Wingate football followed a familiar blueprint on its way to capturing the South Atlantic Conference championship Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs used a suffocating defense, an opportunistic offense and dependable special teams to fell Carson-Newman 28-13 at Irwin Belk Stadium.
Coach Rashaan Jordan’s troops held the Eagles to 84 total yards,picked off two passes and kept 1,000-yard rusher Jayden Sullins to a mere 27 yards in the victory.
Caleb Bonesteel made all five of his field goal attempts, including a 48-yarder to close the half. Cory Siemer scored a touchdown on a 38-yard run to answer Carson-Newman’s only TD in the fourth quarter. Noah Bell added a one-yard TD plunge in the third quarter.
Wingate avenged its only loss of the regular season and will take a 9-1 record into the postseason. The NCAA Division II brackets will be released on Sunday at 6 p.m. The ‘Dogs should be one of the top two seeds.
Five Key Takeaways From Wingate’s Championship Win
1. The Bulldogs captured their fourth South Atlantic championship, adding to their outright crowns in 2010 and 2017, and their SAC Piedmont Division title in 2022.
2. Carson-Newman, which has won 21 conference titles in the SAC since the 1970s, was denied its first trophy since the 2009 season. The Eagles dropped to 9-2 and should in contention for a D2 playoff berth
3. Bonesteel earned SAC title game MVP honors. The redshirt junior hails from Dawsonville, Ga. (Dawson County HS). His five field-goal day set a season high. He has now made 14 on the season. His 48-yard field goal was a career high. Bonesteel finished with 17 kicker points in all, a season high for any kicker in the state of North Carolina this season.
4. Wingate didn’t panic when momentum turned against them in the third quarter. The Bulldogs seemed in control after Noah Bell’s touchdown and Bonesteel’s fourth field goal put the Bulldogs ahead 19-6 with 2:59 left in the third quarter. Wingate got the ball back but then threw an interception, returned 57 yards deep inside Bulldogs territory.
Carson-Newman converted on fourth-and-goal from the 1 early in the fourth period to cut its deficit to 19-13. But on the next series, Siemer was off to the races for his lone touchdown of the day. Siemer finished the game as the leading rusher with 86 yards on 13 carries. O’Brien Barnett added 73 yards on 13 more totes.
5. Kai Russell led a balanced defense with 10 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Joseph Reddish picked off two passes. Carson-Newman only completed two throws on the day.
More South Atlantic Conference Football Scores
Lenoir-Rhyne 27, Anderson 24
Limestone 31, Mars Hill 26
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