Box Score Tigerville, S.C.----The North Greenville University football team converted two Wingate University turnovers into touchdowns and held the Bulldog offense to a season-low 283 yards as the Crusaders earned a hard-fought 35-28 NCAA Division II victory Saturday at Melvin and Dollie Younts Stadium on the NGU campus.
The host Crusaders improve to 4-6 overall, as they have won four of their last five contests. Wingate is 5-5 overall. The Bulldogs host Tusculum for Senior Day and Tailgating for the Troops Day Saturday, Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m. North Greenville entertains Virginia University of Lynchburg the same day at the same time.
North Greenville recorded nine quarterback sacks, led by senior defensive lineman
Stefan Bynoe (Fayetteville, Ga.) and his four. The Wingate offensive line had allowed only 10 sacks in nine previous 2012 games. Offensively, two true freshmen led the Crusaders. Running back
Darius Paulk (Columbia, S.C.) rushed 21 times for 153 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback
Nelson Hughes (Roebuck, S.C.) completed 16-of-25 passes for 224 yards and two scores.
Wingate redshirt junior quarterback
Robbie Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) completed 27-of-34 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Bulldog redshirt sophomore wide receiver
Bryan Caffrey (Bayside, N.Y.) was the recipient of two Nallenweg scoring strikes. Senior wide receiver
Chris Bowden (Forsyth, Ga.) topped the Wingate charts with 10 catches for 83 yards and one touchdown.
The Bulldogs won the turnover battle 4-2, but the Crusaders were able to score on both Wingate miscues. On the game’s third play, North Greenville sophomore defensive back
Taylor Anderson (Boiling Springs, S.C.) returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown. NGU sophomore place kicker
Justin Gravely (Pickens, S.C.) added the PAT at the 13:40 mark to make the score 7-0 Crusaders.
In the fourth quarter, Bynoe and junior defensive lineman
Michael Klein (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) sacked Nallenweg and forced a fumble. NGU junior defensive lineman
Zach Epting (Clinton, S.C.) recovered the loose ball on the Wingate 15-yard line. Two plays later, senior wide receiver
Taylor Malphrus (Ridgeland, S.C.) changed roles and rushed for a one-yard touchdown. Gravely’s PAT gave the hosts a 35-21 lead with 8:13 remaining in the contest.
Wingate put together a 12-play, 80-yard match (the longest for either team), concluding the conquest when Nallenweg found Bowden for a six-yard TD pass with 3:54 to play. Redshirt senior place kicker
Matthew Sierk (Saluda, N.C.) contributed the extra point, cutting the deficit to a touchdown at 35-28. The Bulldogs would not get the ball back, as the Crusaders ran out the clock.
In the first quarter, Nallenweg hit Caffrey with a 10-yard scoring strike to tie the game at 7-7. After the two teams traded punts, a North Greenville fumble gave Wingate the opportunity to take the lead. The visitors responded, as senior running back
Andrew Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) found pay dirt on a two-yard run. Sierk’s PAT gave the Bulldogs a 14-7 edge.
On the next drive, Paulk’s one-yard TD dive concluded an eight-play, 65-yard movement. Gravely’s extra point tied the score with 11:37 to play in the second stanza. The score would remain 14-14 at intermission.
Wingate turned an interception into a quick score early in the third quarter. On the third play of the second half, Bulldog redshirt sophomore defensive back
Jakeem Polk (Lakeland, Fla.) intercepted an errant Hughes pass and returned the ball 10 yards to the NGU 10-yard line. Three plays later, Nallenweg and Caffrey connected for a four-yard touchdown. Sierk’s PAT kick gave Wingate a 21-14 lead at the 12:22 plateau.
North Greenville scored 21 unanswered points to put the game away. Hughes got things started with his two touchdown passes. Senior wide receiver
Sean Wright (Simpsonville, S.C.) and junior wide receiver
Freddie Martino (North, S.C.) were the recipients of Hughes’ largesse. The Malphrus TD ended the flurry.
