BOX SCORE          PHOTO GALLERY

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University football team scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs rallied for a 35-31 South Atlantic Conference victory over Brevard College Saturday afternoon in Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. Bulldog junior wide receiver Ben Pinkard (Irmo, S.C.) had a crucial 49-yard punt return to set up a fourth quarter score. Earlier in the contest, Pinkard returned a BC kick-off 100 yards for touchdown.
 
Wingate (2-2 overall, 1-0 SAC) rallied with 16 unanswered points in the final 9:54 to force overtime and earn a victory at UNC Pembroke last week. The Bulldogs lead the senior college series with the Tornados 5-0. With the tough loss, Brevard falls to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the SAC.

Three BC turnovers allowed Wingate to stay in the contest and Bulldog redshirt senior quarterback Cody Haffly (Locust Grove, Ga.) answered, completing 25-of-32 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Bryan Caffrey (Bayside, N.Y.) was the main target, recording nine catches and 91 yards and a score. Classmate Josh Covington (Charlotte, N.C.) added 10 carries for 80 yards and rushing touchdown as the Bulldogs overcame a halftime deficit for the second straight season in their come-from-behind victory over the Tornados.

Brevard senior wide receiver Eric Watts (Powhatan, Va.) hauled in five catches for 114 yards and three touchdowns, while Rodney Donald (Orlando, Fla.) led the Tornados rushing attack with 11 carries for 77 yards and score. BC sophomore running back Kelvin Jeter (Gastonia, N.C.) became the Tornados all-time leading rusher in the contest.

A BC fumble and a Wingate punt ended the first drives for both teams in the game, but the Tornados found the scoreboard on their second possession after starting their drive on the Brevard 20-yard line. Donald broke through up the middle for 25 yards on the first play from scrimmage and Jeter followed with a 13 yard rush moving the ball into Wingate territory as the Tornados moved the ball inside the Wingate 30; however, the drive stalled and Brevard turned to freshman place kicker Austin Clark (Grayson, Ga.), who put the Tornados on the scoreboard with a 43 yard field goal with 4:44 to play in the first quarter.
 
A turnover on downs, a fumble and a punt ended the next three possession in the game before the Tornados marched down the field again, moving inside the Wingate 20-yard line on a 17-yard carry by freshman slot Andre Overholt (Tyron, N.C.). After senior quarterback Aaron Reese (Bradenton, Fla.) was stopped on a quarterback keeper on second-and-eight, the BC signal caller slipped to the outside and targeted Watts in the back of the end zone, connecting with the 6-4 tight end for the 17-yard touchdown reception to give BC the 10-0 lead with 6:17 to play in the first half.

The Bulldogs wasted zero time in responding as Pinkard fielded Clark’s kickoff at the Wingate goal line and weaved his way up the field, juking the BC kicker at the 50-yard line and coasting his way into the end zone for the 100-yard kickoff return touchdown. The extra point by redshirt junior place kicker Matthew Sierk (Saluda, N.C.) made the score 10-7 Tornados.

Brevard found the end zone one final time before the half as Reese and Watts again hooked up on third down, this time on third-and-eight on the Wingate 30 yard line as Reese stepped up in the pocket and delivered the strike to Watts and the receiver shrugged off a tackler as he stepped into the end zone to give BC the 17-7 lead as the two teams went into the halftime locker room.

The momentum was still in Brevard’s favor at the start of the second half as Haffly dropped back to pass on the first play from scrimmage and was pulled down by sophomore linebacker Rufus Jenkins (Conyers, Ga.). The ball popped loose and in the ensuing scramble senior defensive lineman Christian Lumbu (Greensboro, N.C.) came out of the pile with the ball, giving the Tornados possession on the WU 13 yard line. Five plays later, Donald went into the middle of the pile, across the goal line from one yard out to put the score at 24-7 with 12:28 on the clock in the third quarter.

Haffly directed Wingate for its first offensive touchdown of the game with 5:04 left in the third quarter, capping a 10-play, 85-yard drive as he found Caffrey in the end zone for the 14 yard scoring strike, but the Tornados again answered as Reese found Watts for his third touchdown of the day, this one from 63 yards out, as the teams headed into the fourth quarter with Brevard up 31-14.

The Bulldogs scored on the first play of the final quarter as Haffly capped off a six-play, 52-yard drive by hitting sophomore tight end Brandon Ellington (Wilmington, N.C.) for an eight-yard touchdown to bring the Bulldogs back to within 10 points at the 14:54 mark.

