Braves put Wingate in the dog house

By Matt Smith
Sports Editor

Photo by Kayla Pearson

UNCP All-American Caylon Hann’s forced fumble and recovery with 3:26 left in the fourth quarter sealed the Braves 24-13 victory over Wingate Sept. 12 as the Black and Gold demolished the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter in front of more than 4,000 fans at Grace P. Johnson Stadium.

With the Braves’ lead at 11 and Wingate driving to UNCP’s 20-yard line, Hann broke free from the Bulldog’s defense to dislodge the ball from Wingate quarterback Cody Haffly to preserve the win.

“I am very excited for our guys,” UNCP head coach Pete Shinnick said.  “It was a great win for everybody that has been with us for all three years. I am extremely proud of the fact that we did not give up at any time today, even when it looked like everybody was against us.”

The sack and fumble recovery returned the ball to the Braves who ran the clock down to just 18 seconds before the Bulldogs regained possession.

The Black and Gold’s last-minute defensive effort capped off a determined performance by the Braves who scored 21 second-half points to snatch a victory from the Bulldogs’ jaws.

With UNCP up 3-0 after a defensive minded first half, both teams’ offenses sprang to life in the game’s later stages.

At the 9:24 mark in the third quarter, the Wingate offense began a 68-yard scoring drive from their 32-yard line.

Haffly completed a deep fade route to wide receiver Antonio Cotton who picked up 47 yards on the pass to get into Braves’ territory.

Another 13-yard completion over the middle by Haffly set the Bulldogs up at the UNCP 5-yard line, and the scoring play was completed by running back Vince Jordan on a 1-yard rush up the middle to score the touchdown for Wingate.

After a blocked extra point following the touchdown, Wingate took their first lead of the day at 6-3.

ingate would score again on the Braves’ very next possession when UNCP wide receiver Thomas Dove fumbled a screen pass from quarterback Cory Smith.

Although Dove did not seem to have possession of the ball before he fumbled, the referees did not stop play and Wingate’s Rover Fletcher returned the UNCP fumble for a 25-yard touchdown.

The ensuing extra point gave the Bulldogs a 13-3 lead, but the Black and Gold’s gritty offense came back on the field with a vengeance in the fourth quarter.

On the Braves’ second possession in the final quarter, UNCP sophomore running back Travis Daniels rushed for 46 yards on a 78-yard scoring drive that reclaimed the lead for the Black and Gold.

On the drive’s first play, Daniels ran to his left for a 33-yard breakaway that set the ball up on the Bulldogs’ 45-yard line.

A 15-yard pass from Smith to tight end Josh Throckmorton put the Braves into the red zone, and Daniels finished the play with another run to the left for 13 yards and a touchdown to give the Braves a 17-13 lead.

UNCP’s offense put the game out of reach with 6:30 left in the game with another rushing touchdown by running back Rashon Kennedy.

Kennedy rushed for 41 yards on the drive, including a 26-yard run up the gut of the Wingate defense on the drive’s first play.

Three minutes later Kennedy finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown which propelled the Braves to the 24-13 victory.

“It’s a great win,” Kennedy said.  “We had a whole bunch of people trying to tell us we were going to lose, but we had confidence in ourselves, and we knew we could win. We went out and did the talking, and we got it done.”

Along with the Braves’ two final rushing touchdowns, the Black and Gold scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Smith to wide receiver St. Anthony Lloyd and a 41-yard field goal from kicker Taylor Baskett.

The receiving touchdown by Lloyd was his first collegiate touchdown reception.

Offensively, the Braves out-gained the Bulldogs 343-307 in total yardage, including racking up 179 more yards on the ground as the Braves tallied 196 yards of total rushing.

Daniels led the team with 97 yards rushing on 14 carries with Kennedy right behind him with 12 carries for 78 yards.

Smith completed 16-30 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore wide receiver Jamal Williams led the Black and Gold with six receptions for 49 yards.

Wingate head coach Joe Reich noted that the Pembroke offense played a large role in the win.

“If you have a good offensive and defensive line, and you have a quarterback like Corey Smith, who’s not going to make mistakes and throw in the tailbacks they have, you’re going to be in every game and be pretty good,” Reich said.  “They [Pembroke] can control both lines of scrimmage…they have a super running game, and a quarterback that doesn’t make mistakes.  That’s a good recipe for your program, and Coach Shinnick does a good job of that.”   

Haffly led the Bulldogs with 242 yards through the air, but Jordan’s lone run was Wingate’s only offensive touchdown of the day.

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Matthew Fortston led the Braves with 11 total tackles.

Hann finished the game with six tackles and one sack, and junior defensive lineman James Alexander led the Black and Gold with two tackles-for-loss.

The 13-point output by Wingate was their lowest total of the season.  Wingate found the red zone just once on the day against the Braves’ stingy defense.

“Our guys answered the call,” Shinnick said.  “We talked about wearing people out, we talked about winning the second half, about persevering, but most importantly, continuing to fight.”

With the win, UNCP avenged their only loss of 2008 and move to 3-0 on the season.

The 4,225 fans that packed the stadium were the most ever for a UNCP home game.

The Braves will next be in action Sept. 19 as the team takes the road for a 1 p.m, game against Carson-Newman.