Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs collected their second season-opening shutout in the last four years Thursday night, piling up nine sacks and holding visiting Johnson C. Smith to 123 total yards in a convincing 36-0 victory in NCAA Division II football action. It was the first Thursday night home game in the history of Irwin Belk Stadium. Wingate moves to 1-0 on the year and 16-2 in season openers in the Joe Reich era.

"It was pretty cool to be part of the first Thursday night home game," Reich says. "It was a good win and the defense played lights out. They played a great game and we are excited about what they did and we were hoping that would be the case. I thought we were a little uneven offensively. We looked sharp in the first half, then had a sloppy second quarter and up and down second half. We showed the ability to hit bit big plays, but we have to be more consistent."

In his first start, junior running back Domineke McNeill had 155 yards on 18 carries including a 67-yard run. In his first appearance as a Bulldog, redshirt freshman quarterback Shaw Crocker went 14-for-22 with 201 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for a TD. JT Stokes had four catches for 81 yards and a score, while BJ Muckelvene added three catches, 53 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Brooks and Bryan Mitchell hauled in three catches apiece for the Bulldogs.

Gabe Price led the defense with six tackles including three tackles for loss and two sacks. Cardell Rawlings added two TFLs and 1.5 sacks, with Dominique Boston registering two sacks and two more QB hurries. Davion Washington had a team-best eight tackles while Cardell Rawlings led the 'Dogs with three QB hurries.

On the first drive of the game, McLean Robertson capped a 10-play, 50-yard drive with a 43-yard field goal. After a JCSU three-and-out, Wingate went 57 yard on four plays, with Crocker hitting Stokes for a 21-yard TD for his first career touchdown pass to make it 10-0 midway through the first quarter.

The second quarter went nearly scoreless until Wingate forced the Golden Bulls to punt out of their own end zone. A 16-yard return from the All-American return specialist Muckelvene set the 'Dogs up on the JCSU 27. Crocker's 18-yard hookup with Malik Bledsoe got the Bulldogs inside the nine, but Wingate would end up settling for a 23-yard Robertson field goal to take a 13-0 halftime lead.

The Wingate defense forced a Johnson C. Smith three-and out to start the third quarter, then went on a four-play, 83-yard drive in just 1:31 to go on top by 20. McNeill did most of the damage, following a 13-yard run with a 67-yard carry to get the 'Dogs to the JCSU two. Crocker finished the drive with a two-yard run to make it 20-0.

The Bulldogs went on top 22-0 when Rogers and Kam Johnson got to JCSU quarterback Antonio Wallace at his own goal line. Johnson knocked the ball out and it went through the end zone for a safety. Wingate started the next drive on its own 40 and after a 22-yard reception from Muckelvene, Shaw found him again on the next play, wide open in the end zone for a 25-yard score and a 29-0 lead.

Wingate put the finishing touches on the victory on the opening drive of the fourth quarter. A 27-yard catch from Muckelvene was followed by a 33-yard catch from Jalen Brooks at the Johnson C. Smith four-yard line. Nijere Peoples found the end zone for the first time in his career to make it 36-0.

The Wingate special teams also enjoyed a solid evening, with Academic All-America punter Chris Birozes punting eight times for an average of 42.8 yards, putting five inside the 20 with a long of 54 yards. Robertson was two-for-three on field goals, with the lone miss coming from 53 yards, while going four-for-four on extra points.

The Bulldogs are back in action next Saturday, hosting Fayetteville State at 6 p.m. on ESPN3. After playing only four home games in the regular season last year, Wingate has seven home games this season, opening the year by playing four of its first five games in Irwin Belk Stadium.

NOTES

- First Thursday night game in Irwin Belk Stadium history
- Wingate is now 5-0 under the lights at Irwin Belk Stadium
- The Bulldogs improve to 16-2 in season openers under Joe Reich
- This is the fifth straight year Wingate has opened the season against JC Smith, winning all five.
- The Bulldogs are now 6-0 all-time against JC Smith
- Wingate is 10-0 in August during the Reich era
- Wingate's last season-opening shutout was in 2015, a 14-0 win at JC Smith
- The Bulldogs improve to 60-31 in home games in the Joe Reich era
- This was the first of a NCAA Division II-high eight games that will air on ESPN3 this season
- QBs Shaw Crocker, Jacob Satterfield and Darquez Lee all got their first action as a Bulldog Thursday