Wingate, N.C.----The fifth-seeded and 20th-ranked University of West Florida Argonauts took advantage of three Wingate turnovers, converting those into 17 points en route to a 38-17 victory over fourth-seeded and 16th-ranked Wingate University in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Division Super Region 2 play-offs at Irwin Belk Stadium on a rainy, foggy Saturday afternoon. West Florida moves to 9-2 on the year, advancing to the second round of the play-offs, while the 'Dogs finish their season at 10-2 overall.

NOTES

- Wingate was making its third straight play-off appearance and fourth all-time
- The Bulldogs fall to 2-4 all-time in the play-offs
- The 'Dogs are now 1-2 in home play-off games and 0-2 vs. UWF in the play-offs
- The Bulldogs and Argos have met twice all-time, both coming in play-off openers
- The 'Dogs won 10 games in a season for the first time in program history
- Wingate has piled up 29 victories over the last three seasons
- WU has finished in the top two in the SAC standings each of the last four years
- The Bulldogs lead the SAC in overall wins and league victories since 2016
- The loss snaps Wingate's eight-game home winning streak
- The 'Dogs fall to 69-34 at Irwin Belk Stadium since the 2001 season

KEY STATS

- West Florida outgained WU 360-264 on the day
- UWF had 195 rushing yards and 165 passing yards
- The 'Dogs had 131 rushing yards and 133 yards through the air
- The Bulldogs had the only three turnovers on the afternoon
- West Florida had 18 first downs compared to Wingate's 13
- The Argos held the ball for nearly 34 minutes on the day
- UWF was four-for-15 on third down and one-for-two on fourth down
- Wingate was five-for-15 on third down and one-for-one on fourth down
- UWF scored on all five red zone trips with four TDs; WU had two TDs and a field goal on three trips
- West Florida had two sacks on the day; Wingate had one

KEY BULLDOGS

- Nijere Peoples ran for 68 yards on 20 carries, scoring a touchdown
- Shaw Crocker was 12-for-24 for 133 yards, adding 10 rushing yards
- BJ Muckelvene had four catches for 38 yards
- Jalen Brooks had a pair of grabs for 48 yards
- Domineke McNeill added 50 yards on nine carries
- Romario Johnson led the Bulldogs with 12 tackles and a pass break-up
- Kam Johnson added nine tackles
- Jesiah Carlton piled up nine stops, three QB hurries and a forced fumble
- Robbie Wallace had nine tackles and a TFL
- Cal Hanford registered seven tackles, three QB hurries and a TFL
- Isaac Allen added a sack, four tackles and a forced fumble
- Davion Washington had four tackles and four pass break-ups

FIRST QUARTER

- Wingate struck first, going 42 yards on nine plays on its first possession
- Crocker hit Brooks for 39 yards to get it to the UWF 25
- A five-yard run from Peoples got it inside the 10
- Wingate settled for a 24-yard McLean Robertson field goal
- The Argos answered with a nine-play, 61-yard drive
- Austin Williams connected on a 37-yard field to cap the drive and tie the game

SECOND QUARTER

- Austin Reed hit Quentin Randolph for a 56-yard strike down the sideline to put UWF on top 10-3 at the 12:47 mark
- The Argos added a nine-play, 60-yard drive at the end of the half to push the lead to 14
- Anthony Johnson capped the drive with a 15-yard score to make it 17-3 with 20 seconds left in the half

THIRD QUARTER

- Andre Duncombe's interception set UWF up inside the redzone a minute into the second half
- Reed hit Tate Lehtio from 13 yards out to make it 24-3
- The Argonauts used a 15-play, 69-yard scoring drive to take a 31-3 advantage
- Reed found Randolph in the end zone from seven yards out to put the Argos on top by 28 with 4:11 to go

FOURTH QUARTER

- Wingate found the end zone at the end of a 13-play, 75-yard drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters
- Crocker hit Trevor Grant for 14 yards on a third and seven to keep the drive alive
- Crocker hit Mason Flynt on fourth-and-10 for 18 yards down to the UWF 12
- Crocker found Muckelvene on the left sideline who got it down to the one
- Peoples scored from one yard out to make it 31-10
- UWF took advantage of a strip sack, taking over at the WU 35
- Jaden Gardner scored from 16 yards out to make it 38-10
- Wingate got a 37-yard punt return from Muckelvene to start a drive at the UWF 23
- McNeill's 11-yard run got it down to the West Florida three
- Kalen Clark scored from three yards out to make the final margin 38-17