Wingate, N.C.----Wingate compiled 593 yards total offense and held Lenoir-Rhyne without a touchdown on the way to a 49-6 South Atlantic Conference home victory Saturday. Two Bulldog running backs eclipsed the 100-yard plateau: junior Blake Hayes (Greenville, S.C., 18 carries, 126 yards, four TDs) and true freshman Domineke McNeill (Durham, N.C., eight carries, 125 yards, one TD).
 
The LRU Bears did not score a touchdown in a SAC game for the first time since Nov. 10, 2007, when Catawba blanked Lenoir-Rhyne 45-0. Wingate's defensive effort ended a 58-game SAC touchdown scoring streak for the LRU offense. Wingate is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the SAC. Lenoir-Rhyne is 2-5 overall and 2-1 in the SAC.
 
Wingate is back in action next Saturday when they hit the road to Jefferson City, Tenn. for a critical conference showdown against the Carson-Newman University Eagles. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. The Bears return home the same day to host the Mars Hill University Lions in a SAC match-up. Kick-off is set for 2 p.m.
 
"It is a great feeling," Hayes says. "When we have a great offensive line like ours, along with a solid receiving game, it makes my job much easier."
 
The Bears began the scoring on a 31-yard field goal from senior place kicker Hunter Haire (Longwood, Fla.) to give LRU an early 3-0 advantage with 11:34 left in the first quarter. Wingate answered with a three-yard rushing touchdown from Hayes to take the lead at 7-3 at the 7:31 mark in the first quarter. The Bulldogs never looked back.
 
Hayes added more offensive insurance with a 55-yard touchdown run with 1:15 remaining in the first quarter of play to make it a 14-3 ballgame. Hayes scored another touchdown from one yard out to extend the commanding WU advantage to 21-3 with 6:16 to go in the second quarter.
 
LRU ended the Wingate consecutive scoring run on a 25-yard field goal from Haire to trim the Bear deficit to 21-6 at the 3:40 mark in the second. The Bulldogs then started a run of four consecutive scores beginning with a 59-yard rushing touchdown from redshirt freshman wide receiver and local Cuthbertson High School product BJ Muckelvene (Waxhaw, N.C.) to give the home team a 28-6 lead with 2:49 left in the second quarter.
 
Freshman defensive back Moryah Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) then returned a 47-yard interception for a touchdown to add on to the huge Wingate advantage at 35-6 with 2:20 in the second quarter. The South Mecklenburg High School product now has now collected four interceptions during his first season in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold. The 'Dogs maintained the 35-6 lead heading into the halftime intermission.
 
Hayes began the third quarter of play with his fourth rushing touchdown of the contest to make it a 42-6 advantage for the Bulldogs at the 12:12 mark. McNeill then followed with an exciting 78-yard touchdown run to give his squad a 49-6 lead and seal the victory for Wingate with 7:08 to go in the third. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter of play.
 
"We made a big statement today as a team," Hayes says. "A win like this shows everyone how dominant we can be when we play really well. With our offensive front and quality wide receivers, our guys can produce an outcome like this against anybody we face the rest of the season."
 
WU redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Johnson (Hickory, N.C.) finished 10-of-12 passing for 160 yards. Senior wide receiver Jordan Berry (Irmo, S.C.) led the Bulldog receiving corps with six catches for 103 yards. The Dutch Fork High School product picked up his first 100-yard receiving game of the season. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Adam Riley II (Lawrenceville, Ga.) finished second on the WU receiving charts with four receptions for 53 yards.
 
"Blake Hayes is a great leader," Wingate football head coach Joe Reich says. "He has stepped up in a huge role for us and taken many of the younger guys under his wing. We have great depth at the running back position on this team, which is a dream come true for any head coach. Today was a great win against a very well-coached team."
 
LRU junior wide receiver Alec Philpott (Mill Spring, N.C.) led the Bear receiving game with three receptions for 63 yards. Redshirt freshman wide receiver and local Zebulon B. Vance High School product Omar Baker (Charlotte, N.C.) hauled in two catches for 84 yards.
 
On the Wingate defensive side, redshirt junior defensive back Joe Kelly (Columbia, S.C.) led the Bulldogs with seven total tackles. Senior defensive end Ray Edwards (Sacramento, Calif.) had five tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss for a total of eight yards. WU redshirt senior defensive end and team captain Andre Foulks (York, S.C.) had four total stops with 1.5 tackles for a loss.
 
Edwards and Foulks totaled five combined hits on the quarterback. Defensive coordinator Rashaan Jordan's defense snapped a 58-game LRU streak of scoring a touchdown in SAC games. The last time the Bears did not find the end zone in a conference contest was on November 10, 2007 against the Catawba College Indians.
 
For the LRU defense, senior safety Rodney Singleton (Hawthorne, Fla.) led the Bears with 11 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss of three yards. Freshman linebacker Clayton Horn (Mount Pleasant, N.C.), senior cornerback C.J. Cody (Powder Springs, Ga.) and redshirt freshman safety Sherrod Williams (Edison, Ga.) totaled six tackles each. Cody and Williams also collected an interception each.
 
"I told our guys to not let a dominant win ruin our sense of urgency to get better," Reich says. "It will be fun looking back over the film from this game, but we still need to improve as a team. A win like last week in poor weather conditions certainly helps our confidence going forward. Our versatile offense makes it easy for us to prepare for anything. Even though the run game is our strength, Kyle Johnson did a great job of managing the passing game today and (freshman quarterback) James Whitaker (Roswell, Ga.) made some very nice throws as well."
 
The Wingate University football team will make the trip to The Volunteer State for a significant SAC contest versus Carson-Newman. The Bulldogs and the Eagles will get things started with a 1 p.m. kick-off at Burke-Tarr Stadium. Last season, the Bulldogs fell to the Eagles at home in an overtime contest decided by a final score of 41-38 on a game-winning field goal. Wingate is currently tied for second place in the SAC standings, so this game could have serious conference championship implications going forward.
 
(Wingate University athletic media relations/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A sophomore from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate. He is the son of Harrison and Dona Kaplan.)