Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs return to league play Saturday night, hosting Catawba at 6 p.m. on ESPN3. Wingate is coming off a 51-7 victory at UNC Pembroke last Saturday. The Bulldogs are looking for their first SAC win of the season while also looking to move back over .500 on the year. The 'Dogs are looking to end a two-game home losing streak, while also looking to bounce back from their first-ever setback in a night game at Irwin Belk Stadium. 

ABOUT THE GAME

Saturday, Oct. 13 | 6 p.m.
Wingate (3-3; 0-2 SAC) hosts Catawba (1-4; 0-2 SAC)
Wingate, N.C. (Irwin Belk Stadium) | ESPN3 
Wingate picked 2nd in preseason SAC coaches poll; Catawba picked 3rd

SERIES HISTORY

- 30th meeting between the two teams
- Catawba leads the all-time series 17-13
- The Bulldogs are 5-5 against the Indians at Irwin Belk Stadium
- Wingate has won six of the last seven and seven of the last nine in the series
- The 'Dogs have won the last five games at Catawba
- WU's 51-41 win at Catawba in 2011 was the highest scoring contest
- Wingate won 27-24 at Catawba last season
- The Indians won the last meeting at Wingate, 48-26 in 2016
- Wingate's last SAC road shutout was a 17-0 win at Catawba in 2015

COACHES

- WU head coach Joe Reich is in his 18th season at Wingate (113-77 overall)
- Winningest coach in WU history; one of 3 SAC coaches to ever win 100 games
- 2017 SAC Coach of the Year (Third time in his career)
- Curtis Walker is in his sixth season at Catawba (36-25 overall)
- 1992 Catawba graduate was the Def. Coordinator at Western Carolina in 2012

 MOST RECENT GAME

- Wingate was dominant in a 51-7 victory at UNC Pembroke Saturday night
- 'Dogs moved to 7-3 against UNCP with the most lopsided win in the series
- Biggest margin of victory in a road game since a 52-point win in 1986
- The Bulldogs piled up a season-high 491 yards of offense
- Shaw Crocker was 13-17 for 236 yards and five touchdowns
- BJ Muckelvene had seven catches for 127 yards and three TDs
- Nijere Peoples added 69 rushing yards and a touchdown
- Jalen Brooks and Noah Arnett scored their first career touchdowns
- Defense held UNCP to 302 total yards led by Kam Johnson's seven tackles
- Cardell Rawlings had 2.5 sacks; Cal Hanford added five tackles with a sack
- Catawba lost 35-21 against Albany State last Saturday, falling to 0-2 at home
- Albany State piled up 500 yards of offense compared to Catawba's 391
- Catawba QB Ken Avent went 19-for-32 with 239 yards and two TDs
- Kenyatta Greene had seven catches for 73 yards and a score
- Mike Miller led the defense with nine tackles and an interception

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

- Coming off historic 9-2 season, winning its second SAC title in program history
- The 'Dogs made their second appearance in the NCAA Division II play-offs
- Started the season 9-0, ranked as high as 12th in AFCA top 25 (highest ever)
- Wingate is 6-1 all-time under the lights at Irwin Belk Stadium
- The 'Dogs are looking to snap a two-game home losing streak
- The Bulldogs have won 11 of their last 13 regular season home games
- Wingate started the season 2-0 for the fifth straight year
- WU has seven home games, including four its first five and six of its first eight
- Wingate has allowed 20 total points in three wins; allowed 88 in three losses

WINGATE OFFENSE

- The Bulldogs are averaging 29.2 points per game, ranking second in the SAC
- Fourth in the league with 382.3 total yards per contest
- Crocker leads the SAC in passing yards and TDs, third in completion %
- Domineke McNeill is fifth in the SAC with 76.0 rushing yards per contest 
- Peoples averages 55.3 yards per game and is tied for SAC lead with four TDs
- JT Stokes is second in the league with 100.8 receiving yards per game
- Stokes is third in the SAC with six receiving touchdowns
- Muckelvene averages 64.6 yards per game and is fifth with five TDs
- WU has eight turnovers on the year, with a -2 margin 
- Wingate has scored on 20-of-24 red zone chances with 15 touchdowns
- The 'Dogs are 28-88 on third down (32 percent) / five-for-eight on fourth down

WINGATE DEFENSE

- Wingate leads the SAC and ranks seventh nationally with 22 sacks
- Rawlings leads the nation with 10 sacks; second with 13.5 TFLs
- WU ranks rank eighth nationally in tackles for loss
- Wingate allows 18.0 points per game, good for third in the SAC
- The 'Dogs rank second in the SAC, allowing 312.3 yards per game
- Wingate holds opponents to 26 percent on third down (23-88); 14th nationally 
- 11 different Bulldogs have recorded a sack this year
- Rawlings leads team with 43 tackles, six QB hurries and two forced fumbles
- Joe Kelly is second on the team with 30 tackles, adding three TFLs
- Elijah Gilmore has 30 tackles, 1.5 TFLs and two QB hurries
- Gabe Price has 4.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks
- Cameron Mattison has 3.5 TFLs, three breakups and an interception
- Matthew Ellis-White has seven break-ups and 25 tackles 

WINGATE SPECIAL TEAMS

- McLean Robertson is 7-9 on field goals with a 42 and 43 yarder
- Robertson is 19-for-21 on PATs; also has eight touchbacks
- Chris Birozes is second in the SAC with a 43.4 average on 38 punts
- Birozes has 11 punts of over 50 yards and 10 inside the 20
- Muckelvene has eight punt returns for 70 yards (8.8 yards per return)
- Ronnie Procopio is averaging 23.5 yards per kick return
- Procopio had a career-long 48-yard return against Fayetteville State
- Ra'Quan Simmons has 11 returns for a team-best 227 yards

ABOUT CATAWBA

- Won the 2015 SAC title, going 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the SAC
- Only SAC loss in 2015 was a 17-0 home setback against Wingate
- Won final seven regular season games; lost to Tuskegee in play-offs
- Catawba went 5-2 in the SAC in 2016 and 2017, finishing second
- The Indians went 16-5 in league play from 2015-2017
- Catawba lost two home SAC games in that stretch, both to Wingate
- The Indians were picked right behind WU in the preseason SAC poll
- Opened the season with a 34-3 loss at #19 West Georgia
- Catawba won 34-7 at Winston-Salem State, then lost three straight 

CATAWBA OFFENSE

- Catawba averages 24.2 points per game, ranking sixth in the SAC
- The Indians are sixth in the league with 359.4 total yards per game
- Catawba averages 155.6 rushing yrds and 203.8 passing yards per game
- Reid Carlton is fifth in the SAC with 189.9 pass yards per contest
- Carlton is 59-118 on the year with five TDs and six interceptions 
- Kenyatta Greene leads is third in the SAC with 84.8 rush yards per game
- Greene is tied for the league lead with four rushing scores
- Will Sweeper has 12 catches for 278 yards, averaging 55.6 yards per game
- Sweeper has three TDs and averages 23.2 yards per catch 

CATAWBA DEFENSE

- Catawba ranks sixth in the SAC, allowing 29.6 points per game
- The Indians allow 425 yards of offense per game, sixth in the league
- Catawba has nine sacks and eight forced turnovers
- The Indians allow a league-high 276.4 rush yards per game
- Jeremiah Ferguson leads Catawba with 47 tackles including 3.5 TFLs
- Cameron Davis and Jordan Hemingway have three sacks each
- Mike Miller has 31 tackles and two interceptions
- LJ Melvin has 36 tackles including a pair of TFLs

CATAWBA SPECIAL TEAMS

- Lee Brackman has hit six-of-nine field goals with a long of 41 yards
- Brackman is 13-for-15 on PATs and has 14 touchbacks
- Caleb Berry averages 40.8 yards per punt with three over 50 yards
- Greene has six punt returns for 27 yards
- Greene averages 18.7 yards per kick return on 10 tries

UP NEXT

- Wingate will play its sixth home game of the year next Saturday
- The 'Dogs host Mars Hill at 6 p.m. homecoming weekend on ESPN3
- WU hits the road for back-to-back games after next Saturday
- Wingate is at Newberry Oct. 27 and Limestone Nov. 3
- Final home game is Nov. 10 against Tusculum at 3 p.m. 
- Catawba returns home for its next two games
- The Indians host Tusculum next Saturday, then Limestone Oct. 27