Tag Archives: team

Football, NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate University

Wingate drops heartbreaker to Florida Tech, 26-23 after mishandling extra point

Leave a comment

Brendan Shriver, Staff Writer

The Wingate University Bulldogs looked to be on their way to tying the game in the final minute of regulation on Sept. 29, but a failed PAT returned for a score finished off a 26-23 victory for visiting Florida Tech. With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 2-3 on the year.

“We had some opportunities and had a nice drive there at the end. Unfortunate to miss the chance to tie it up, it’s something we’ve done a million times so it’s unfortunate,” Wingate Head Football Coach Joe Reich says.

JT Stokes and Nijere People’s led the offensive unit for the Bulldogs. For the second straight week, Stokes had more than 100 yards receiving, with seven catches for 185 yards and a touchdown in the loss. People’s had 23 carries for a career-high 133 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Robbie Wallace and Auntrell Mack led with 11 tackles each. Kam Johnson also had nine tackles.

After a scoreless first quarter, Wingate took a 10-7 lead at halftime on a 20-yard field goal by Mclean Robertson. Then after a nearly scoreless third quarter, the final 17 minutes were wild.

Peoples scored his second TD of the day to give Wingate a 17-14 lead on the last play of the quarter. After a Florida Tech touchdown and field goal to make it 24-17 in favor of the visitors, Wingate drove down the field in hopes of redeeming themselves for the missed opportunities that would have tied the game against Lenoir-Rhyne the week before. For the second straight week, they couldn’t muster a tie and a chance to win it in overtime.

Crocker hit Stokes for the touchdown to make it 24-23, but the snap on the PAT bounced and the desperate attempt at a kick was blocked. Florida Tech then proceeded to return it for the game-clinching 2 points and after a failed onside kick, the Panthers had secured their victory.

Wingate is on the road this Saturday, traveling to UNC Pembroke for a 7 p.m. start.

Edited by Brendan Shriver

NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate University

Wingate falls to Lenoir-Rhyne 31-24 at home after furious second-half rally comes up short

Leave a comment

Brendan Shriver, Staff Writer

The Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears jumped out to a 31-7 lead in the third quarter, then withstood a furious rally from Wingate to hang on for a 31-24 victory. The Bears improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in league play.

“We’ve got a lot of fight, we’ve got good players, we just have to execute more consistently. There were plays throughout the game, in the first half in particular, that we just set ourselves back. You could feel the momentum change on the sideline in the third quarter and we just started executing better,” Wingate Head Football Coach Joe Reich says.

Some streaks were snapped for the Bulldogs. It’s the first time that Wingate has lost at Irwin Belk Stadium at night. The loss was also Wingate’s first to Lenoir-Rhyne in four years.

Wingate outgained LR 378-353 on the night, although most of those yards came during the rally. “Offensively, we’ve got to get it going early on and not wait to until the second half to get things started. But I love the fight, I love the energy, I love this group of guys. They’re high character guys and in the locker I just want to tell them, I love that fight, keep that up, let’s just execute consistently and we’ll be all right,” Reich says.

There were two key plays in the closing moments of the game when Wingate was trying to tie the game. The first play was a goal-line stand by the Bears on the one yard line. Had Wingate scored and kicked the extra point, the game would have been tied and could have gone to overtime or the Bulldogs could have had a chance to win it outright.

The other critical play was an interception by Wingate with three minutes left. This came just after the Bulldogs had recovered a fumble shortly after the goal line stand. Wingate got the ball back for one final shot at the tie and overtime, but couldn’t capitalize.

JT Stokes and Shaw Crocker led offensively for the Bulldogs. Stokes had seven catches for a career-high 186 yards and two touchdowns while Crocker completed 14-of-27 passes for a career-high 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score.

“With JT it’s about the execution, but it’s also the leadership on the field as well. It’s the things you don’t see, the rallying the troops, it’s his presence out there. He’s a great leader,” Reich says.

Defensively, Cardell Rawlings had a huge game to lead Wingate. Rawlings piled up 14 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two QB hurries. Rawlings has 11.5 TFLs and 8.0 sacks on the year.

“There’s nobody more passionate. We talk about having a fierce desire, and that encapsulates Cardell Rawlings, just a fierce desire to win, a fierce desire to be the best and a fierce desire to prepare. It’s all emotion and intensity and passion, that’s who he is as a person, so it was good to see him have another big game,” Reich says.

Wingate is at home again next week, hosting Florida Tech at 3:00 p.m.

Edited by Brendan Shriver

NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate Volleyball

Volleyball begins 2018 on six-match winning streak

Leave a comment

Jalen White, Staff Writer

Last week, the Wingate Volleyball team faced Winston-Salem State, Belmont Abbey and Converse College, to open up the season. In the Belmont Abbey game, Wingate started off slow, but fought their way through the second set. They ended the game with a score of 3-1. 

