 yards of total offense en route to the come-from-behind victory.
The Lions (5-1 overall, 3-0 SAC) and the Bulldogs (3-3 overall, 2-1 SAC) entered the game tied for first place in the SAC standings. Mars Hill redshirt junior quarterback Jon Richt (Watkinsville, Ga.) completed 28-of-38 passes for 339 yards and four touchdowns. Wingate redshirt senior signal-caller Cody Haffly (Locust Grove, Ga.) was 24-of-45 passing, accumulating 301 yards and three TD connections.
Wingate led 35-14 when Haffly hit junior wide receiver Chris Bowden (Forsyth, Ga.) with a 46-yard touchdown pass at the 6:42 mark of the third quarter. On the afternoon, Bowden caught nine passes for 156 yards and two scores. The pre-season All-SAC pick leads the Bulldogs with 40 catches for 577 yards and four touchdowns this year.
The MHC Lions put on their rally helmets, scoring four touchdowns on their next four possessions to take the victory. Richt completed each drive with a TD pass to four different receivers. The shortest drive was 68 yards, while the longest march was 83 yards. The four drives consumed only 12:08 from the game clock.
Richt took his troops 75 yards on eight plays to score the winning touchdown. The drive concluded when the Clemson transfer found redshirt senior fullback Patrick Park (Anaheim, Calif.) with a 14-yard scoring strike. Lion senior place kicker Michael Pinkerton (Bogart, Ga.) hit his sixth PAT of the game with 61 ticks remaining on the game clock.
Haffly moved the Bulldogs to the Wingate 40-yard line, thanks to completions to Bowden and junior running back Andrew Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.), but the visitors could not convert on fourth-and-four from the 40. The Lions ran out the final seconds to claim the homecoming victory.
Wingate bolted to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Bulldog redshirt freshman running back Josh Covington (Charlotte, N.C.) scored two rushing touchdowns in the first 10 minutes of the contest. Wingate redshirt junior place kicker Matthew Sierk (Saluda, N.C.) added both PATs to put the Bulldogs up 14-0 with 5:52 remaining in the opening frame.
Mars Hill’s first three drives ended with a fumble and two punts; the defending SAC champions took advantage. Wingate concluded the 21-0 flurry with a seven-play, 68-yard drive in 2:11, hitting pay dirt when Haffly found sophomore tight end Brandon Ellington (Wilmington, N.C.) on a 12-yard scoring play.
Park ended a nine-play, 91-yard MHC march with a two-yard TD plunge at the 9:57 mark of the second stanza. The two teams traded touchdowns in the final 85 seconds to complete the first half scoring. Haffly took advantage of a short field, using only three plays to move the ball 40 yards. Bowden was the beneficiary, grabbing a 35-yard TD pass from the Capital One Academic All-America® candidate.
Richt needed only 47 seconds to take his team to its second score of the day. He called his own number for a 38-yard gain. Mars Hill senior running back Jonas Randolph (Daleville, Ala.) sealed the deal with a 14-yard touchdown run. Pinkerton’s extra point concluded the first half scoring 28 seconds prior to intermission.
Wingate started four of its five scoring drives in Mars Hill territory. The Bulldogs began their final scoring jaunt at the Lion 48-yard line. Three plays later, Haffly and Bowden connected on a 46-yard scoring play. Sierk nailed the PAT, making the margin 35-14 Wingate with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter.
Mars Hill has allowed only seven points in the fourth quarter this season (six games). Prior to Saturday, the Bulldogs had outscored their opponents 58-35 in the pivotal fourth quarter. Wingate’s 21 first-quarter points against the MHC Lions give the Bulldogs a 34-20 advantage in first-quarter scoring this year.
Richt set a Mars Hill record for completions in a game (28). Lion freshman wide receiver Dimitri Holmes (Athens, Ga.) caught 11 passes for 106 yards and one TD. Holmes tied a school-record with his 11 grabs. MHC junior Joshua Young (Jacksonville, Fla.) had nine receptions for 136 yards and one score.
Randolph moved into third place on the SAC all-time rushing list following Saturday’s contest. The pre-season All-American had 24 carries for 86 yards and one TD. In two previous appearances against Wingate, Randolph ran 53 times for 326 yards and five touchdowns.
The Bulldogs had 369 yards total offense. Wingate redshirt senior wide receiver Marquise Allen (Monroe, N.C.) and junior wide receiver Josh Clawson (Clover, S.C.) caught four passes each. True freshman running back Nestor Lantigua (Wellington, Fla.) returned four kick-offs for 69 yards. Redshirt freshman punter Austin Anthony (Greensboro, N.C.) averaged 41 yards on six punts. The Page High School product had three punts inside the 20-yard line.
Wingate sophomore defensive back Timmy Rogers (Sumter, S.C.) had 12 tackles to lead the visiting Bulldogs. Mars Hill junior linebacker Rudy Cabral (Fairview, N.C.) had 13 tackles for the Lions. He posted 2.5 tackles for loss and shared a quarterback sack. MHC freshman defensive back Trey Clark (Asheville, N.C.) recorded an interception the Lions turned into their first touchdown of the afternoon.
Wingate returns home Saturday, Oct. 15, hosting Newberry College for Sports Hall of Fame and Church Youth Day. Mars Hill hits the road the same afternoon, visiting Catawba College. Both SAC games are scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kick-off.
(Wingate University Director of Broadcasting and sports information assistant Ryan Brown contributed information to this article. Brown is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)
