HICKORY – Wingate erased a 14-3 halftime deficit to beat Lenoir-Rhyne 20-17 on Saturday at Moretz Stadium, winning on Gunnar Hilsinger’s 25-yard field goal with 1:27 left and sealing it when Anthony Dangerfield intercepted a pass with 51 seconds to play.
The Bulldogs improved to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears fell to 3-5 and 2-4.
Hilsinger’s kick capped a 13-play, 77-yard drive that began at the Wingate 15 and used 5:52, right after Lenoir-Rhyne tied the game. Brooks Brien kept it moving with his arm and his legs: a 6-yard completion to Kayden Bash on third-and-5, a 34-yard throw to Xavier Jackson to the Lenoir-Rhyne 25, and a 5-yard run on third-and-4. Jason Willis gained 7 on third-and-11 to set up the kick.
The Bears got the ball back at their 30 with 1:19 left. Elijah Evans sacked Wells Bettenhausen, the next pass fell incomplete, and on third-and-10 Dangerfield picked him off. Brien took a knee to end it.
Wingate’s defense controlled the second half, sacking Bettenhausen six times, five of them in the fourth quarter, and holding the Bears to 51 net rushing yards. Evans had two sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble that Geviaunta Walker recovered. Tyson Brown added two sacks. Dangerfield finished with nine tackles and two pass breakups to go with the interception.
The Bulldogs had to climb out of a hole partly of their own making. Hilsinger’s first field goal, ending a 13-play, 72-yard drive, made it 3-0 in the first quarter. After Bryson Steele intercepted Bettenhausen, Brien’s 23-yard throw to Jackson set up first-and-goal at the 7, but Wingate came away empty, turned over on downs at the 4.
Lenoir-Rhyne then scored twice in less than five minutes late in the second quarter. Carson Spoonts, in for a snap in place of Bettenhausen, threw a 48-yard touchdown to Tye Roberson with 6:35 left in the half. Brodie Bradburn intercepted Brien and returned it 43 yards to the Wingate 15, and LJ Turner scored from 5 yards out with 1:51 left. RJ de Madet picked off Brien again before the break.
Wingate opened the second half with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that Willis finished with a 9-yard touchdown run. After Daniel Deneen Jr. missed a 45-yard field goal for Lenoir-Rhyne, Brien found Damonte James for a 51-yard touchdown on third-and-11 with 1:17 left in the third quarter, putting the Bulldogs up 17-14. Deneen had also missed from 34 yards in the first quarter, and the two misses left six points off the board.
The Bears tied it in the fourth, and the drive could have gone differently. An offside penalty on Wingate during a punt gave Lenoir-Rhyne a first down, Mikel McClellan caught a 35-yard pass, and Spoonts ran 18 yards for what appeared to be a touchdown until a holding penalty brought it back. Bettenhausen was sacked on the next play, and Cole Allbaugh kicked a 37-yard field goal with 7:26 left to make it 17-17.
Wingate outgained Lenoir-Rhyne 398-284 and converted 10 of 17 third downs to the Bears’ 4 of 13. Brien threw for 247 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions and added 26 rushing yards. Jackson had five catches for 108 yards, and Willis ran for 90 yards. For Lenoir-Rhyne, Bettenhausen threw for 185 yards with two interceptions, Jarrod Mewborn and McClellan combined for 12 catches and 146 yards, Turner ran for 47 yards and a touchdown, and Christian Santana had 12 tackles. The Bears turned the ball over three times to Wingate’s two.
“Very disappointing,” Lenoir-Rhyne coach Doug Socha said. “This is a game that comes down to one score. We had bad penalties, turnovers, and not good enough in critical moments. It starts with me and we will all stay focused on improving.”
Each of Lenoir-Rhyne’s five straight losses to Wingate has come by four points or fewer. The Bears still lead the all-time series 24-18.
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