Box Score Jefferson City, Tenn.----The Wingate University defense held the Carson-Newman College offense to 98 yards and zero points in the second half and sophomore running back
Nestor Lantigua (Wellington, Fla.) recorded his first career 100-yard rushing performance as the Bulldogs earned a 33-24 South Atlantic Conference football victory Thursday night at Burke-Tarr Stadium and Roy Harmon Field.
Wingate is 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the SAC. Carson-Newman is 2-2 and 0-2 in the SAC. The contest is one of six CBS Sports Network national television games this season. The Bulldogs host Mars Hill Saturday, Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m. The C-N Eagles visit Catawba the same day at the same time.
The Bulldogs and the Eagles combined for 827 yards total offense. Wingate posted 407 yards on 58 plays, while Carson-Newman recorded 420 yards on 64 plays. Lantigua shattered his career-best night, as he rushed 25 times for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Wingate redshirt junior quarterback
Robbie Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) completed 19-of-28 passes for 254 yards and one score.
In the early going, fans thought they would be treated to an offensive shoot-out. In the end, a defensive stand on the goal line made the difference. Carson-Newman had a chance to put the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line, but the Bulldogs defense held late in the fourth quarter. Wingate would turn the stop into an eventual score to ice the game.
The host Eagles grabbed momentum by holding the visiting Bulldogs on a fourth down play late in the fourth quarter. On the very next play from scrimmage, C-N senior quarterback
Brandon Haywood (Rockmart, Ga.) found senior wide receiver
Jason Brown (Plant City, Fla.) for a 60-yard strike. The Haywood-to-Brown connection took the ball to the three-yard line. C-N faced a fourth-and-one at the one, but the Wingate defense answered the call as senior defensive lineman
Josh Patch (Salisbury, N.C.) busted through the line to dump Carson-Newman junior running back
Tyron Douglas (Clover, S.C.) for a two-yard loss.
The Bulldogs took over on downs and moved the chains to try and run out the clock. Lantigua iced the game when he exploded for a 54-yard touchdown run to seal the deal with 1:14 remaining, producing the 33-24 final.
Lantigua was not a one-man show. Nallenweg’s favorite receiver was senior
Chris Bowden (Forsyth, Ga.), who was on the other end of nine passes for 146 yards. On defense, Wingate redshirt senior linebacker
Jared Seate (Charlotte, N.C.) had a game-high 10 tackles. Bulldog redshirt sophomore defensive back
Jakeem Polk (Lakeland, Fla.) had nine total stops.
Haywood had 176 passing yards after going seven-for-14 through the air. The SAC team rushing leaders did not have a rusher go over the century mark as Douglas had 78 yards on 15 carries. C-N had 11 penalties for 80 yards, stifling a number of drives.
The game did not start well for the Eagles as they fumbled on the first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Wingate struck as Lantigua scored from 19 yards out. The extra point by redshirt senior placekicker
Matthew Sierk (Saluda, N.C.) was good. Carson-Newman recovered and tied the game when they marched 59 yards in a six-minute drive capped by Haywood’s five-yard quarterback keeper. C-N junior placekicker
Curt Duncan (Morristown, Tenn.) drilled the PAT to tie the game at 7-7.
Carson-Newman built a 21-7 lead when Haywood scored again (21 yards) and Douglas popped in from five yards away. Both of Duncan’s kicks were true. The Bulldogs wasted no time in cutting the deficit in half as Nallenweg found Bowden wide open across the middle for a 75-yard score on the first play of the next drive.
Duncan booted a 35-yard field goal to push the lead back to 10 points at 24-14. Lantigua trimmed the deficit to 24-20 when he scored on a one-yard play. The only score of the third quarter came when Wingate sophomore running back
Josh Covington (Charlotte, N.C.) completed a 10-play, 76-yard drive with a one-yard score. The Eagles blocked the extra point to keep the score at 26-24, setting the stage for a drama-filled final quarter.
NCAA Division II Box Score (FINAL)
Wingate vs Carson-Newman (Sep 27, 2012 at Jeff. City, Tenn.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Wingate............. 7 13 6 7 - 33 Record: (3-2 all, 2-0 SAC)
Carson-Newman....... 14 10 0 0 - 24 Record: (2-2 all, 1-2 SAC)
Scoring Summary:
1st 14:35 WU - Nestor Lantigua 19 run (Matt Sierk kick)
08:36 C-N – Brandon Haywood 5 run (Curt Duncan kick)
03:45 C-N - Brandon Haywood 21 run (Curt Duncan kick)
2nd 10:43 C-N – Tyron Douglas 5 run (Curt Duncan kick)
10:29 WU - Chris Bowden 75 pass from R. Nallenweg (Matt Sierk kick)
06:23 C-N – Curt Duncan 35 FG
00:50 WU - Nestor Lantigua 1 run (kick failed)
3rd 09:58 WU - Josh Covington 1 run (kick blocked)
4th 01:14 WU - Nestor Lantigua 54 run (Matt Sierk kick)
WU C-N
FIRST DOWNS................... 16 19
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 30-153 50-244
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 254 176
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 28-19-0 14-7-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 58-407 64-420
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-13 3-15
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 4-73 6-130
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-41.2 3-41.7
Fumbles-Lost.................. 0-0 3-1
Penalties-Yards............... 2-10 11-80
Possession Time............... 26:06 33:54
Third-Down Conversions........ 5 of 11 8 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 2 1 of 3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-18 0-0
RUSHING: Wingate-Nestor Lantigua 25-140; Robbie Nallenweg 2-8; Josh Covington 2-6; TEAM 1-minus 1. Carson-Newman-Tyron Douglas 15-78; Brandon Baker 8-58; Brandon Haywood 17-39; Andy Hibbert 7-35; David Freeman 1-30; Solomon Duanah 2-4.
PASSING: Wingate-Robbie Nallenweg 19-28-0-254. Carson-Newman-Brandon Haywood 7-14-0-176.
RECEIVING: Wingate-Chris Bowden 9-146; Bryan Caffrey 6-63; Josh Clawson 3-14; Tim Nalesnik 1-31. Carson-Newman-Luther Walker 2-59; Anthony Eubanks 2-33; Steven Isom 2-24; Jason Brown 1-60.
