Wingate, N.C.----The 12th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs stayed perfect on the season Saturday night, blanking the visiting UVA-Wise Cavaliers over the final three quarters en route to a 45-13 victory in South Atlantic Conference football action at Irwin Belk Stadium in front of a capacity crowd on Homecoming weekend. Wingate improves to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the SAC, while the Cavs fall to 1-7 overall and 0-6 in league play.

THOUGHTS FROM JOE REICH

"It was a complete game. This was nice. We talked about how the last game we just didn't play a complete game and we talked about going in, just wear these guys down. We thought they were better than their record shows. Defensively they're very good. Their quarterback play was playing solid, that is what we thought we were going to see. We talked about it on Thursday, of just wearing them down, we're a better team ultimately, but don't expect it just to be easy. The guys stuck with it, they did a nice job, they wore them down a little bit. It was nice to get that complete win."

REICH ON THE DEFENSIVE EFFORT

"You get into the second half, and we basically were like, they broke two long plays other than that we shut them down in the first half. We're doing a great job defensively. This second half you get up, you're playing a little bit more conservatively, just keep the things in front of you. We're keeping the safeties deep to keep everting in front. So they completed a few balls, but it was like ok, stay in front of it, eventually when we get down to the red zone we can shut it down. I think they are really well coached. That team down the road could be a force to be reckoned with, no doubt. It was exciting to see the defense step up and get the shut out in the second half."

REICH ON BEING 8-0

"It sounds good because this is where we wanted to be. We wanted to be back in the mix and have a chance to be in the conversation. I think that we will keep up the same mentality of "1-0", win the day, dominate the moment. Just punch through the week. Looking forward to getting started."

MATTHEW ELLIS-WHITE ON THE PICK-SIX

"During the play I just wanted to read the keys, read the quarterback's eyes, and he threw it right to me. That was my first touchdown in college. It felt great, I've been waiting on it, it's been a long time coming. I finally got it"

ELLIS-WHITE ON THE DEFENSIVE EFFORT

"We just wanted to focus on finishing, playing four quarters of football, being the most physical team for four quarters."

ELLIS-WHITE ON BEING 8-0 HEADING TO LENOIR-RHYNE

"It's great. It's 1-0 each week. Looking to the challenge ahead. Preparation, focusing and finishing."

NOTES

- Wingate starts a season 8-0 for the second time in three years
- The Bulldogs are outscoring teams 87-23 in the third quarter this year
- WU had three touchdowns of at least 30 yards Saturday
- First-ever meeting between Wingate and UVA-Wise
- Wingate is now 34-9 since 2016; most wins of any SAC team
- The Bulldogs are a league-best 21-5 in SAC play since 2016
- The 'Dogs have won 14 straight regular season games
- WU is outscoring opponents 514-251 in the streak
- Wingate has won 15 of its last 16 contests overall
- The Bulldogs have won 18 of their last 20 regular season home games
- The 'Dogs have won 25 straight games when scoring at least 30 points
- WU has scored at least 30 points 13 times since the start of the 2018 season
- Wingate moves to 12-1 under the lights at Irwin Belk Stadium
- Season-high 295 rushing yards and 6.4 yards per carry for the Bulldogs
- Second time this year the Bulldogs have had multiple 100-yard rushers in a game
- Fifth time Shaw Crocker has had at least three passing TDs in a game
- Eighth career 100-yard rushing game for sophomore Nijere Peoples
- Sixth time Peoples has had over 130 rushing yards in a game
- Third 100-yard rushing game for Domineke McNeill this year
- McNeill has had over 95 yards in five of eight games this year

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-gained UVA-Wise 432-343 on the night
- WU had 295 rushing yards; Wise had 40 yards on the ground
- Wingate averaged 6.4 yards per rush; UVA-Wise averaged 1.4 per rush
- The Cavs threw for 303 yards while the Bulldogs had 137 passing yards
- WU had 22 first downs compared to 15 for UVA-Wise
- The 'Dogs had the ball for nearly 34 minutes
- Wingate was two-for-11 on third down; Wise went three-for-17 on third down
- WU scored on four of five red zone chances
- The only time the 'Dogs didn't score in the red zone, they were downing the ball at the end of the game
- The Cavaliers had the lone turnover of the night
- The teams combined for 223 penalty yards
- Wingate tied a season high with six sacks; Wise had one sack
- UVA-Wise was two-for-five on fourth down, turning it over on downs three times

KEY BULLDOGS

- Peoples ran for 149 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown, averaging 8.3 yards per rush
- McNeill had 16 carries for 104 yards and a score
- Jalen Brooks had three catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns
- Crocker threw for 137 yards and three touchdowns, adding 37 rushing yards
- McLean Robertson hit his lone field goal attempt and all six PATs
- Ethan Evans averaged 41 yards per punt, putting two inside the 20
- Elijah Gilmore had 10 tackles and half a sack
- Ellis-White had six tackles, an interception, touchdown and pass break-up
- Jordon Anderson had 1.5 sacks and two QB hurries
- Cal Hanford collected 1.5 TFLs and half a sack
- Jesiah Carlton piled up five QB hurries, adding three tackles
- Davion Washington registered three pass break-ups and three tackles

FIRST QUARTER

- The two teams combined for 37 points in the opening frame
- Wingate got on the board on its opening drive when Robertson hit a 28-yard field goal
- SAC-best 10th field goal of the year for the All-SAC kicker
- Ellis-White put the 'Dogs on top by 10 when he picked one off around midfield and took it back 47 yards for the touchdown
- UVA-Wise got on the board when Tanner Bernard hit Mykael Anderson for a 66-yard TD at the 9:06 mark
- WU used a seven-play, 63-yard drive to push the lead to 11
- All seven plays were runs, highlighted by a 34-yard Peoples carry to get it to the UVA-Wise 15
- McNeill scored from four yards out to make it 17-6
- Bernard hit Kadarius Singleton for a 50-yard score to make it 17-13 with a minute left in the frame
- The Cavs would not score the rest of the way
- The 'Dogs answered when Crocker hit Brooks for a 66-yard touchdown on the first play of the ensuing drive to make it 24-13
- Neither team would find the end zone in the second quarter

THIRD QUARTER

- The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff of the second half and went 48 yards in three plays
- Crocker hit Brooks for a 44-yard touchdown to make it 31-13 a minute into the half

FOURTH QUARTER

- The 'Dogs went 68 yards on four plays to stretch the advantage to 38-13
- Crocker started it with a 17-yard run, followed by a 26-yard Peoples run and 21-yard McNeill run
- Crocker hit BJ Muckelvene for a four-yard TD strike to put the Bulldogs on top by 25
- Wingate went on a 10-play, 92-yard drive to go over 40 points for the second straight week
- A 19-yard McNeill run was followed by a Peoples 28-yard run
- McNeill's 13-yard run got it inside the UVA-Wise 10
- Peoples scored from three yards out to make it 45-13

UP NEXT

- Wingate travels to Hickory next Saturday to take on #8 Lenoir-Rhyne at 2 p.m.
- The top-15 showdown will be an NCAA Division II Showcase game on ESPN3
- The Bulldogs will host Newberry Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. on Senior Day
- WU wraps up the regular season Nov. 16 at Mars Hill