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Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs return to Irwin Belk Stadium Saturday night for the first home SAC game of the season, welcoming Lenoir-Rhyne to town for a 6 p.m. start on ESPN3. Wingate will be hosting a Hurricane Florence relief effort Saturday at Irwin Belk Stadium, accepting donations throughout the afternoon to help those at UNC Pembroke who are still recovering from last week's storm.

ABOUT THE GAME

Saturday, Sept. 22 | 6 p.m.
Wingate (2-1; 0-1 SAC) hosts Lenoir-Rhyne (2-1; 1-0 SAC)
Wingate, N.C. (Irwin Belk Stadium)
ESPN3
Wingate picked second in preseason SAC coaches poll; LR picked sixth

SERIES HISTORY

- Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series 19-13
- Wingate holds a 7-3 advantage at Irwin Belk Stadium
- The Bears won the first 11 meetings from 1986-1998 and 14 of the first 16 overall
- The Bulldogs won six straight from 2005-2010
- LR won the next four from 2011-2014, followed by Wingate's current three-game win streak
- Biggest win for LR was a 49-7 victory in Monroe in 1992
- Wingate's biggest margin of victory came in 2016, a 49-6 home win
- Wingate's 50-49 win in 2009 saw the 'Dogs overcome a 49-32 deficit the final 11 minutes
- The 'Dogs won 24-14 in 2015 to snap Lenoir-Rhyne's 22-game SAC winning streak

COACHES

- Wingate head coach Joe Reich is in his 18th season at Wingate (112-76 overall)
- The winningest coach in WU history, he is one of three SAC coaches to ever win 100 games
- 2017 SAC Coach of the Year (Third time in his career)
- Drew Cronic is in his first season at Lenoir-Rhyne (2-1 overall)
- Cronic was the offensive coordinator at Furman last year and a head coach at Reinhardt for two years, going 22-3 with the Eagles

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

- Wingate is coming off a historic 9-2 season, winning its second SAC title and first since 2010
- The 'Dogs made their second appearance in the NCAA Division II play-offs
- Wingate started the season 9-0 and were ranked as high as 12th in the AFCA top 25 (highest ever)
- The Bulldogs have won 11 of their last 13 regular season contests overall and nine consecutive regular season games at Irwin Belk Stadium
- Wingate is 6-0 all-time under the lights at Irwin Belk Stadium
- The Bulldogs have won nine straight 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
- Wingate opened the year with wins over JC Smith and Fayetteville State by a combined 63-13
- The Bulldogs dropped the SAC opener at Carson-Newman 31-14 last Saturday

WINGATE OFFENSE

- The Bulldogs are averaging 25.7 points per game, ranking third in the SAC
- Sixth in the league with 345.0 total yards per contest
- Shaw Crocker leads the SAC in passing yards per game, ranking second in touchdowns and completion percentage
- Domineke McNeill is one of three SAC running backs averaging over 100 rushing yards per
- BJ Muckelvene is third in the conference with 87.5 receiving yards per game
- JT Stokes is fourth in the league with 52.7 yards per game receiving
- Wingate had a season-high three turnovers in the loss at Carson-Newman
- The Bulldogs fumbled the ball a season-high four times, recovering three of them
- Wingate did not have a fumble through the first two games of the year
- The Bulldogs have scored on eight of nine red-zone trips with six touchdowns
- Wingate has converted just 28 percent of its third downs (12-for-43)

WINGATE DEFENSE

- The Bulldogs rank second in the SAC, allowing just 14.7 points per game
- WU is second in the SAC with 278.7 yards per game allowed
- The 'Dogs have allowed a league-low 116.0 passing yards per game; seventh nationally
- The Bulldogs lead the SAC and are second nationally with 14 sacks
- Wingate holds opponents to 26 percent on third down (12-for-47)
- Eight different Bulldogs have at least a sack, led by Cardell Rawlings (4.5 sacks)
- Rawlings leads the league and ranks fourth nationally in sacks
- Rawlings also leads Wingate with 7 tackles for loss this year; second in the SAC
- Joe Kelly leads the way with 22 tackles, including a 13-tackle effort against Fayetteville State
- Gabe Price has 14 tackles, 4.5 Tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks
- Cameron Mattison and Juan Pagan-Gonzalez each have an interception

WINGATE SPECIAL TEAMS

- McLean Robertson has hit four-of-five field goals including a 43 yarder; only miss from 53
- Robertson is nine-for-nine on PATs; also has four touchbacks
- Academic All-America honoree Chris Birozes is second in the SAC with a 42.8 average on 21 punts
- Birozes has six punts of over 50 yards and eight inside the 20
- Birozes was the SAC Special Teams Player of the Week in week one
- Muckelvene has five punt returns for 46 yards (9.2 yards per return)
- Ronnie Procopio is averaging 25.3 yards per kick return
- Procopio had a career-long 48-yard return against Fayetteville State

ABOUT LENOIR-RHYNE

- Picked sixth in the preseason SAC poll, LR is 2-1 and 1-0 in the SAC
- Seven all-time SAC titles, winning four straight from 2011-2014
- Opened the year with a 36-32 loss at #12 West Alabama
- Rolled to a 51-24 win at North Greenville; won 59-27 over Mars Hill last week

LENOIR-RHYNE OFFENSE

- The Bears lead the SAC and rank sixth in the nation with 47.3 points per game
- SAC leaders with 480.7 yards per game (15th in the nation)
- Second in the league with 256 rush yards per game; third with 224.7 pass yards per game
- Grayson Willingham has completed 33 passes for 646 yards, averaging 19.6 yards per completion while throwing for nine TDs
- T.J. Smith has 14 catches for 300 yards and four TDs; ranks second in the SAC in yards per game
- Five Bears rank in the top 18 in the league in rushing, led by Xzavion Huff's 49 yards per game
- LR's 19 touchdowns this year are seven more than any team in the SAC
- The Bears are converting 51 percent of third downs (22-of-43); 13th nationally
- Lenoir-Rhyne has scored on all 15 red zone trips, including 11 touchdowns

LENOIR-RHYNE DEFENSE

- The Bears rank seventh in the SAC, allowing 442 total yards per game
- Lenoir-Rhyne allows 29.0 points per contest, sixth in the SAC
- LR leads the league with eight forced turnovers
- The Bears allow a league-high 291.7 passing yards per game
- LR is second in the conference with nine sacks
- Sherrod Williams leads the Bears with 8.7 tackles per game, forcing a pair of fumbles
- Duane Bland has a SAC-best two interceptions on the year

LENOIR-RHYNE SPECIAL TEAMS

- Chase Allbaugh is four-for-five on field goals and 14-for-17 on PATs
- Three of his field goals have come from at least 35 yards out
- Michael Owen averages 39.8 yards per punt on 12 tries
- Owen has a long of 53 and six of his 12 punts have been downed inside the 20
- Six different Bears have returned at least two kick-offs, led by Huff's 36.5 average
- Kyle Dugger has eight punt returns for 115 yards, averaging 14.38 per return

UP NEXT

- Wingate will have its fourth home game of the first five weeks next Saturday
- The Bulldogs will host Florida Tech at 3 p.m. on Sept. 29
- Wingate will be celebrating Church Youth Day and Go4TheGoal
- After a trip to UNC Pembroke on Oct. 6, WU hosts Catawba & Mars Hill next two weeks
- Lenoir-Rhyne returns home to host Tusculum Sept. 29 at 6 p.m.
- The Bears hit the road the following week for a 4 p.m. kick at Newberry