Brevard, N.C.----Wingate University junior running back Lawrence Pittman (Charlotte, N.C.) rushed for three touchdowns as the Bulldogs claimed a 34-7 South Atlantic Conference road victory over the Brevard College Tornados in the league opener for both teams. Pittman finished with 25 carries for 140 yards on the afternoon.
 
Wingate is 3-0 overall (1-0 SAC), while Brevard is 0-3 overall (0-1 SAC). The BC Tornados have lost 25 consecutive NCAA contests (dating to the 2013 season). The Bulldogs will be back in action next Saturday when they host the Catawba College Indians in a key SAC match-up at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. The game will be a part of the 2016 Wingate University Family Weekend festivities. Kickoff is slated for 1:34 p.m. with the contest airing on ESPN3.
 
Pittman currently leads the nation with 10 rushing touchdowns through the first three games of the 2016 season. The Mallard Creek High School product posted a school-record five rushing touchdowns in Wingate's week two victory over Shaw and a two-touchdown performance against Johnson C. Smith in the opening week.
 
"Lawrence makes our job on the offensive line much easier," Wingate redshirt junior offensive lineman Daniel Owens (Cherryville, N.C.) says. "I would definitely not want to tackle him if I was a defender. Lawrence and Blake Hayes (Greenville S.C.) both run the ball hard and make good moves. Coach Greg Keziah gets us ready throughout the week in practice to perform well on Saturdays."
 
Wingate struck first to take the early 7-0 lead on a three-yard rushing touchdown from Pittman at the 9:59 mark in the first quarter. Hayes scored his first career rushing touchdown from eight yards out to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 advantage with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter of play. Hayes had 13 total carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns Saturday.
 
Pittman found the end zone again with 3:13 to go in the second quarter on an eight-yard rushing touchdown to extend the Wingate lead to 21-0. Brevard answered with a four-yard touchdown reception by senior wide receiver T.J. Lett (Sanford, N.C.) from sophomore quarterback Bubba Craven (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) to trim the deficit to 21-7 with 31 seconds remaining in the first half of play. The 'Dogs maintained the 21-7 advantage going into the halftime break.
 
The Bulldogs added an insurance touchdown at the 5:37 mark in the third quarter on Pittman's third rushing touchdown of the contest from three yards out to make it a 27-7 ballgame. Hayes then posted a nine-yard rushing touchdown to give Wingate a 34-7 lead and seal the victory.
 
"We needed to finish the game a little better," Wingate head coach Joe Reich says. "We made some sloppy mistakes early in the game, but managed to clean them up in the second half. Once we had a big lead in the first half, our guys became lackluster by committing too many penalties and not playing like ourselves. It is important that we learn to play the whole game."
 
WU redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Johnson (Hickory, N.C.) finished 12-of-15 for 141 yards in the contest. Senior wide receiver Joe Wallace (Hope Mills, N.C.) had six receptions for 54 yards to lead the Bulldog receiving corps. Classmate Jordan Berry (Irmo, S.C.) made four catches for 48 yards. Brevard redshirt freshman and sophomore wide receivers Chance Holbrooks (Aiken, S.C.) and Jarkevius Hopkins (Mt. Holly, N.C.) each had one reception for a total of 30 yards.
 
On the Wingate defensive side, redshirt senior linebacker Mackenzie Battle (Simpsonville, S.C.) and redshirt junior linebacker Zack Singleton (Germantown, N.C.) had six solo tackles each. Battle also recorded 1.5 sacks to add to his defensive contributions. Junior defensive back Josh Shelton (Nashville, Tenn.) finished second on the WU charts with five total tackles.
 
Brevard junior linebacker Jinsly Jhon (Fort Pierce, Fla.) led the Tornado defense with 15 total tackles with 10 of those unassisted. Sophomore defensive back Ashud Moore (Ellenwood, Ga.) placed second on the BC team list with nine solo stops.
 
Wingate returns home next Saturday for a critical conference contest against the defending SAC champion, the Catawba College Indians. In 2015, the Bulldogs defeated the Indians on the road in Salisbury, N.C. by a score of 17-0, handing Catawba its only loss in conference play. "The mindset going into practice this week is stick to our exact same routine," Reich says. "We just need to focus on ourselves, focus on getting better as a team and improving fundamentally. The way we prepare each week should not make us worry so much about who we are playing next."
 
(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.)