Senior running back Nelson Woods (Shelby, N.C.) ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Redshirt senior wide receiver Perry Floyd (Gastonia, N.C.) had three catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. The preseason first team All-American piled up 265 all-purpose yards on the afternoon. Redshirt senior receiver Delric Ellington (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore receiver Chris Bowden (Forsyth, Ga.) had over 90 receiving yards each and a pair of touchdown catches each.
The Bulldog defense forced five fumbles. Five different Bulldogs forced fumbles and five different players recovered fumbles. Redshirt senior linebacker Greg Harmon (Hope Mills, N.C.) had 13 tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble to lead the defense. Redshirt senior cornerback Terrence Stephens (Warner Robins, Ga.) added 12 tackles and a forced fumble.
Mars Hill junior running back Jonas Randolph (Daleville, Ala.) rushed 23 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Lion junior quarterback Luis Cruz (Anaheim, Calif.) completed 22-of-28 passes for 351 yards and two scores. Three Mars Hill wide receivers accumulated 89 receiving yards or more. Lion senior tight end Allen Woerner (Tiger, Ga.) caught a team-high passes for 98 yards and one TD. Mars Hill senior defensive lineman Marzarius Samon (Jacksonville, Fla.) had eight tackles, 2.5 QB sacks (18 yards) and a safety for the Lion defense.
Wingate used a 21-point second quarter to take a 21-14 lead at intermission. Mars Hill struck first, as Randolph completed a nine-play, 66-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. Lion junior place kicker Michael Pinkerton (Bogart, Ga.) nailed the extra point to give the visitors a 7-0 lead with 10:28 remaining in the opening stanza.
Floyd converted a 67-yard, catch-and-run reception from Haffly into pay dirt early in the second quarter. Bulldog redshirt senior RP Lopez (Lakeland, Fla.) kicked the PAT to tie the score at the 12:17 plateau. Four plays later, Cruz fumbled and Wingate senior linebacker Ben Hinson (Monroe, N.C.) recovered at the Mars Hill 44-yard line. Haffly hit Bowden three plays later with a 19-yard scoring strike to put the hosts up 14-7.
The Lions answered, as Cruz orchestrated a six-play, 67-yard drive. The march ended when the signal-caller hit Woerner with a three-yard touchdown pass. Pinkerton’s PAT tied the score for the final time at the 6:12 mark of the second quarter.
In response, Wingate put together its longest drive of the afternoon. Haffly completed the 13-play, 66-yard, almost-six-minute jaunt with a one-yard TD toss to Ellington with 22 ticks left on the second quarter scoreboard. Lopez made the extra point to give the Bulldogs the lead for good at 21-14.
The two teams basically traded scores the rest of the way. Woods scored both of his touchdowns in the second half. His first TD was a 68-yard outburst, giving Wingate its first of two 14-point third quarter advantages at the 6:05 mark. Woods finished the scoring with 3:57 to play in the fourth frame, rumbling into the end zone from two yards and accounting for Wingate’s largest margin.
In between the two Woods’ touchdowns, Haffly found Bowden (24 yards) and Ellington (18 yards) for scores in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Cruz had another TD pass and Randolph tallied the Lions’ final six points with a six-yard touchdown run with 11:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. The fans got their money’s worth, as the two teams combined for 982 yards total offense Saturday.
Wingate concludes the 2010 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 13, visiting Newberry College for a 2 p.m. SAC contest. Mars Hill returns home to host Brevard College for a 1:30 p.m. league encounter.
(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton contributed information to this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)
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