Wingate, N.C.----Tusculum College senior quarterback Kyle Dickey (McDonough, Ga.) threw two touchdown passes to lead the Pioneers to a come-from-behind 14-10 South Atlantic Conference football victory over Wingate University at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field Saturday. Tusculum is 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the SAC. Wingate is 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the SAC (NCAA statistics book).
 
Dickey entered the game in the second quarter when TC redshirt freshman quarterback Malcolm Pendergrass (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) went down with an injury. Dickey completed 18-of-31 passes for 125 yards and two scores. Pioneer junior wide receiver Justin Houston (Cleveland, Tenn.) caught a game-high 12 passes for 82 yards and one score.
 
Wingate redshirt sophomore quarterback Kyle Johnson (Hickory, N.C.) completed 21-of-42 passes for 217 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Berry (Irmo, S.C.) caught six passes for 62 yards. Bulldog senior tailback Nestor Lantigua (Wellington, Fla.) rushed 18 times for 65 yards and one touchdown.
 
Tusculum took its first (and only) lead 59 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Pioneers moved the ball 64 yards on nine plays (2:12 clock time), concluding the drive when Dickey hit Houston on a 23-yard, catch-and-run play for pay dirt. TC senior place kicker Logan Cornelius (Chattanooga, Tenn.) split the uprights with the extra point, making the score 14-10 Pioneers.
 
Wingate drove to the Tusculum 19-yard line in the waning moments. On third-and-five from the TC 19, Bulldog junior wide receiver Bryan Caffrey (Bayside, N.Y.) caught a Johnson toss in the front corner of the end zone, but he could not get both feet in bounds. On fourth down, Johnson and Berry could not connect. The Pioneers ran one play to run out the clock.
 
The two teams traded turnovers to start the game. Wingate moved the ball to the Tusculum four-yard line, but TC sophomore defensive back Cameron Thomas (Nicholasville, Ky.) intercepted Johnson in the end zone to thwart the Bulldog scoring drive.
 
One play later, Pendergrass was sacked by Wingate redshirt senior defensive end Nick Napolitano (Shallotte, N.C.). The ensuing fumble was recovered by Bulldog senior linebacker Steven Jacobs (Pembroke, N.C.) at the Tusculum 19-yard line. Four plays later, the Bulldogs found the scoring column when redshirt senior place kicker Patrick Smith (Hickory, N.C.) nailed a 28-yard field goal with nine minutes left on the first quarter clock.
 
Wingate put together a 15-play, 80-yard drive to take a 10-0 lead five minutes into the second quarter. Johnson and Berry connected twice on the march, while Lantigua sealed the deal with a nine-yard TD run. The drive consumed 6:21 from the game clock and concluded with Smith's PAT.
 
Tusculum got on the board late in the second quarter, thanks to a 35-yard punt return by Pioneer freshman wide receiver Evan Altizer (Waxhaw, N.C.) to the Bulldog 26-yard line. The visitors needed only four plays to cover 26 yards as Dickey finished with a seven-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Deon Hicks (Fresno, Calif.). Cornelius added the PAT to make the score 10-7 Wingate with 1:41 remaining before intermission.
 
The second half included 10 punts (five by each team). The Bulldogs saw Tusculum territory only once in the second half, on the aforementioned 14-play, 80-yard drive to the Pioneer 19-yard line. Tusculum's fourth quarter touchdown came on the first of three second-half ventures into Wingate territory.
 
Wingate redshirt freshman punter Chandler Phillips (Lutz, Fla.) had his best yardage afternoon as a Bulldog, booting eight punts for 324 yards (40.5 yards per punt). He had two punts inside the 20-yard line to give him 13 kicks inside the 20 this season. Tusculum freshman punter Hunter Cantrell (Sparta, Tenn.) had four punts inside the 20 to lift the Pioneers to a six-yard average field position advantage (TC 30 to WU 24).
 
Bulldog junior linebacker Eric Mapoles (Snellville, Ga.) had 13 tackles to lead the Wingate defense. The Capital One Academic All-America® candidate had seven solo stops, 2.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. WU redshirt senior defensive back Jon Jimenez (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had nine tackles (six solo), one tackle for loss and one pass break-up.
 
Tusculum redshirt freshman linebacker L'Keith Brown (Athens, Ga.) had 14 tackles and two quarterback hurries. He shared a tackle for loss. Pioneer senior defensive back LiRonta Archie (Fairburn, Ga.) had 12 tackles and also shared a tackle for loss with a teammate. Collectively, Tusculum recorded 14 quarterback hurries, seven tackles for loss and four QB sacks.
 
Wingate hits the road Saturday, Nov. 1, venturing out of the SAC fray to face North Greenville. Kick-off in Tigerville, S.C. is slated for 2 p.m. Tusculum also faces a non-conference foe next weekend, entertaining UNC Pembroke at 1:30 p.m.