VIDEO | Game-Ending Pick-Six
VIDEO | Joe Reich Interview
VIDEO | Kalen Clark Interview
VIDEO | Justin Armwood Interview

Wingate, N.C.----Justin Armwood's 94-yard pick-six on the final play of the game ended a potential game-winning Tusculum drive Saturday night, giving the 10th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs a thrilling 43-35 victory in front of a packed Irwin Belk Stadium on homecoming weekend in SAC football action. Wingate improves to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the SAC, while the Pioneers fall to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate outgained Tusculum 426-381 on the night
- The 'Dogs threw for 234 yards and ran for 192 yards
- The Pioneers had 293 passing yards and 88 rushing yards
- The Bulldogs had 26 first downs compared to Tusculum's 16
- Wingate dominated possession, holding it for 40:24 on the night
- The 'Dogs were 14-19 on third down; the Pioneers were 5-11
- Tusculum converted two-of-three fourth downs
- WU scored on all six red zone trips; TU scored on three of four
- The Bulldogs lost two fumbles on the night
- Tusculum turned it over once, the interception on the final play
- Each team had two sacks

KEY BULLDOGS

- Nijere Peoples ran for 102 yards on 22 carries, adding 33 receiving yards
- Peoples also completed a 29-yard pass to Ryder Martin
- Shaw Crocker threw for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns
- RJ Mobley had five catches for 41 yards and a TD
- Ra'Quan Simmons added four grabs for 54 yards
- Myles Dillon had three catches for 39 yards, adding a rushing touchdown
- Kamal Desor had two catches for 16 yards and a score
- Kalen Clark had 51 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown
- Jaquan Edwards led Wingate with seven tackles
- Jesiah Carlton had six stops, 1.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and a QB hurry
- Davon Gilmore added five tackles and a TFL
- DJ Horne had five stops, 1.5 TFLs and a sack
- Sirod Cook had three tackles, half a sack and three QB hurries
- Tre Morrison had two tackles and three pass break-ups
- Armwood had a pair of tackles to go along with his pick-six
- McLean Robertson hit three field goals including a 49 yarder, adding four PATs
- Ethan Evans averaged 39.5 yards on two punts, downing one inside the 10
- He also had five touchbacks on eight kickoffs
- Kyron Thomas had 62 yards on a pair of kick returns
- J Max Swaim added a 32-yard kick return and eight-yard punt return

NOTES

- The Bulldogs move to 16-9 against Tusculum
- The 'Dogs have won 10 of 12 home games against the Pioneers
- Wingate has won eight of the last nine at Irwin Belk Stadium
- The Bulldogs have won three straight in the series and six of the last nine
- The last five meetings have been one-score games
- Wingate improves to 42-13 overall since the start of 2016
- WU leads the SAC in overall wins and league wins since the start of 2016
- The Bulldogs are 73-35 at Irwin Belk Stadium since 2001
- Wingate moves to 14-2 under the lights at Irwin Belk
- 32nd straight victory for WU when scoring at least 30 points
- 20th time scoring at least 30 points since the start of the 2018 season
- The Bulldogs have won 24 of their last 27 regular season home games
- 17th time Crocker has thrown for at least 200 yards in a game
- 11th career 100-yard rushing game for Peoples
- Robertson has now made 14 field goals of at least 40 yards
- The 49-yarder ties a career long for the All-SAC kicker
- Five different Bulldogs have a receiving TD this year
- Four Bulldogs have at least one rushing TD on the season

FIRST QUARTER

- Wingate forced a three-and-out to start the game, then went on a 69-yard drive
- Crocker hit Simmons for 22 yards to get it to the Tusculum 20
- A seven-yard Dillon run got it near the 10
- Crocker hit Desor in the end zone from nine yards out to make it 7-0
- Courtney Jackson's two-yard TD run capped a six-play, 75-yard drive to tie it at seven
- The 'Dogs answered with a 12-play, 53-yard drive to regain the lead
- Crocker hit Dillon for 19 yards to get it to the Tusculum 25
- The drive stalled inside the 10; a Robertson 25-yard field goal gave WU a 10-7 lead

SECOND QUARTER

- Ivan Corbin hit Darion Anderson for a 44-yard touchdown to put TU on top 14-10 a minute into the second quarter
- The 'Dogs answered with a nine-play, 43-yard drive
- A 33-yard return from Thomas set the Bulldogs up in Tusculum territory
- Alexander Wilson's 12-yard run got it to the Tusculum 10
- Crocker hit Mobley for a seven-yard TD to put the Bulldogs on top 17-14
- J.A. Pittman took the ensuing kickoff back 100 yards for a TD to put the Pioneers back on top
- Wingate again had the answer, going 67 yards on seven plays
- Crocker hit Peoples for 33 yards to get it to the Tusculum 38
- Peoples ran for 16 more yards on the next play
- Crocker's 20-yard connection to Simmons got it inside the Tusculum five
- Dillon ran it in from three yards out to put WU on top 24-21
- Wingate added to its lead late in the frame
- An 11-yard pass to Mobley and 19-yard hookup with Dillon got it to the TU 33
- Robertson nailed a 49-yard field goal to give Wingate a 27-21 halftime lead

THIRD QUARTER

- The 'Dogs got the ball to start the second half and went 70 yards in 10 plays
- Peoples ran for 19 yards the first three plays
- After a Crocker-to-Mobley connection, another 13-yard Peoples run got it to the TU 23
- Clark's 17-yard run got it to the Tusculum one
- He punched it in the next play to give the Bulldogs a 34-21 advantage
- A Wingate fumble set the Pioneers up at midfield late in the quarter
- Tre Simmons hit Gomillion for a seven-yard touchdown to pull Tusculum back within six

FOURTH QUARTER

- Another Wingate fumble gave Tusculum the ball at its own 31 with 8:07 left
- Corbin hit Tyler Ajiero for 61 yards to get it to the Wingate four
- Corbin ran it in from four yards out to give TU a 35-34 lead with 7:09 to go
- Wingate responded by going 60 yards in 11 plays the next 5:27
- Crocker's six-yard run on third and three kept the drive alive
- Peoples followed with a 16-yard run to get it to the Tusculum 23
- Crocker hit Desor for seven yards to get it inside the TU 15
- Peoples set up first and goal at the seven with a seven-yard run
- The 'Dogs could not punch it in from there
- Robertson nailed a 23-yard field goal to make it 37-35 with 1:46 left
- Corbin's 22-yard run got the Pioneers into WU territory
- Carlton stuffed Jackson for a loss of nine on the next play to move it back to TU territory
- Corbin then hit Bryce Moore for 38 yards, getting down to the Wingate 18
- Corbin's run the next play went for no yards, with the clock running below 30 seconds
- Corbin was flushed out of the pocket on the next play by Jordon Anderson, leading to the pick
- He threw it up right before going out of bounds, and Armwood was there at the six yard line
- Armwood took it back down the opposite sideline 94 yards to end the game
- It was the third-longest interception return in WU history, giving the 'Dogs the 43-35 win

UP NEXT

- Wingate hits the road for three straight
- The Bulldogs are at Limestone next Saturday at 1 p.m.
- WU travels to Barton and UVA Wise the next two weekends
- The 'Dogs are back home Saturday, Oct. 30, hosting Lenoir-Rhyne at 6 p.m.