Sophomore outside hitter Anne Abernathy stated, “This was a game to grow on, with the rough start and being able to fight back. It shows us our mentality for the rest of the season.”

In the next two games they dominated against Winston-Salem State and Converse, extending their hot start to the season.

The Bulldogs then faced the Augusta Jaguars in an exciting match. “At the end of the game we noticed that we needed this adversity to be a stronger contender in the SAC,” said Sophie Schaff. Wingate ended up coming on top with a 3-1 victory. They have an undefeated record of 6-0.

Senior middle blocker Phoebe Havenaar expressed that, “Winning the regular conference season and SAC, then hosting regionals, and making the Elite Eight,” are some of their teams goals this season. The team is really excited about having newcomers Molly Lambillotte, Shannon Kasprak, Reese Blackley and Kasey Eastland.

The Bulldogs are looking forward to improving their last season record of  27-4. As they go into this season as the favorites to win the SAC conference, the Bulldogs are on a roll and are ready to make a big impact.

 

Edited by Brendan Shriver

NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate University

Men’s soccer looks forward to challenging season in 2018

Leave a comment

Jaelyn Campanella, Staff Writer

As we kick off a new school year, we also welcome back fall sports, including Men’s Soccer. Coming off of a hot streak that ended with the Bulldogs being crowned national champions in 2017, they have a reputation of the top team to uphold. Not only did the Bulldogs claim the national championship last year, but for the past four years, they have won the South Atlantic Conference title.

Coach Gary Hamill said, “The upcoming season is always a challenge since we have been the top team in the league for the last several years.”

Hamill has been the head coach for 27 seasons and has been named the SAC Coach of the Year eight times, and Regional Coach of the Year twice. He is hopeful for the team this year and is excited for the opportunity to rebuild the team, since they graduated 10 seniors last year and only two of the starters are returning players.

One player to look out for is senior Pablo Jara. As the goalkeeper, he plays a vital role in the Bulldogs’ success, and has 29 career shutouts, which ranks second in SAC history. Jara was Wingate’s first player to be named a three-time All American in the school’s history and also earned All-SAC and All-Region honors for three consecutive years.

This season is unlike the past few years for the team, because it is a year of uncertainty. With so much of the past team gone it will be interesting to see the new players start. Luckily, there were no changes to the coaching staff, so the team still has a solid foundation.

Hamill also said, “ We graduated 10 seniors last May and with just two returning starters. It’s a whole new team. It is both a challenge and an exciting time to rebuild the team again and start a new era.”

The Bulldogs started their season with a pair of games in Winter Park, FL on Thursday, Aug. 30 and Saturday, Sept. 1. The first match  against Rollins ended up as a loss for the Bulldogs, with a score of 1-2. However, the game on Saturday against St. Leo was quite impressive, with strong offensive plays in the first half that led the Bulldogs to take their first victory of the season, with a final score of 3-2.

Wingate then returned home for two games. The first game of the year at Pride Park was played on Wednesday, Sept. 5 and the Bulldogs tied Chowan, 0-0. The second game was on Saturday, September 8th and Wingate defeated Flagler 4-1, as junior forward Elliot Curtis led the way with a goal and an assist.

Wingate is back in action Wednesday, Sept. 12 opening up SAC play against Mars Hill at 7:30 pm at Pride Park.

Edited by Brendan Shriver

Football, NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate University

Shaw Crocker excels as Bulldogs signal-caller in first collegiate start

Leave a comment

Heath Barringer, Staff Writer

Irwin Belk Stadium was the scene for the Wingate Football team on Aug. 30 as they opened the 2018 season on a Thursday night. Fresh off a 9-2 record and a SAC Championship in 2017, the Bulldogs look to repeat this year with a new quarterback under center. Shaw Crocker, the redshirt freshman from Greenville, S.C. made his debut for the Bulldogs and made it a memorable one.  

Shaw is an education major with a focus on math education, and with that, it brings pretty tough calculus classes that he brought up when I had the chance sit down and chat with him before the game. He said, “Having my redshirt year really helped me get settled into college with classes and all and not having the pressure of playing right away so I could get right in the classroom to start off was nice.”  

He also attributed to how comfortable with the Bulldog offense he was compared to his redshirt year where he did not play by saying, “I looked at it as a chance to grow and grow closer with some of my teammates. Our quarterback room is pretty tight and having that year to get comfortable really helped.”  

Shaw had a great football mind before he came to Wingate and this comes from having a father who has been in high school coaching for 30 plus years. Both of his parents attended Newberry College where Crocker almost ended up attending himself before making the decision to bring his talents to Wingate.

