SAC Recaps: Wingate blanks Wolves, LR Bears rebound, Mars Hill cruises

Wingate bolstered its D2 playoff resume and learned its opponent for next week’s conference championship game. Lenoir-Rhyne bounced back from a tough loss, Mars Hill kept a win streak alive, and Barton may have found its running back of the future. 

These highlights and more marked the final Saturday of divisional play in the South Atlantic Conference.

Wingate steamrolled Newberry 38-0 to finish the regular season with an 8-1 record, 6-1 in conference play, having already clinched the SAC’s Piedmont Division. Rashaan Jordan’s team collected its third shutout of 2024 and won for the sixth time in a row.

Wingate will now get ready for a rematch with the only team to beat them this season. Carson-Newman clinched the Mountain Division on Saturday with a 56-14 trouncing of Tusculum.

Lenoir-Rhyne rallied past Catawba 33-14, Mars Hill drubbed Anderson 31-16 and Barton fell to Limestone 40-26.

It’s a shame we never got to see Wingate play Mars Hill this season. The two teams were slated to meet Sept. 28, but the contest was canceled because of Hurricane Helene. Mars Hill has been on a roll in its own right, winning for the fourth time in a row Saturday.

SAC Scoreboard | Nov. 9

• Wingate 38, Newberry 0
• Lenoir-Rhyne 33, Catawba 14
• Limestone 40, Barton 26
• Mars Hill 31, Anderson 16
• Emory & Henry 62, UVA Wise 14
• Carson-Newman 56, Tusculum 14

Wingate’s shutout specialists strike again, setting record

Wingate’s third shutout set a school record for most goose-eggs in a season. The Bulldogs thwarted Newberry’s passing attack throughout, allowing just three completions in 17 attempts. Dequan Mosley picked off a pass.

Kai Russell earned an 11-yard sack and four tackles. Diego Aviles and Ryan Green recorded seven tackles and one tackle-for-loss apiece. 

On the other side of the ball, Brooks Bentley piloted an effective attack. Bentley threw three touchdown passes – two to Evan McCray and one to Cain Austin. Noah Bell and O’Brien Barnett each rushed for touchdowns, with both averaging  more than seven yards per carry on the day. 

Christian Teeter averaged 50 yards on three punts to help in the field-position battle. Wingate led 14-0 after one quarter and 21-0 at the break.

Mars Hill continues surge with victory at Anderson 

JR Martin accounted for a lot of yards and points once again, helping Mars Hill improve to 5-3, 5-2 against SAC foes. 

The Lions starting quarterback threw for 345 yards, completing touchdown passes of 19 and 11 yards to Izaiah Jean-Baptiste and David Hargro. Martin also rushed for 36 yards and a four-yard touchdown. 

Jon Gullette scored Mars Hill’s other TD on a 42-yard dash in the fourth quarter. 

Lon Teachey booted a first-quarter field goal and hit all four PAT attempts. The Lions have not lost since suffering a 28-27 defeat against Carson-Newman on Oct. 12.

Bears bounce back, bound past Catawba

Lenoir-Rhyne became the third D2 team in our state to reach eight wins, rallying for a rivalry triumph at Catawba. The Bears fell behind 14-3 in the opening period before reeling off 30 straight points.

Damien Savage (30 yards) and James Ussery (70 yards) returned interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Lenoir-Rhyne picked off Catawba three times for the game. 

Jamir Fox scored two touchdowns for the Bears on runs of 2 and 21 yards. Carson Keaton and Jake Brown each kicked field goals. 

Catawba’s early lead came courtesy of a 36-yard Mason Fortune-to-Kobe Christian TD pass and an 18-yard TD run by Marquece Williams. Joshua Grant caught 11 passes from Fortune for 109 yards.

The Indians (2-8. 1-7) had 306 yards passing for the game but were undone by turnovers. They also lost a fumble. 

JT Black had two huge tackles-for-loss for Lenoir-Rhyne (8-2, 6-2), resulting in 32 negative yards. One of those backwards stops was a 10-yard sack. He also forced a fumble.

Jaylen Hinton had 12 tackles for Catawba. Evan Simmons forced two fumbles. Zy Brown picked off a Lenoir-Rhyne pass. 

Parrish finds end zone four times for Barton

Barton may have found its next standout running back. Freshman Jackson Parrish dashed for 154 yards and four touchdowns in Saturday’s loss to Limestone, reminiscent of the kind of performances Jordan Terrell provided for the Bulldogs the past few years.

Parrish’s final trip to the end zone put Barton ahead 26-23. But Limestone closed the game on a 17-0 run, starting with a blocked PAT attempt that was returned for two points. Parrish has more than 500 yards on the season.

Dustin Noller threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns for Limestone. Kevin Lalin added 161 rushing yards and two TDs for the Saints.

Dereck Barringer led the Barton defense with nine tackles. Nasir Winston and E’Lla Boykin had eight stops apiece.

Top Performers

Diego Aviles (Wingate): Recorded a team-high seven tackles, with one tackle-for-loss, a pass break-up and two quarterback hurries against Newberry.

Brooks Bentley (Wingate): Threw for 145 yards and three touchdowns

Jon Gullette (Mars Hill): Carried 21 times for 180 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 8.6 yards per attempt and found the end zone on a 42-yard jaunt.

JR Martin (Mars Hill): Dual-threat quarterback completed 18 passes to nine different teammates, finishing with 345 yards and two TDs. Martin also rushed for 36 yards and another score.

Jackson Parrish (Barton): Carried 34 times for 154 yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 1, 1, 19 and 4 yards against Limestone.

The Numbers Game

37 – Total points allowed in Wingate’s last six conference games after giving up 31 to Carson-Newman in a loss on Sept. 21. The Bulldogs have scored 198 points during their recent six-game win streak.

16 – Interceptions by Mars Hill’s defense this season after Neil Vertilus picked off Anderson on Saturday. Vertilus has three interceptions on the season. Tristan Rankin has five INTs

103 – Games between Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba on the gridiron, considered the sixth-longest rivalry in D2 football. Lenoir-Rhyne has now won eight of the last 11 meetings and took the lead in the overall series 50-49-4.

What’s Next?

Here are the match-ups for the final weekend of the regular season in the SAC: