Sarah Thurman Staff Writer
After a big win at home on Saturday against UNC-Pembroke, the undefeated Wingate Bulldogs will be on the road for their next two football games.
Wingate, 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the South Atlantic Conference, will travel to Salisbury to play Catawba on Saturday and to Mars Hill on Oct. 21. Both games will kick off at 1:30 p.m.
The next home game will be against Newberry at Irwin Belk Stadium on Oct. 28, at 6 p.m.
The Bulldogs are one of only two undefeated teams playing NCAA football in North Carolina (the other one is North Carolina A&T) after taking a 31-28 victory over UNC-Pembroke (1-5).
Wingate is ranked No. 24 nationally in this week’s AFCA/NCAA Division II Coaches’ top 25 poll. It’s the first time we’ve been in the rankings this season
Wide receiver Jay Hood scored the winning touchdown on a 14-yard pass from quarterback James Whitaker with 1:34 left in the game. Senior running back Lawrence Pittman ran for 165 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries.
It was the first time the two teams had played each other since the 2014 season. Wingate leads the all-time series 6-3.
The game was the first for the Bulldogs since a 22-14 win at Lenoir-Rhyne on Sept. 23.
In that game, Pittman rushed 37 times for 127 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt senior place kicker Freddy McCollum made a career-high three field goals for Wingate.
By the end of first quarter Wingate led 3-0 with McCollum scoring a 19-yard field goal. At halftime L-R got the lead with a 9-yard touchdown run. But Wingate regained the lead at 10-7 on Whitaker’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Malik Bledsoe.
In the third quarter, McCollum kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 13-7 lead
During the fourth quarter Pittman got a 3-yard touchdown run and with 3:12 on the clock, McCollum scored a 31-yard field goal, making the score 22-7.
L-R’s Nelson Brown got a 1-yard touchdown run for the final 22-14 score.
Edited by: Brea Childs
Photo Credit: Wingate Athletics Website
Wingate Triangle 