Newberry, S.C.----Newberry College senior wide receiver Braxton Ivery (Florence, S.C.) scored rushing touchdowns on back-to-back plays from scrimmage, lifting the number 19 Wolves to a 27-22 come-from-behind South Atlantic Conference victory over Wingate University Saturday afternoon at Setzler Field. Newberry (10-1 overall, 7-0 SAC) wins its first outright league regular season championship with the victory.
 
Wingate senior running back Blake Hayes (Greenville, S.C.) rushed 27 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the visiting Bulldogs (8-3 overall, 5-2 SAC). WU senior place kicker Caleb Baird (Kinston, N.C.) had three field goals as the 'Dogs built a 9-7 halftime lead. Hayes concludes the 2016 season with 1109 rushing yards. Baird's three field goals give him 12 for his final season.
 
"I am so proud of this team," Wingate head coach Joe Reich says. "Our team bought into the process. We've been playing with great effort the entire season. Our seniors set the table for a bright future (for our program)."
 
Hayes' second touchdown was a 26-yard scoring dash late in the third quarter. Baird's extra point made the score 22-14 Wingate with 3:17 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs maintained the eight-point advantage until midway through the final frame.
 
Newberry junior defensive back LaQuan White (Ridgeland, S.C.) started the Wolves' rally with an interception deep in Wingate territory. White lateraled his team-best four interception of the season to senior defensive lineman Jaquille Oden (Spartanburg, S.C.), who returned the ball an additional 15 yards to the Bulldog 10-yard line.
 
Ivery scored his first touchdown from the Wildcat formation on the next play. The two-point conversion pass was intercepted by Wingate sophomore defensive back Tim Longmire (Tallahassee, Fla.). The Wolves trailed 22-20 with 7:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
The Wolves defense held Wingate three-and-out and gained the hosts' possession of the ball on the Wingate 49-yard line. On first-and-10, Ivery scrambled 49 yards for the game-winning score from the same Wildcat look. Newberry redshirt freshman place kicker Shea Rodgers (Indian Land, S.C.) tacked on the extra point to conclude the evening's scoring.
 
On the next possession, Wingate freshman quarterback James Whitaker (Roswell, Ga.) took the Bulldogs 64 yards on 12 plays for a potential game-winning score. Playing in relief of three-year senior starter Kyle Johnson (Hickory, N.C.), Whitaker led the Bulldogs to three third-down conversions, including a big 24-yard run by Hayes on the first third down. Newberry held Wingate on fourth-and-two from the Wolves' 11-yard line. Ivery ran one more Wildcat play (for 11 yards) as time expired.
 
In the first half, Wingate posted 222 yards total offense. In the first quarter, the Bulldogs compiled 154 yards (compared to four for the Wolves). The only score in the first 15 minutes was Baird's 22-yard field goal with 3:37 to go in the first frame. The first of Baird's three field goals concluded a 12-play, 58-yard drive which consumed six-plus minutes from the game clock.
 
Baird added a 25-yard field goal (14:11) and a 20-yard field goal (3:46) to put the visitors up 9-0. On the next drive, Newberry redshirt freshman back-up quarterback Nick Jones (Florence, S.C.) led his troops 75 yards on nine plays to find pay dirt. The three-minute-and-change drive ended when Jones connected with junior tight end Baptiste Staggers (North Charleston, S.C.) for a 16-yard TD. Rodgers' PAT ended the first half scoring.
 
Longmire set up Wingate's first second-half touchdown with a 45-yard interception return. Three plays later, Hayes scored on a one-yard run. Wingate's two-point conversion pass failed, giving the Bulldogs a 15-7 advantage with 12:20 to play in the third frame.
 
Newberry put together an eight-play scoring drive of the game on the next possession, as Jones found sophomore wide receiver Markell Castle (York, S.C.) with a 19-yard TD pass to conclude the 75-yard drive. Rodgers converted the extra point to bring the hosts within one point (15-14) at the 8:06 mark of the third quarter.
 
Wingate senior defensive end Ray Edwards (Sacramento, Calif.) had a 17-yard interception return to set up the Bulldogs' final score. The SAC Defensive Player of the Year nominee returned Jones' errant throw to the Newberry 31-yard line. Hayes scored his aforementioned 26-yard rushing touchdown three plays later.
 
Hayes' two touchdowns give him 14 for the season, second in the league to teammate and classmate Lawrence Pittman (Charlotte, N.C.). Whitaker completed eight-of-19 passes for 84 yards. A three-year captain and three-year starter, Johnson had four connections in seven attempts for 58 yards.
 
WU sophomore wide receiver Malik Bledsoe (Culloden, Ga.) had five catches for 48 yards to lead the Bulldog receiving corps. Senior wide receiver Jordan Berry (Irmo, S.C.) was one of two Wingate student-athletes with three catches each. Berry's three grabs covered 67 yards. The Dutch Fork High School product caught a pass in every game he played during his illustrious four-year career.
 
Filling in for senior signal caller Raleigh Yeldell (Edgefield, S.C.), Jones completed 16-of-21 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Castle (six catches, 105 yards, one score) and Ivery (four catches, 79 yards) were his two favorite targets. Ivery led the Wolves with his 153 all-purpose yards, thanks to his eight rushing attempts for 74 yards.
 
Bulldog redshirt senior defensive end and team captain Andre Foulks (York, S.C.) led Wingate with eight tackles. He had two tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. Redshirt junior linebacker Zack Singleton (Germantown, N.C.) and sophomore linebacker Sha'mond Squires (New Bern, N.C.) had seven tackles each. WU redshirt sophomore defensive back Cameron Mattison (Charlotte, N.C.) joined Longmire and Edwards by recording an interception.
 
For Newberry, junior outside linebacker Will Elm (Irmo, S.C.) and sophomore inside linebacker Joe Blue (Dillon, S.C.) had 11 tackles each. Blue had two tackles for loss, one quarterback sack and one pass break-up. On the evening, Newberry had 10 tackles for loss (compared to eight for Wingate). Both the Wolves and the Bulldogs had three quarterback sacks each.