Box Score Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University defense sacked Tusculum College junior quarterback Bo Cordell (Cincinnati, Ohio) eight times and held the Pioneer signal-caller to his lowest career yardage output as the Bulldogs completed the 2012 season with a 42-17 South Atlantic Conference football victory over the Pioneers Saturday at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. Wingate is 6-5 overall (5-2 SAC), while Tusculum is 2-9 overall (1-6 SAC).
 
Cordell completed 22-of-33 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Wingate redshirt senior defensive lineman Ernest Bridges (Albemarle, N.C.) was a frequent visitor to the Tusculum backfield, as he posted 3.5 sacks (minus 20 yards) and five tackles for loss (minus 22 yards). Bulldog redshirt junior quarterback Robbie Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) completed 18-of-29 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Wingate offense.
 
“Today was a great day for our program…sending our seniors out with a victory and finishing 5-2 in the SAC,” Wingate head coach Joe Reich says. “Our defense was outstanding; the defensive line put tremendous pressure on Bo (Cordell). We never let him get set and comfortable.”
 
Wingate redshirt senior linebacker Richie Kazazian (Apex, N.C.) had 14 tackles and his first career interception on Senior Day. Classmate and fellow linebacker Jared Seate (Charlotte, N.C.) had 13 tackles and shared team-high honors with five solo stops. Defensive linemen Hamilton Bradley (Gastonia, N.C.) and Nick Napolitano (Shallotte, N.C.) had two quarterback sacks each.
 
Two Bulldogs surpassed 100 receiving yards. Senior wide receiver Chris Bowden (Forsyth, Ga.) concludes his illustrious career with eight catches for 152 yards. Bowden’s career stat line includes 263 catches for 3719 yards and 35 touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Bryan Caffrey (Bayside, N.Y.) had six catches for 108 yards and two TDs.
 
Robbie Nallenweg and the Bulldogs utilized a balanced attack. Wingate’s 458 yards total offense includes 142 yards rushing. “Robbie played very efficiently today,” Reich says. “Our run game gave us control of the game.”
 
Sophomore running back Josh Covington (Charlotte, N.C.) had 12 carries for 54 yards, while senior running back Andrew Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) recorded 11 attempts for 48 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a TD pass from his twin brother in the second quarter. Redshirt freshman running back Mycah Gaylord (High Point, N.C.) ran 10 times for 46 yards and one score.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first half, scoring two touchdowns in each of the first two quarters. Wingate scored on its opening possession when Andrew Nallenweg ran for a five-yard touchdown. The first of his two rushing touchdowns was set up by a 55-yard completion by Robbie Nallenweg to Bowden on the first play of the game. Redshirt senior place kicker Matthew Sierk (Saluda, N.C.) added the PAT kick to give Wingate a 7-0 lead.

Cordell would fumble on TC’s opening drive near midfield as Wingate senior defensive back Jarvis Smith (Godfrey, Ill.) picked up the ball and returned it 14 yards to the TC 34. Wingate was driving, but on fourth-and-goal from the three the Bulldogs went for it; Nallenweg’s pass was broken up by junior linebacker John Perry (Branford, Fla.).

Both teams would punt on their next possession. With two minutes remaining in the quarter on fourth-down and five from its own 30, TC attempted a fake punt. Pioneer junior punter Andy Rosetti (Kenneth City, Fla.) and senior long snapper Skylar West (Oneida, Tenn.) could not connect on the play, giving the Bulldogs good field position. Four plays later, Gaylord ran in for a nine-yard TD as Wingate increased its lead to 14-0.

Robbie Nallenweg connected with Caffrey on a 41-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter and he would later connect with his brother Andrew on an eight-yard TD catch as the Bulldogs increased their lead to 28-0 with 7:20 left in the half.

Tusculum answered with a 14-play, 46-yard drive capped by a 35-yard field goal by redshirt freshman place kicker Brandon Burkey (Jonesborough, Tenn.). The three-pointer with 73 seconds before halftime made the score 28-3 heading into the locker room.

