- DIVISION II -

Mars Hill storms past Wingate with strong second half

Tristan Rankin returns fumble 65 yards for winning touchdown

Published

September 8, 2023

Tristan Rankin (right) of Mars Hill returned a fumble for what would be the winning touchdown. Wingate QB Noah Bell scored the Bulldogs' lone TD. in the first half. (Photos courtesy of Mars Hill and Wingate athletics).

Tristan Rankin returned a fumble 65 yards for a go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, and Mars Hill football held on to beat Wingate 15-10 on a stormy Thursday night in Western North Carolina.

The Lions trailed 10-0 at halftime but didn’t allow the Bulldogs, winners of 11 games a year ago, to crack the scoreboard again. Mars Hill snapped a five-game losing streak to its South Atlantic Conference rivals, though this contest will go into the books as a non-conference victory.

Both teams came into Thursday’s meeting with highly touted defenses. Wingate finished with one of the top stopping units in all of Division II a year ago and held its first foe, Albany State, to a late garbage touchdown last week. Mars Hill boasts the reigning SAC Mountain Division defensive player of the year in Landon Honeycutt and put a host of other defensive players on the SAC preseason all-conference list.

It was no surprise that defense reigned most of the night Thursday once storms cleared. Neither team cracked 300 total yards of offense (Mars Hill 295, Wingate 264).

After a scoreless opening period, Wingate mounted a couple of impressive drives. Quarterback Noah Bell converted a seven-play, 74-yard series with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs on the board. Caleb Bonesteel hit the PAT and then added a 20-yard field goal with 4:01 left before halftime for the 10-0 advantage.

Lon Teachey gave the Lions three points at the 10:37 mark of the third period with a 40-yard field goal. Mars Hill then turned an eight-play series into a touchdown with 11:09 to go in the game. Quarterback JR Martin, changing directions and eluding tacklers, hit tight end Beau DeBerry for a 10-yard score.

But the PAT was missed, and that loomed large as the Lions still trailed 10-9.

Severe weather returned again, and the teams left the field for about half an hour. Wingate had the ball inside Mars Hill territory when play resumed. Bell rolled to the right on a keeper but was stripped. Rankin picked up the loose ball and raced down the left sideline to the end zone for what amounted to the play of the game.

It was Wingate’s only turnover.

Thursday’s result will shake up the NC Football News’ Best In State Division II power rankings. Wingate had been No. 1, while Mars Hill sat in fifth place.

The game won’t affect the South Atlantic Conference race, though. The teams, who play in opposite divisions of the SAC, were not set to meet this year. But each needed a non-conference game and set this as Mars Hill’s season opener. It is feasible the two squads could meet again at season’s end in the SAC championship contest.

Wingate came into the week 17th in the D2Football.com poll and 22nd in the AFCA coaches poll.