Wingate clinches first SAC regular season crown with 49-33 victory at Newberry Saturday

Newberry, S.C.----Wingate University redshirt junior quarterback Cody Haffly (Locust Grove, Ga.) threw a career-high tying five touchdown passes and redshirt senior running back Nelson Woods (Shelby, N.C.) had 26 carries for a season-high 181 yards and two scores as the Bulldogs defeated Newberry College 49-33 in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday at Setzler Field.

With the victory, Wingate (8-2 overall, 6-1 SAC) clinches its first-ever SAC regular season championship. The number three team in the NCAA Division II Super Region 2, the Bulldogs will hear about the post-season Sunday. Newberry concludes the 2010 campaign 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the SAC. Wingate snaps a five-game losing streak in the Newberry series with today’s triumph.

            One of 24 regional candidates for the Harlon Hill Trophy, Haffly completed 19-of-31 passes for 285 yards and five scores. Bulldog redshirt senior wide receiver Delric Ellington (Charlotte, N.C.) had 10 receptions for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Classmate and fellow wide receiver Perry Floyd (Gastonia, N.C.) had four receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns.

Newberry senior wide receiver David Pressley (Anderson, S.C.) caught 12 passes for a career-high 183 yards. He completed the best season by a Newberry receiver with a school-record 86 catches for 1117 yards and 11 touchdowns. Newberry redshirt freshman quarterback Parker Hite (Ninety Six, S.C.) completed 18-of-28 passes for a career-high 266 yards with a touchdown and also rushed for two touchdowns. Senior cornerback Kamaal McIlwain (Van Wyck, S.C.) returned a kick-off 80 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Woods surpassed the 1000-yard plateau Saturday with his 18th career 100-yard game. His 75-yard touchdown run is a career-long. He has 223 carries for 1055 yards and nine touchdowns entering the NCAA play-offs. Wingate’s all-time leading ground gainer, Woods has rushed for 1000-plus yards in three of his four Bulldog seasons.

Haffly eclipsed 3000 yards for the season Saturday. He has completed 225-of-358 passes for 3172 yards and a single-season record 32 touchdowns in his second year as Wingate’s starter. Haffly has five career five touchdown games, including four this season. The Bulldogs are 15-5 overall when Haffly gets the starting nod at QB.

            Floyd broke Wingate’s single-season record for touchdown receptions with his two TD grabs Saturday. Floyd has 12 touchdown catches this year. Earlier this year, Floyd broke Wingate’s single-season high water mark for all-purpose yards. He has 1878 all-purpose yards this year. Wingate redshirt senior place kicker RP Lopez (Lakeland, Fla.) broke his own single-season record for extra points, as he booted seven PATs to give him 41 for the 2010 campaign.