Fayetteville, N.C.----The 18th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs scored 20 unanswered points spanning the second and third quarters Saturday night en route to a 34-24 victory at Fayetteville State in NCAA Division II football action. Wingate piled up 249 rushing yards on the night, moving to 2-0 on the year while the Broncos fall to 1-1 overall.

THOUGHTS FROM JOE REICH

"We really needed that game tonight. Fayetteville State is a good, well-coached and very talented opponent. We were sloppy at times but we overcame adversity and got the win."

THOUGHTS FROM NIJERE PEOPLES

ON HIS APPROACH
"Just keep running hard, try not to let one person bring me down, that's how I approach every carry."

ON RELATIONSHIP WITH DOMINEKE MCNEILL
"We've got a real bond, that's my brother. This team is like a family. Ever since I got on campus, Dom has looked out for me."

ON THE 41-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN
"I broke the first tackle then just thought, I've got to score. I just tried my best and kept moving my legs."

ON THE RUNNING ATTACK AND TEAM'S PERFORMANCE
"We knew we had to put the team on our backs and I'm proud of how we performed. Our team's effort was great tonight, we just have to clean up some stuff and come out better next week."

NOTES

- Wingate starts the year 2-0 for the sixth straight season
- The 'Dogs open the year with back-to-back road wins for the first time since 2015
- The Bulldogs move to 6-0 all-time vs. FSU; 3-0 in Fayetteville
- Wingate has outscored Fayetteville State 193-96 in the six meetings
- The Bulldogs are now 28-9 over the last three seasons, the most wins of any SAC team
- Wingate has won eight straight regular season games and nine of its last 10 contests overall
- In eight-game regular season win streak, the 'Dogs are outscoring opponents 316-138
- Fifth straight regular season road victory for the 'Dogs
- WU had three TDs of at least 30 yards tonight and now has six for the year
- 21st straight win for the Bulldogs when scoring at least 30 points
- WU has gone over 30 points nine times since the start of the 2018 season
- 249 rushing yards are the most since going for 344 at Limestone last season
- Sixth time Nijere Peoples has gone for at least 120 yards in a game
- Peoples has at least one TD in nine of his 13 games as a Bulldog
- All three BJ Muckelvene touchdowns this year have gone for at least 30 yards
- Most rushing yards for Domineke McNeill since last year's season opener
- Kalen Clark's career high for rushing attempts and yards
- McLean Robertson had two field goals of at least 40 yards; now has five career field goals of at least 40 yards

KEY STATS

- Wingate had 402 yards of offense compared to Fayetteville State's 216 yards
- The 'Dogs ran it 52 times for 249 yards (4.8 yards per carry)
- FSU had 74 rushing yards, going for 3.1 yards per carry
- WU held a 153-142 advantage in passing yards
- The 'Dogs averaged 25.5 yards per completion
- Wingate had two interceptions and lost a fumble; FSU did not turn the ball over
- The Broncos punted nine times; the Bulldogs had just three punts
- FSU was five-for-16 on third down; Wingate was just two-for-11
- The 'Dogs had seven penalties for 105 yards; Fayetteville State had six for 49 yards

KEY BULLDOGS

- Peoples had 21 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown
- McNeill had 19 rushes for 97 yards and a score
- Clark went for 50 yards on eight carries
- Shaw Crocker completed four-of-16 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown
- Darquez Lee went two-for-two for 67 yards and a score
- Muckelvene had four catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns
- The 2017 All-American also had a pair of punt returns for 57 yards
- Jalen Brooks hauled in a pair of catches for 64 yards
- Robbie Wallace had five tackles including three tackles for loss
- Elijah Gilmore also had five tackles and a TFL
- DJ Horne had four tackles, a sack and a QB hurry
- Robertson connected on field goals of 40 and 45 yards, also converted all four PATs
- Ethan Evans averaged 42.3 yards per punt on three kicks with a long of 53
- RaQuan Simmons collected 108 yards on four kick returns with a long of 32

FIRST QUARTER

- A pair of Peoples runs picked up 13 yards to get Wingate into FSU territory
- Crocker hit Muckelvene for a 42-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 less than five minutes in
- Fayetteville State used an eight-play, 80-yard drive to tie it
- A Tyeous Sharpe 17-yard TD run tied it with 4:57 left in the quarter
- A Nigel Peele interception and 58-yard return gave the Broncos a 14-7 lead two minutes later
- WU answered with a three-play, 72-yard drive to tie it
- Lee Hit Brooks for a 37-yard reception to get it to the FSU 30
- Lee found Muckelvene for a 30-yard touchdown on the next play to tie it up at 14 with 1:39 left

SECOND QUARTER

- A Wingate fumble set the Broncos up at the WU 15 early in the second quarter
- Jacob Young's 26-yard field goal gave Fayetteville State a 17-14 advantage
- The 'Dogs went 40 yards on the ensuing drive, starting with a Simmons 32-yard kick return to the WU 37
- A 15-yard run from McNeill got the Bulldogs into FSU territory
- Robertson connected on a 40-yarder to tie it at 17 with 9:18 left in the half

THIRD QUARTER

- Robertson drilled a 45-yard field goal five minutes into the third quarter to give WU a 20-17 lead
- A 23-yard punt return from Muckelvene set the 'Dogs up on the FSU 36 on the next possession
- McNeill went for 20 yards on his first two carries of the drive to get it inside the 20
- McNeill capped the drive with a seven-yard rushing TD to make it 27-17
- Wingate went 55 yards on four plays on its next drive, giving the 'Dogs 20 unanswered points
- Peoples scored from 41 yards out to cap the drive and give WU a 34-17 advantage

FOURTH QUARTER

- Fayetteville State had the only points in the final frame
- Collyn Anderson capped an eight-play, 48-yard drive with a 21-yard strike to Sharpe to make it 34-24 at the 4:48 mark

UP NEXT

- Wingate has its home opener next Saturday, hosting Carson-Newman at 6 p.m. on ESPN3
- That is followed by two more road games, with WU traveling to Catawba and Tusculum
- The Bulldogs then open a three-game home stand starting Oct. 12 against Limestone