Football | 9/15/2017 10:56:00 AM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate  University football team will play its first night game under the Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field lights Saturday, hosting South Atlantic Conference foe Carson-Newman University at 6:04 p.m. on ESPN3. The Bulldogs played numerous night games at their previous home (Walter Bickett Stadium), but Saturday night's game is the first in Wingate.
 
2017 Wingate University Football
Carson-Newman University at Wingate University
Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field
Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017 (6:04 p.m., ESPN3)
GAME DAY CENTRAL: www.wingatebulldogs.com
 
THE TWO TEAMS
Wingate: 2-0 overall, 0-0 SAC (2016: 8-3 overall, 5-2 SAC)
Carson-Newman: 2-0 overall, 0-0 SAC (2016: 4-7 overall, 2-5 SAC)
 
The coaches: Wingate's Joe Reich is 103-73 overall in 17 years with the Bulldogs. Reich has more victories than any other WU football coach. A two-time South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year award winner, Reich helped the 'Dogs win the SAC title and advance to the NCAA play-offs in 2010. Mike Turner is in his first season as C-N's head coach. Turner enters his 34th season with the Eagle program this year, as he has built one of the most potent offenses in NCAA history as a C-N assistant coach.
 
Joe Reich on Carson-Newman: "Coach Mike Turner has been an integral part of Carson-Newman's success for many years. We look for the offensive and defensive schemes to remain the same. They are adding new wrinkles on special teams, particularly on special teams. We believe most of the changes at Carson-Newman internal shifts. Following our film study, we didn't see anything on offense or defense we weren't expecting."
 
…on playing under the lights: "The opportunity for us to play under the lights at Irwin Belk Stadium is pretty cool. This week, we practiced Sunday (instead of Monday) due to the rains we had early in the week. We turned on the lights Sunday night at the end of the practice…and it was a pretty neat feeling. What kind of atmosphere will we have? What do we expect? We are excited to see what will happen."
 
Joe Reich on Wingate's health going into week three: "We are a little banged up from Fayetteville State…we have six-seven guys who are probable/questionable entering Saturday's game. In a nutshell, it is what it is…great teams have great depth. We have a chance to roll through some people on our sideline…and see what they can do. Our first unit is very strong…there is an opportunity some of our younger guys will play."
 
…on practice this week: "We are 100 percent into our in-season mode…when we transition from a physical mode to more of a teaching mode. We are learning schemes, playing versus the scout team…while balancing the teaching aspect versus the live aspect. We want to be fresh each Saturday…so since we are a little banged up…and knowing we have a veteran team…we are backing off a little from the physicality."
 
Last week: Wingate University running back Lawrence Pittman ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback James Whitaker passed for two scores as the Bulldogs rallied for a 31-21 NCAA Division II victory over Fayetteville State Saturday. Linebacker Robbie Wallace was named SAC Defensive Player of the Week, thanks to 10 tackles (seven solo), one sack and one tackle for loss in the victory.
 
Carson-Newman defeated Saint Augustine's 41-14 in Jefferson City. The Eagles compiled 416 yards of total offense. C-N quarterback Derrick Evans completed seven-of-10 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Evans also ran for two TDs, as the hosts scored on four consecutive second-half possessions.
 
Last year: Bulldog running back Blake Hayes rushed 42 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns, boosting the Bulldogs to a 29-16 road victory over Carson-Newman. Wingate gave head coach Joe Reich his 100th triumph in the process. Wingate led 26-3 at halftime and never looked back.
 
Defensively, Wingate seniors Ray Edwards, Andre Foulks and Mackenzie Battle had eight tackles each. The 2016 SAC Defensive Player of the Year, Edwards forced and recovered a fumble which led to a Bulldog score.

The Wingate vs. C-N series: Wingate won three games in a row in the series (2010-12), while Carson-Newman won the last three games prior to the Bulldogs' 2016 victory. The Eagles led the overall series 24-5 (series year-by-year results). In 2010, Jared Seate forced a fumble on Carson-Newman's first play in overtime, preserving a 38-35 SAC road victory for the Bulldogs. WU won the SAC title the same year.
 
In 2013, the Eagles (648) and the Bulldogs (427) combined for 1075 total yards as C-N claimed a 52-35 victory on Nov. 16 in Wingate. The last time the two teams played in Wingate, Carson-Newman won the 2015 meeting 41-38 in overtime. Wingate scored 33 points each to win the 2012 contest (33-24 in Jefferson City) and the 2011 encounter (33-21 in Wingate).
 
Wingate's R. Wallace earns SAC POTW honors: Wingate University redshirt sophomore linebacker Robbie Wallace is the AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 9, 2017, league officials announce Monday. Wallace is honored for the first time in his career.
 
Wallace had 10 tackles (seven solo), one sack and one tackle for loss as the Bulldogs rallied for a 31-21 NCAA Division II victory over Fayetteville State University Saturday night, Sept. 9. The Wingate defense held FSU to two touchdowns (one in the first quarter, one in the fourth quarter), 202 yards and 10 first downs.
 
Game notes: Wide receiver BJ Muckelvene posted a 55-yard punt return and a 50-yard rush to set up two separate Bulldog scores at Fayetteville State…Hayes leads the league in rushing, while defensive back Cameron Mattison is the only SAC defender with two interceptions…C-N wide receiver Dorren Miller leads the NCAA Division II in yards per reception (53.3 yards per catch)…WU will honor Marcella McGee (Dr. Jerry McGee's wife) during the pre-game coin toss…On Oct. 7, 1995, the Bulldogs earned a hard-fought 25-24 win over the Eagles in Monroe, the program's first triumph over C-N…
 
Looking back: On Sept. 19, 1987, Wingate got its first home football victory since the resurrection of its program with a 28-7 win over Union College. Wingate took the lead with two second-quarter touchdowns and never looked back.  The first score came on an 11-yard scamper by Billy Blakeney midway through the second quarter.  The Bulldogs took the lead on a four-yard leap by Quinton Campbell with six minutes left in the opening half.
 
Quarterback Dana Graves completed nine of 17 passes for 169 yards, including a 70-yard scoring bomb to Mark Rhyne for the final Bulldog touchdown. Blakeney carried the ball seven times for 48 yards, with Rhyne catching three passes for 82 yards.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,600 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 11 years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 96 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 96 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 105 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.