Wingate, N.C.----The Newberry College Wolves punched their ticket to the SAC championship game Saturday afternoon, prevailing 24-15 at Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference football action at Irwin Belk Stadium. The Wolves improve to 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 8-2 overall and 6-2 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate had 259 passing yards and 153 rushing yards for 412 yards of offense
- Newberry had 163 rushing yards and 129 passing yards for 292 yards of offense
- The 'Dogs held a 22-11 advantage in first downs
- The Bulldogs had the lone turnover of the contest
- Newberry also took a blocked field goal back for a touchdown
- WU went nine-for-22 on third downs and three-for-four on fourth downs
- Newberry was zero-for-seven on third down attempts
- The 'Dogs had three of the four sacks in the contest
- The Bulldogs held the ball for over 43 minutes on the day

KEY BULLDOGS

- Shaw Crocker threw for 259 yards and a touchdown, adding 49 rushing yards
- Alexander Wilson had 66 yards on 20 carries
- Myles Dillon had four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown
- Kamal Desor added four grabs for 44 yards
- Ryder Martin contributed a 40-yard reception
- Ra'Quan Simmons had 30 yards on four receptions
- Davon Gilmore had six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks
- Justin Rhodes and Sirod Cook had a pair of TFLs apiece
- Justin Armwood added five tackles and a pass break-up
- DJ Horne had 1.5 TFLs and two QB hurries
- Ethan Evans averaged 49 yards per punt on four punts with a long of 61
- He also made three field goals on the day
- Kyron Thomas had 70 yards on three kickoff returns with a long of 36

FIRST QUARTER

- Wingate forced a three-and-out on the opening drive
- The 'Dogs went 42 yards on 11 plays to get on the board first
- Crocker hit Wilson for 14 yards and Simmons for 20 yards to get it into the red zone
- Evans connected on a 36-yarder to make it 3-0
- After another three-and-out the 'Dogs took over at their own 10 and went 84 yards in 13 plays
- A 21-yard connection to Dillon and a 40-yard hookup with Martin got WU to the NC 11
- Wingate got the ball to the six and attempted a 23-yard field goal
- The kick was blocked by AJ Valentine, with Melvin Lundy taking it to the house to put the Wolves on top

SECOND QUARTER

- An interception set Newberry up in WU territory early in the second quarter
- Mario Anderson scored from 14 yards out to make it 14-3
- Wingate took over at the NC 39 yard line with three minutes left in the half
- Crocker hit Trevor Grant for 23 yards to get it to the Newberry 11
- Evans hit a 22-yard field goal to make it 14-6 with 31 seconds left
- The Wolves took the ensuing kickoff out to the WU 43
- Dre Harris hit Tom Washington for 41 yards to get it to the Wingate two yard line
- Lawson Reel hit a 19-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 17-6

THIRD QUARTER

- Wingate went 60 yards on 10 plays to open the second half
- Wilson's 19-yard run got the 'Dogs into Newberry territory
- Crocker found Austin Cain for 23 yards to get it to the Wolves 23 yard line
- Evans drilled a 41-yard field goal to make it 17-9
- Anderson broke free for a 63-yard touchdown to make it 24-9 with 25 seconds left in the third

FOURTH QUARTER

- The 'Dogs used a 13-play, 70-yard drive to find the end zone
- Crocker found Desor for 15 yards on fourth-and-10 to keep the drive alive
- The two connected for another 15 yards on fourth-and-five to get it to the Newberry 14
- Crocker found Dillon in the back of the end zone from 14 yards out to make it 24-15

UP NEXT

- Wingate wraps up the regular season at home next Saturday
- The 'Dogs host UVA Wise at 1:30 p.m.