Wingate, N.C.----After a two-week wait, football season made its long-awaited return to the campus of Wingate University Saturday, as the Bulldogs blanked South Atlantic Conference foe Brevard College 37-0 in Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. On a warm, beautiful fall afternoon, the Dogs put on a great all-around performance in front of a home opener crowd of 2,167 fans.
 
"I think we played with great intensity," Wingate head coach Joe Reich says. "There was an intensity today about our team that I really liked from pre-game until the end." The Bulldogs were on the road for the first two weeks of the season and were eagerly awaiting the return home to play in front of the Irwin Belk Stadium crowd. "We were hoping we would get that (intensity) coming home after being on the road for a couple of weeks," Reich says. "We wanted to get that extra bump of intensity and we did. It felt that way the whole game."
 
The intensity that Coach Reich preached was definitely evident on the field, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Redshirt junior starting quarterback Kyle Johnson (Hickory, N.C.) finished with an impressive line going 18-of-26 passing for 193 yards and three touchdowns. The Hickory High product made all three of those passing touchdowns to his fellow junior wide receiver Jordan Berry (Irmo, S.C.).
 
"He makes plays," Reich says when asked about Berry's performance. "You throw the ball up to him (Berry) and he's going to make a play. For us, there is a lot of reassurance for when you are a quarterback or a coach that when you throw it up to that guy (Berry), you know he is going to make a play."
 
Berry believed the Bulldogs had a good game plan in attacking the Brevard defense. "We knew we had them (the Tornados) outmatched in the front seven," Berry says. "It was a great team win with great play calling." The 2014 All-SAC performer finished the game with seven catches for 73 yards with his longest catch being a 25-yard reception from Johnson.
 
Wingate junior receiver Joe Wallace (Hope Mills, N.C.) and freshman receiver JT Stokes (Juliette, Ga.) combined for nine catches and 138 receiving yards. Sophomore Standout running back Lawrence Pittman (Charlotte, N.C.) encored his two superb rushing performances from the road trip with another splendid game. The Mallard Creek graduate carried the ball 12 times for 99 yards and one TD.
 
The special teams also contributed to the fireworks with a thrilling 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from redshirt junior wide receiver Jody Fuller (Indian Trail, N.C.) on the opening kick-off of the second half. The Bulldogs rolled from this point forward.  
 
One of the bigger stories of the game was the performance on defense by Wingate, as the Bulldogs shut out the Brevard offense. The Bulldogs held the Tornados to 43 yards of total offense. Senior defensive back Nortavius Otis (Gastonia, N.C.) led the team in tackles with eight, followed by senior linebacker Eric Mapoles (Snellville, Ga.) who finished right behind him with seven tackles.
 
Wingate football is off to its first 3-0 start since 2008 when they began the season 7-0 overall. Coach Reich commented on the overall attitude and vibe of his team after coming out of the gates in a strong way. "I think they know we should be 3-0," Reich says. "They are a smart team and they figure it out. All the celebrations are very subdued. We are heading into the meat of our schedule now and we are working to get better. This is a very a mature team."
 
The Bulldogs will board the bus and hit the road once again next week as they travel to Salisbury, N.C. to take on their SAC rival, the Catawba College Indians. Catawba will head into the game with a record of 2-1 after winning consecutive games entering the matchup with Wingate.
 
Reich talked about the mindset of his team moving forward into a tough conference road game. "We just need to continue to get better every week," Reich says. "It's all about preparation for us. If we can prepare well, then we see the results on Saturdays. We haven't really played a full game yet, but we are going to have to play a full game next week for sure." The Bulldogs and Indians will kick off next Saturday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.
 
(Wingate University sports information/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A freshman from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Sport Management major at Wingate. The former Millbrook High School baseball player is the son of Harrison and Dona Kaplan.)