Hickory, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs raced out to a 17-0 lead Saturday afternoon, then rallied late to pick up a huge 24-21 victory at #22 Lenoir-Rhyne in South Atlantic Conference football action at Lenoir-Rhyne University. Wingate improves to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the SAC, while the Bears fall to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the SAC. The victory sets up a huge matchup next weekend, with the Bulldogs hosting Newberry for a bid to the first-ever SAC championship game.

KEY STATS

- Lenoir-Rhyne had 292 passing yards and 12 rushing yards for 304 yards on the day
- Wingate had 178 rushing yards and 72 passing yards for 250 total yards
- The Bulldogs held a 15-12 advantage in first downs
- LR had three of the five turnovers on the day, with the 'Dogs notching three interceptions
- Wingate went six-for-16 on third downs, with Lenoir-Rhyne going two-for-11
- The 'Dogs piled up four sacks on the day
- The Bulldogs held the ball for over 36 minutes
- WU entered the game as the nation's leader in total defense, scoring defense, TFLs and third down defense
- The 'Dogs rank in the top five nationally in sacks, red zone defense and first downs allowed
- The win snaps LR's five-game winning streak in the series
- Both teams are listed as teams under consideration in the NCAA Super Region 2 rankings
- Wingate is now 6-0 on the road this season

KEY BULLDOGS

- Shaw Crocker threw for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding 24 rushing yards
- Kamal Desor and Trevor Grant each pulled in TD receptions
- Ryder Martin added a five-yard TD run
- Kalen Clark ran for 69 yards on 21 carries
- Alexander Wilson added 53 yards on 11 rushes
- Trevor Bryan had four receptions for 33 yards
- Dequan Mosley, Justin Armwood and Dontorian Best each had an interception
- Davon Gilmore had eight tackles, 1.5 TFLs, a sack and two pass break-ups
- Armwood added five tackles and a pair of TFLs with his interception
- Jordan Thomas and Tre Morrison combined for nine tackles and four pass break-ups
- Marquise Fleming, Justin Rhodes and Sirod Cook each added a sack
- Ethan Evans averaged 45.4 yards on eight punts, putting five inside the 20
- He also hit all three PATs and made a 35-yard field goal
- Kyron Thomas had 37 kick return yards; Ra'Quan Simmons added 25 punt return yards

FIRST QUARTER

- After the teams traded punts, the WU defense had a pair of TFLs to drive LR back to its own 14
- The punt was returned into Lenoir-Rhyne territory by J Max Swaim
- Crocker hit Bryan for 15 yards to get the 'Dogs inside the LR 30
- Crocker's seven-yard run got Wingate inside the red zone
- Crocker hit Desor for a 19-yard touchdown to put WU on top 7-0

SECOND QUARTER

- Wingate went 40 yards on 11 plays to set up a field goal early in the second
- Matt Pack started the drive with a 15-yard run that got the Bulldogs into Bear territory
- An Evans 35-yard field goal made it 10-0 with 10 minutes left
- Wingate forced another three-and-out and went on a 12-play, 53 yard TD drive
- Simmons got things started with his 25-yard punt return to the Wingate 47
- Three straight Wilson runs set the 'Dogs up with a first down inside the 30
- Corey Siemer's eight-yard run got Wingate inside the 10
- Crocker converted a fourth and one with a two-yard run
- On third-and-five, Crocker scrambled and pitched it to Martin, who ran it in from five yards out
- Wingate led 17-0 with 1:50 to go
- LR got on the board when Sean White hit Malik Simmons for a 70-yard touchdown to make it 17-7 at halftime

THIRD QUARTER

- The third quarter saw the teams trade turnovers, with four interceptions in a span of six plays
- Best picked off White to set Wingate up around midfield, but the Bears got it back two plays later
- The Bears took over and a completion got them to the WU 18
- Armwood was there with a huge interception in the end zone to get the ball back to the Bulldogs
- Lenoir-Rhyne got it back on the next play, taking over at the WU 18
- White hit Kelin Parsons for a seven-yard touchdown to make it 17-14 with 7:15 left in the third

FOURTH QUARTER

- A 40-yard Evans punt was downed at the LR two yard line
- The Bears answered with a 98-yard drive to take the lead
- White hit Deondre Lester for a 14-yard touchdown to make it 21-17 with 9:42 remaining
- Wingate's drive stalled, but an Evans 52-yard punt pinned LR at the three
- On the second play of the drive, Mosely picked off White and set WU up at the LR eight
- A penalty backed Wingate up, setting the 'Dogs up with a third and goal from the 10
- Crocker found Grant in the back of the end zone to put Wingate back on top
- An Evans extra point made it 24-21 with 4:29 remaining
- Wingate forced a punt and took over at its own 17 with 2:26 to go
- The 'Dogs could not get a first down, punting it back to LR with 1:51 remaining
- A 56 yard Evans punt set Lenoir-Rhyne up at its own 31
- The Bears could not gain a yard on their final drive
- Thomas broke up the first pass, while Gilmore had back-to-back break-ups to set up a fourth down
- The fourth down throw fell incomplete, giving it back to Wingate with 1:15 remaining
- The Bulldogs went into victory formation to secure the victory

UP NEXT

- Wingate hosts Newberry Saturday at 2 p.m.
- The winner of that contest will host the SAC championship game on Nov. 12