Andrew Nallenweg led all performers with 156 all-purpose yards. He had 59 yards in kick-off returns, 50 rushing yards and 47 receiving yards. Caffrey had six catches for 53 yards and his two scores. Andrew Nallenweg was next with five receptions. Redshirt sophomore punter
Austin Anthony (Greensboro, N.C.) averaged 42.5 yards on four punts. His long punt covered 47 yards.
Paulk had 96 of his rushing yards after halftime. Hughes used nine receivers. Martino was one of three Crusaders who caught three passes each. Five different NGU defenders had a QB sack. After Bynoe’s four, Klein posted two QB sacks. Senior linebacker
A.J. Jones (Greenwood, S.C.) led the North Greenville defense with 12 tackles (seven solo, five assists).
Wingate redshirt sophomore defensive lineman
Nick Napolitano (Shallotte, N.C.) had a two quarterback sacks, bolstering his team-leading total to 5.5 sacks. Redshirt senior linebacker
Robert Fletcher (Lancaster, S.C.) had seven solo tackles and one assist for a team-high eight total stops.
Bowden continues to re-write the South Atlantic Conference record books. Wingate’s all-time leading receiver, Bowden enters the final game of his illustrious tenure with 255 catches for 3551 yards and 35 touchdowns. His eight-yard grab in the third quarter gave him the SAC career receptions mark. His 98 receptions this season is number two on the SAC single-season charts. The pre-season All-American needs 37 and 70 yards, respectively, to break the Wingate and SAC single-season yardage records.
(Wingate University Director of Broadcasting and Productions 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.)
NCAA Division II Box Score (Final)
Wingate vs North Greenville (Nov 03, 2012 at Tigerville, S.C.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Wingate............. 14 0 7 7 - 28 Record: (5-5 overall)
North Greenville.... 7 7 7 14 - 35 Record: (4-6 overall)
Scoring Summary:
1st 13:40 NG – Taylor Anderson 45 int. return (Justin Gravely kick)
08:31 WU - Bryan Caffrey 10 pass from Robbie Nallenweg (Matt Sierk kick)
00:35 WU - Andrew Nallenweg 2 run (Matt Sierk kick)
2nd 11:37 NG – Darius Paulk 1 run (Justin Gravely kick)
3rd 12:22 WU - Caffrey 4 pass from R. Nallenweg (Matt Sierk kick)
11:03 NG – Freddie Martino 40 pass from Nelson Hughes (Justin Gravely kick)
4th 13:43 NGU – Sean Wright 16 pass from Hughes (Justin Gravely kick)
08:13 NGU – Taylor Malphrus 1 run (Justin Gravely kick)
03:54 WU - Chris Bowden 6 pass from R. Nallenweg (Matt Sierk kick)
WU NGU
FIRST DOWNS................... 19 21
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 34-50 42-254
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 233 224
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 34-27-1 26-16-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 68-283 68-478
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 0-0 2-8
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 6-106 4-79
Interception Returns-Yards.... 2-10 1-45
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-42.5 2-26.5
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-1 2-2
Penalties-Yards............... 4-30 8-64
Possession Time............... 31:04 28:56
Third-Down Conversions........ 7 of 15 6 of 13
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 1 2 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 4-5 3-6
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-6 9-46
RUSHING: Wingate-Andrew Nallenweg 14-50; Josh Covington 6-26; Mycah Gaylord 5-17; Robbie Nallenweg 9-minus 43. North Greenville-Darius Paulk 21-153; Nelson Hughes 8-58; Harold Small 3-21; Tyrell Hillary 2-15; Classe Thompson 6-7; Taylor Malphrus 1-1; TEAM 1-minus 1.
PASSING: Wingate-Robbie Nallenweg 27-34-1-233. North Greenville-Nelson Hughes 16-25-2-224; Tyrell Hillary 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Wingate-Chris Bowden 10-83; Bryan Caffrey 6-53; Andrew Nallenweg 5-47; Josh Clawson 4-35; Mycah Gaylord 1-11; Josh Covington 1-4. North Greenville-Troy Jones 3-63; Freddie Martino 3-57; Harold Small 3-14; Sean Wright 2-27; Lawrence Chastang 1-29; Taylor Malphrus 1-20; Thomas Weeks 1-12; Kamrie Connell 1-5; Classe Thompson 1-minus 3.
