Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team out-gained preseason SAC favorite Wingate on Saturday night, but fell 31-13 in South Atlantic Conference action at Shuford Stadium for the Hall of Fame game.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba earned 15 first downs to Wingate's 14
- The Catawba Indians gained 342 yards of total offense to the Bulldogs' 292 yards
- WU held a 140-19 advantage in rushing yards
- Catawba threw for 323 yards to Wingate's 152
- The Bulldogs fumbled twice and the Catawba Indians' fumbled once, but each of the fumbles were recovered by the offense
- Catawba was called for nine penalties for 71 yards to Wingate's seven flags for 45 yards
- The Catawba Indians won the time-of-possession battle 32:15 to 27:45
- Wingate held Catawba to 5-of-15 on third down and 2-of-6 on fourth down
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Preston Brown went 26-of-45 for 323 yards and two touchdown passes
- Bo Pryor hauled in a game-high nine passes for 101 yards
- Jordan Mitchell had six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown
- Conner McCarthy went for 44 yards on three catches on a touchdown
- Jakarri Martin II tied the team lead with six tackles and a pass breakup
- Deno Wardlow also recorded six tackles
- Christian Campbell and Darryll Malachi both forced a fumble
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Wingate took its opening possession and scored a touchdown in six plays, as Alexander Wilson plunged in for a 1-yard score
- After the teams traded punts, a 40-yard Wingate catch on 3rd and long set up a two-yard O'Brien Barnett touchdown run as the Bulldogs took a 14-0 lead after the first 15 minutes
SECOND QUARTER
- Catawba responded with a 14-play drive on the ensuing drive, capping it off with a six-yard touchdown strike to Mitchell, but the PAT failed, as Catawba cut the deficit to 14-6
- The Bulldogs made it to the red zone on the following drive, but the drive stalled and were forced to settle for a 37-yard field goal to regain their double-digit lead
- Catawba's punt on the following drive was blocked and recovered by Wingate's Jaden White to take a 24-6 lead
- The Catawba Indians' next drive went for 12 plays, but Catawba was unable to convert on 4th down and turned it over on downs just before halftime
THIRD QUARTER
- Catawba scored on its opening possession of the second half, as Brown found McCarthy for a 37-yard touchdown to get within 24-13
- Brooks Bentley's pass found Tremel Jones as Wingate answered to return their lead to 18
- After the teams traded punts, Catawba once again drove into Catawba territory, but were once again unable to convert on fourth down just outside the red zone
FOURTH QUARTER
- For the second straight drive, Catawba drove the ball deep into Wingate territory, but their fourth down play from the 11-yard line was broken up
- The Wingate defense stood strong again on Catawba's next drive, standing up Catawba's 4th & 5 from the Wingate 32
- The Bulldogs chewed up nearly nine minutes on their next drive, giving the ball back to Catawba on its own 2-yard line with just 43 seconds left.
UP NEXT
- Catawba continues action in the SAC Piedmont Division, next week, traveling to Newberry for a 4 p.m. kickoff with the Wolves
