Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University junior running back Lawrence Pittman (Charlotte, N.C.) posted a school record five rushing touchdowns with 20 carries for 137 yards as the Bulldogs recorded a 56-7 home victory over the Shaw University Bears in NCAA Division II football action at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field Saturday.
 
"I kept finding great holes behind our offensive line," Pittman says. "I needed to keep working hard and keep my feet moving throughout the game. It is a great feeling."
 
The 'Dogs improve to 2-0 overall on the young season. The Bears fall to 0-2. Wingate is back in action next Saturday for its South Atlantic Conference opener against the Brevard College Tornados for 1 p.m. kickoff.
 
Wingate started cooking right from the opening kick-off when redshirt freshman defensive back Gage Sumrall (Maylene, Ala.) recovered a fumble deep in Bears' territory on the Shaw return attempt. Pittman immediately punched in a 25-yard rushing touchdown to give the Bulldogs a quick 7-0 advantage within the first 15 seconds of the contest at 14:45 in the first quarter.
 
The Bears soon answered with a four-yard touchdown reception by junior running back Rahim Winston, Jr. (Durham, N.C.) from freshman quarterback Timothy Abbott (Washington, D.C.) to even the score at 7-7 at the 11:26 mark in the first quarter.
 
The Bulldogs regained the lead at 14-7 with 2:57 left in the second quarter of play on an eight-yard rushing touchdown from Pittman. A 90-yard interception from WU redshirt freshman defensive back Cameron Mattison (Charlotte, N.C.) extended the Wingate advantage to 21-7 with five seconds remaining in the first half. The 'Dogs maintained the 21-7 lead heading into the halftime break.
 
Wingate then posted four unanswered scores in the third quarter of play, starting with three consecutive touchdown runs from Lawrence Pittman as the Bulldogs sprinted out to a 42-7 advantage at the 7:05 mark.
 
"I knew Shaw had a really great defensive front," Pittman says. "They have really solid defenders along with their defensive line. We knew that we had to come out firing on all cylinders and run the ball hard against them."
 
The 'Dogs added another insurance score on the first career rushing touchdown for freshman running back Domineke McNeill (Durham, N.C.) from 25 yards out to give the home team a 49-7 lead with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter.
 
A 70-yard interception return for a touchdown by WU graduate student defensive back Cornel Cheron (Miami, Fla.) gave Wingate the 56-7 advantage to seal the victory. The Bulldog defensive secondary tallied three interceptions in the contest from Cheron, Mattison and redshirt junior rover Joe Kelly (Columbia, S.C.).
 
"We knew Shaw was going to give us a challenge on defense," Wingate head coach Joe Reich says. "Their front-four is very big and physical. We started off a little slow offensively, but we tweaked some formations throughout the game. The turning point of the game was definitely the Mattison interception return for a touchdown at the end of the first half. It really turned the momentum of the game."
 
WU redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Johnson (Hickory, N.C.) finished four-of-seven passing for 107 yards. Freshman signal-caller James Whitaker (Roswell, Ga.) played in his first collegiate game and went seven-of-nine passing for 104 yards.
 
Bulldog senior wide receiver Joe Wallace (Hope Mills, N.C.) led all Wingate receivers with two catches for 79 yards. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Adam Riley II (Lawrenceville, Ga.) finished second on the WU receiving charts with two receptions for 35 yards.
 
"We were fairly efficient in the passing game today," Reich says. "I am happy with the way our offense played overall and we are looking forward to coming back to practice this week to get ready for Brevard."
 
Shaw freshman signal-caller Timothy Abbott finished 19-of-35 for 155 yards and one passing touchdown on the afternoon. Junior wide receiver Trevante Long (Greenbelt, Md.) led the Bears' receiving corps with nine receptions for 70 yards. Senior wide receiver Karocqus Jefferson (Williamston, S.C.) had five catches totaling 51 yards, finishing second on the Shaw receiving list.
 
On the Wingate defensive side, Joe Kelly and senior defensive lineman Ray Edwards (Sacramento, Calif.) tied for the Bulldog lead with six tackles each. Redshirt senior defensive end Andre Foulks (York, S.C.) and junior defensive back Josh Shelton (Nashville, Tenn.) had four tackles each.
 
Shaw freshman middle linebacker Devon Hunt (Rockingham, N.C.) and redshirt senior linebacker Keelan Jones (Kansas City, Mo.) tied for first on the Bears' team total list with six solo tackles. Junior defensive back Donald Jones, Jr. (Smithfield, N.C.) had five stops in the contest.
 
The Wingate University football team will take their undefeated record on the road next Saturday afternoon to face SAC foe, the Brevard College Tornados for a 1 p.m. kickoff. "We have a mature team," Coach Reich says. "Our guys need to learn from this game as much as we would any other day. We have to look at every game the same no matter the outcome. We will look back over the film this week, learn from the mistakes made in this game and be ready to go."
 
(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.)