The Wingate defense forced the Tornados to a three-and-out on the next possession and on the ensuing punt attempt, Pinkard fielded the ball at the Wingate 43-yard line and a block sprung him free down the sideline before sophomore wide receiver Trey Bray (Chesapeake, Va.) chased him down at the Brevard eight-yard line. A sideline infraction gave Wingate the ball on the BC 4 yard line and the Bulldogs scored on the first play from scrimmage as Covington carried over the goal line to put the score within three at 31-28 with 12:14 left in the game.

Reese was intercepted on the next BC drive and Haffly took over on the BC 34 yard line, moving the Bulldogs down the field on nine plays before junior running back Andrew Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game with a one-yard plunge up the middle with 6:57 on the clock. Sierk’s extra point put Wingate up 35-31. Brevard was unable to answer on their final possession and the Bulldogs were able to run out the clock.

Sophomore defensive back Timmy Rogers (Sumter, S.C.) led the Wingate defense with 12 tackles in the contest, while senior defensive end Jack Taylor (Keystone Heights, Fla.) and redshirt senior defensive lineman Lamont Floyd (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded sacks and junior defensive back Warren Brown (Miami, Fla.) had an interception as the Bulldogs proved victorious in their first SAC game of the season.
 
For Brevard, Lumbu and Jenkins contributed a pair of sacks each. Tornado senior linebacker Prince Simunyu (Wake Forest, N.C.) led the Tornados with 12 tackles in the game. The Tornados host Tusculum College Saturday at 6 p.m. (Brevard High School), while the Bulldogs entertain Carson-Newman College Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

(Thank you to Brevard SID Seth Montgomery for providing this article).

NCAA Division II Box Score (Final)
Brevard vs Wingate (Sep 24, 2011 at Wingate, N.C.)

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Brevard.............  3 14 14  0  - 31   Record: (1-3 overall, 0-2 SAC)
Wingate.............  0  7  7 21  - 35   Record: (2-2 overall, 1-0 SAC)

Scoring Summary:
1st 04:44 BC - Austin Clark 43 FG
2nd 06:17 BC - Eric Watts 17 pass from Aaron Reese (Austin Clark kick)
    06:13 WU - Ben Pinkard 100 kickoff return (Matthew Sierk kick)
    02:26 BC - Eric Watts 30 pass from Aaron Reese (Austin Clark kick) 
3rd 12:28 BC - Rodney Donald 1 run (Austin Clark kick)
    05:04 WU - Bryan Caffrey 14 pass from Cody Haffly (Matthew Sierk kick)
    01:41 BC - Eric Watts 63 pass from Aaron Reese (Austin Clark kick) 
4th 14:54 WU - Brandon Ellington 8 pass from Cody Haffly (Sierk kick)           12:14 WU - Josh Covington 4 run (Matthew Sierk kick)
    06:57 WU – Andrew Nallenweg 1 run (Matthew Sierk kick)

                                     BC       WU
FIRST DOWNS...................       17       20
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   54-240    29-91
PASSING YDS (NET).............      121      239
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........    7-6-1  32-25-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   61-361   61-330
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............     1-16     2-51
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     5-95    5-181
Interception Returns-Yards....      0-0      1-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............   3-34.0   3-39.0
Fumbles-Lost..................      4-2      1-1
Penalties-Yards...............     5-43     3-36
Possession Time...............    34:54    25:06
Third-Down Conversions........  8 of 15  4 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 1   1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      2-2      4-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     3-23      1-5

RUSHING: Brevard-Rodney Donald 11-77; Kelvin Jeter 13-61; Jack Woerner 16-56; Andre Overholt 2-25; Aaron Reese 10-14; Tevin Bradshaw 1-9; Tydrell Wright 1-minus 2. Wingate-Josh Covington 10-80; Andrew Nallenweg 13-33; Nestor Lantigua 1-0; Cody Haffly 5-minus 22.

PASSING: Brevard-Aaron Reese 6-7-1-121. Wingate-Cody Haffly 25-32-0-239.

RECEIVING: Brevard-Eric Watts 5-114; Sam Jones 1-7. Wingate-Bryan Caffrey 9-91; Josh Clawson 5-57; Ben Pinkard 4-34; Chris Bowden 3-25; Marquise Allen 2-26; Brandon Ellington 1-8; A. Nallenweg 1-minus 2.