WINGATE, N.C. --- Justin Armwood returned an interception 94 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the game for Wingate University as the 10th-ranked Bulldogs held off Tusculum University 43-35 in South Atlantic Conference football action Saturday night at Irwin Belk Stadium.
McLean Robertson's third field goal of the game with 1:46 left gave the Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 SAC) a 37-35 lead. The Pioneers (2-3, 1-2 SAC) drove 46 yards in eight plays to the Wingate 18, but quarterback Ivan Corbin was picked off by Armwood who crossed the field and used a convoy of blockers to go the distance as time expired.
Shaw Crocker went 17-for-29 for 205 yards and two touchdowns and Nijere Peoples ran for 102 yards on 22 carries for the Bulldogs, who led 34-21 midway through the third quarter before the Pioneers came back with two touchdowns, the latter a four-yard run by Corbin with 7:09 left which gave Tusculum a 35-34 lead.
Wingate drove 60 yards in 11 plays over 5:19 to set up Robertson, who had hit from 25 and 49 yards in the first half. His 23-yard kick gave Wingate a 37-35 lead, but a 22-yard scramble by Corbin and a 38-yard completion to Bryce Moore set up Tusculum at the Wingate 18. After a rush for no gain, Corbin scrambled wide right and tried to throw back to Moore inside the 5, but Armwood intercepted the pass and dove into the end zone to cap the win for the Bulldogs.
Corbin finished 15-for-27 for 286 yards and one touchdown and added 53 yards and a score on 13 carries. Cortney Jackson added a rushing touchdown, Maurice Gomillion caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Tre Simmons and Jarvis Jones set a Tusculum record for the longest play in school history with a 100-yard kickoff return in the first half.
Wingate controlled the ball for 40:27 and went 14-for-19 on third-down conversions. However, a pair of fumbles by the Bulldogs in the second half were converted into touchdowns for the Pioneers. Wingate ran 80 plays compared to 56 for Tusculum, and outgained the Pioneers 426-381 in the victory.
After a three-and-out for Tusculum on the game's opening possession, Wingate marched 69 yards in 13 plays, covering 6:19 while converting 3-for-3 on third downs. Crocker hit Kamal Desor for nine yards and a 7-0 Wingate lead with 8:01 left in the first quarter.
The Pioneers came right back, as Corbin hit Justice Parham for 23 and 38 yards to move the ball to the Wingate 12. Three carries later, Jackson hit the end zone from two yards out and the extra point from J.A. Pittman tied the game at 7-7 with 5:53 left in the opening quarter.
Wingate closed the first quarter with another long drive, covering 53 yards in 12 plays and using 5:07 of clock before Robertson drilled a 25-yard field goal with 38 seconds left in the opening period to give the Bulldogs a 10-7 lead.
Tusculum would take its first lead of the game on its next possession, with completions to Reggie Kellum of 11 yards and Tyler Burke of 15 yards putting the ball in Wingate territory. On third-and-8, Corbin found Darion Anderson down the middle for 44 yards and a score to give the Pioneers a 14-10 lead with 13:53 remaining in the first half.
Another lengthy drive by Wingate was turned into points, with the Bulldogs going 43 yards in nine plays after taking possession at their 43. Crocker connected with R.J. Mobley on third-and-goal for 7 yards and a 17-14 Wingate lead with 9:05 remaining in the half.
The lead for Wingate would last exactly 14 seconds, or the length of time it took Jones to go from end zone to end zone on the kickoff return. His 100-yard runback broke the school record for longest play, which was a 99-yard kickoff return by Justin Houston against Wingate on Oct. 26, 2013. It was the first kick return for a touchdown by the Pioneers since Thurlow Wilkins went 93 yards at Newberry on Sept. 28, 2019. The runback gave the Pioneers the lead back at 21-17 with 8:51 to play in the half.
Wingate regained the lead as Crocker hit Peoples for 33 yards and Ra'Quan Simmons for 20 yards, the latter on third-and-11, before Myles Dillon scored on a three-yard run for a 24-21 Bulldogs lead with 5:37 left in the half. Tusculum tried to answer, using a six-yard run by Corbin on fourth-and-4 to drive to the Wingate 25. However, Wingate's Ryan Chavous blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Pittman to preserve the lead for the Bulldogs.
With under two minutes left in the half, Crocker drove Wingate 31 yards on eight plays and Robertson closed the first half by drilling a 49-yard field goal with three seconds left to send Wingate to the locker room with a 27-21 lead.
Wingate seemed poised to take command as it drove 70 yards on 10 plays, including eight runs, and closed out the drive with a one-yard run from Kalen Clark to go ahead 34-21 with 9:33 left in the third quarter. After an exchange of punts, Tusculum gained possession at its own 48 when Dajavon White forced a fumble by Crocker which was recovered by Jordan Smith.
The Pioneers would move 52 yards in nine plays, including another fourth-down run by Corbin, and found the end zone with 24 seconds left in the quarter as Simmons came on after Corbin lost his helmet and tossed a 7-yard scoring strike to Gomillion to cut Wingate's lead to 34-28.
After another exchange of punts, Tusculum forced Crocker into his second fumble of the half as Nelson Louis sacked him at the Tusculum 31 and White recovered with 8:07 to play. Following a short run by Gomillion, Corbin hit Tyler Ajiero with a bomb down the middle for 61 yards to the Wingate 4. Corbin then executed the quarterback keeper and cut back into the end zone, with Pittman's conversion giving Tusculum a 35-34 lead with 7:09 left.
Wingate started the winning drive at its 34, and benefitted from a personal foul against the Pioneers on a third-down scramble by Crocker to move to the Tusculum 39. Runs of 16 and 7 yards by Peoples, the latter on third-and-1, set up Wingate with first and goal. On fourth down, Robertson drilled a 23-yarder for a 37-35 Wingate lead with 1:38 left, but gave Tusculum a final chance that Armwood thwarted.
Parham led all receivers in the game with six catches for 94 yards for the Pioneers. Ten different receivers had at least one catch for Tusculum, while Mobley was the top pass-catcher for Wingate with five receptions for 41 yards and a score.
Ty'Korian Brown led the Tusculum defense with a career-best 15 tackles (nine solo) and two pass breakups, with 13 tackles from Jermaine Witherspoon and 10 stops by John Smith. Louis and Ryan McIntyre each had sacks for the Pioneers, while White had two tackles for loss among his seven total stops, along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. For Wingate, Jaquan Edwards had a team-high seven tackles and Tre Morrison was credited with three pass breakups.
In punting, Andrew Cantrell had four punts for a 39.8 average for Tusculum while Ethan Evans punted twice for a 39.5 average. Jones' 100-yard return was the big special teams play of the game for Tusculum, though Kyron Thomas and J. Max Swaim each had kick returns of more than 30 yards for Wingate.
Tusculum was flagged eight times for 72 yards in the game, while Wingate committed three penalties for 30 yards in losses.
The Pioneers will return to North Carolina next weekend to face 16th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne at 1 p.m. from Moretz Stadium. The Bears, who were preseason favorites in the SAC, were upset by UVA Wise 35-28 on Saturday to fall to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