He talked about some nerves before his first start like anyone would, but he also talked about knowing the team had his back and trusting in the system. He was just ready to have some fun and play ball. And on opening night for the Bulldogs, that is exactly what he did.  

After the game I had a chance to catch up with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Long for Wingate. He summed up what everyone was thinking by just saying, “I thought it went really well.”  

Crocker ended the night throwing for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14-22 from the pocket.  He also had a rushing touchdown on a nifty little keeper from the 2-yard line. He thanks his teammates for his performance and personally his center Hunter Jolly, who made his first career start as a redshirt freshman as well on Thursday.  

Jolly had confidence in his quarterback by saying, “I knew he was going to light it up before we ever stepped out on to the field.”  Crocker was happy with is first performance and I’m sure the rest of OneDog Nation was too.

Edited by Brendan Shriver

NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate University

McDonald wins SAC Player of the Year Award, cherishes season

Leave a comment

Shane Rich, Staff Writer

For the first time in her time at Wingate as a golfer, Diana McDonald has been awarded the SAC Player of the Year Award for Women’s Golf. McDonald, along with the rest of the women’s golf team, has had much success throughout the course of the year, as they just finished winning the SAC Tournament with a 26 stroke victory over Queens University.

“I have definitely learned a lot this whole year about my golf game and became a more mature player from my freshman year last year. I kicked it off very well last season with our first tournament which I came 2nd and shot 73-68. I think with that starting I was able to take that with my other tournaments” McDonald said.

The SAC Player of the Year also had some comments concerning advice for younger golfers as well as who she has to thank for her success.

McDonald said,“We have two freshman this year and they are very great players. With their ability on the golf course I feel that they can do great things in the future. My best advice for them is to do themselves and just do what they do best!”

“My family has always been there for me from the beginning and always have supported me and sacrificed so much for me. I thank them so much. I would also like to thank my wonderful team for having a great year and for working hard out on the golf course and for always being supportive. Finally, I would like to thank my coach from back home in Canada who has helped me a lot in my golf game.” McDonald said.

McDonald had much to say about what made the SAC Player of the Year award so special, and she also capped everything off by telling what her favorite moment was this year.

“My favorite moment of the year is going to tournaments with the team. But we held our home tournament in South Carolina and everybody on the team went and I had fun with them. Also, some of our supporters came to watch us during the tournament and we got to have dinner at our coach’s parents’ condo one night, and we walked on the beach and played with the younger kids. It was just a great time.” McDonald said.

As they look forward after McDonald’s year for the record books, the women’s golf team hopes to continue their success throughout next season.

Edited by Brendan Shriver

Photo Credits to Wingate University Sports Information

Football, NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate University

Football to host seven home games this fall

Leave a comment

Crystal Fuller, Staff Writer

Wingate University Athletics Director Steve Poston and Head Football Coach Joe Reich announced the 2018 Wingate Football schedule in March. For the first time since 2002, Wingate University’s football team will have the upperhand of playing seven home games.

Coach Reich explained how the Bulldogs got lucky, “When we look for games sometimes we take what we can get. Last year we had a bye week but we also played the first two games on the road so we only had four home games in the regular season. When the scheduled flipped we immediately had six home games,” said Reich.

Coach Reich also said that,“Florida Tech really needed a game and was willing to come up here and play us at home so that’s how we got to seven. Florida Tech is a top quality out-of-conference opponent who will be a great new challenge. We know UNC Pembroke will be tough as well.”

The Bulldogs have played six home games on eight occasions, the most recent being in 2016. The Bulldogs will play a senior college school-record seven home games, beginning with a Thursday, August 30 contest versus local rival Johnson C. Smith at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field (7 p.m. start time).

“We are looking forward to opening on a Thursday night,” said Reich. “This will be a nice change up…having seven home games will be a good thing for us as well.”

Wingate will see many benefits from the seven home games and has many plans in store. The Bulldogs will host their annual special events throughout the 2018 home schedule including Church Youth Day, Patriots’ Day and Tailgating for the Troops. These events will influence larger crowds just as last year when the Bulldogs sold-out the first night game to ever be hosted by Wingate.

“The best thing about having seven home games would be that we wouldn’t have to travel as much plus it will be more fun for the school,” said Domineke McNeill, a sophomore running back. “Hearing the crowd pushes us more to be more physical and make more plays but for the other team they tend to get scared and fold.”

General admission season tickets range from $40 for adults and $20 for non-Wingate students. Single game tickets are $12 for adult and $8 for non-Wingate students. For more ticket or schedule information go to www.wingatebulldogs.com. We hope you join us this year as we continue to make history!

Edited by Brendan Shriver