On the opening series of the second half, Cordell was intercepted by Kazazian near midfield. Kazazian returned the ball to the TC 37. Wingate capitalized on the miscue; Andrew Nallenweg punched it in from seven yards out for his third TD of the day.

After a three-and-out by the TC offense, Robbie Nallenweg completed a 47-yard TD strike to put the Bulldogs up 42-3 at the 9:28 mark of the third quarter. The Tusculum offense answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive as Cordell connected with junior wide receiver Xzanvion Smith (Anderson, S.C.)  on a 10-yard TD reception. Burkey’s kick made the score 42-10.

Robbie Nallenweg was intercepted by Davis on the first play of the ensuing series; Davis returned the pick 37 yards to the WU 11. Cordell and Smith would connect again, this time from seven yards to make the score 42-17. Neither team could mount an offensive push in the fourth quarter as the two teams combined on six punts in the final stanza. Wingate redshirt sophomore punter Austin Anthony (Greensboro, N.C.) averaged 41.8 yards per punt on four boots.

Wingate out-gained Tusculum in offensive yardage by a 458-221 margin, including 316-155 in passing. The Bulldogs were five-for-10 on third-down conversions, while the Pioneers converted only five-of-17 third-down situations. Tusculum won the time of possession battle 33:38 to 26:22.

(Thanks to Tusculum College SID Dom Donnelly for his contributions to this article.)

NCAA Division II Box Score (Final)
Tusculum vs Wingate (Nov 10, 2012 at Wingate, N.C.)

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Tusculum............  0  3 14  0  - 17       Record: (2-9,1-6)
Wingate............. 14 14 14  0  - 42       Record: (6-5,5-2)

Scoring Summary:
1st 13:23 WU - Andrew Nallenweg 5 run (Matt Sierk kick)
    00:15 WU - Mycah Gaylord 9 run (Matt Sierk kick)
2nd 10:48 WU - Bryan Caffrey 41 pass from Robbie Nallenweg (Matt Sierk kick)
    07:20 WU - Andrew Nallenweg 8 pass from Robbie Nallenweg (Matt Sierk kick)
    01:13 TC - Brandon Burkey 35 FG
3rd 12:08 WU - Andrew Nallenweg 7 run (Matt Sierk kick)
    09:28 WU - Bryan Caffrey 47 pass from Robbie Nallenweg (Matt Sierk kick)
    04:23 TC - Xzanvion Smith 10 pass from Bo Cordell (Brandon Burkey kick)
    02:37 TC - Xzanvion Smith 7 pass from Bo Cordell (Brandon Burkey kick)

                                     TC       WU
FIRST DOWNS...................       18       24
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............    39-66   36-142
PASSING YDS (NET).............      155      316
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  34-22-1  29-18-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   73-221   65-458
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0     1-14
Punt Returns-Yards............      0-0      2-5
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........    5-111     4-33
Interception Returns-Yards....     1-37     1-18
Punts (Number-Avg)............   7-39.4   4-41.8
Fumbles-Lost..................      1-1      1-0
Penalties-Yards...............     5-51     8-77
Possession Time...............    33:38    26:22
Third-Down Conversions........  5 of 17  5 of 10
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 2   0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      3-3      4-6
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      0-0     8-38

RUSHING: Tusculum-BJ Spradlin 22-67; Trey McCoy 4-7;
Bo Cordell 13-minus 8. Wingate-Josh Covington 12-54;
Andrew Nallenweg 11-48; Mycah Gaylord 10-46; Robbie
Nallenweg 1-minus 2; TEAM 2-minus 4.

PASSING: Tusculum-Bo Cordell 22-33-1-155; Andy Rosetti
0-1-0-0. Wingate-Robbie Nallenweg 18-29-1-316.

RECEIVING: Tusculum-Justin Houston 6-44; Xzanvion Smith 4-40;
BJ Spradlin 4-14; Joshua McKie 3-34; Trey McCoy 2-0; Matt Levine
1-11; Wesley Powell 1-6; Ken Funnye 1-6. Wingate-Chris Bowden
8-152; Bryan Caffrey 6-108; Andrew Nallenweg 2-35; Josh Clawson
1-11; Nick Reddy 1-10.