Wingate, N.C.----The Newberry College football team posted 448 yards total offense en route to a 35-27 South Atlantic Conference victory over Wingate University Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. The loss is Wingate’s first conference setback this season.

With the victory, Newberry improves to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the SAC. Newberry has won five consecutive contests in the series between the two schools. Wingate falls to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the SAC. The Bulldogs visit Catawba Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. contest. The Newberry scarlet-and-gray returns home Saturday, hosting Tusculum for a 7 p.m. encounter.

Newberry senior quarterback Brandon Gantt (Columbia, S.C.) threw for a career-high 336 passing yards. Gantt completed 20-of-39 passes for 336 yards and one score. Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Bostick (Florence, S.C.) caught nine passes for 158 yards. Senior wide receiver David Smith (Union, S.C.) recorded seven catches for 142 yards and one TD.

On defense, Newberry senior defensive back Ron Parker (St. Helena Island, S.C.) posted two interceptions. Parker had a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, giving the visitors an insurance score and a 35-21 lead. Newberry outscored Wingate 21-6 after intermission.

Wingate redshirt sophomore quarterback Cody Haffly (Locust Grove, Ga.) helped the Bulldogs compile 312 yards total offense. He completed 15-of-38 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns. The Newberry defense made Haffly earn every yard, as the scarlet-and-gray defenders had 10 quarterback hurries, three QB sacks and two interceptions.

Newberry struck first, as the visitors took the opening kick-off and moved the ball 54 yards on five plays. The drive stalled and the scarlet-and-gray settled for a 30-yard field goal by junior place kicker Britt Blackmon (Kershaw, S.C.) to take a 3-0 lead.

The Bulldogs did not waste time responding, as the hosts covered 48 yards on seven plays. Wingate sophomore running back Vince Jordan (Mt. Gilead, N.C.) sealed the deal with a three-yard TD run. Redshirt junior place kicker RP Lopez (Lakeland, Fla.) nailed the PAT to make the score 7-3 Wingate at the 10:09 mark of the first frame.

Blackmon capped an 11-play, 70-yard drive with his second field goal of the day. The Andrew Jackson High School product converted a 42-yard attempt with 1:39 remaining in the first quarter to pull the visitors within one point.

Wingate redshirt junior wide receiver Perry Floyd (Gastonia, N.C.) snagged two TD passes from Haffly in the second quarter, helping the Bulldogs take a 21-14 lead to the halftime locker room.

Wingate redshirt freshman safety Robert Fletcher (Lancaster, S.C.) recovered a Newberry fumble to set up Floyd’s first touchdown. The reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Week, Fletcher leads the Bulldogs with four fumble recoveries this season. His latest pick-up gave Wingate the ball at the Newberry 44-yard line.

Three plays later, Haffly and Floyd made a 33-yard connection for the score. Lopez made the PAT to give Wingate a 14-6 edge with 13:35 to play in the second stanza.

Newberry bounced back, as senior running back S.J. Worrell (Madison, Ga.) capped a quick four-play drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Worrell rushed 18 times for 89 yards and one TD Saturday. The first play of the drive was a 35-yard completion from Gantt to Bostick. Newberry converted the two-point conversion to tie the score at 14-14 with exactly 12 minutes remaining on the second quarter clock.

Wingate answered on its next possession, as the Bulldogs capitalized on another Haffly-to-Floyd scoring strike to take the halftime lead. On third down from the Newberry 11-yard line, Haffly found Floyd for the TD. As a result, Wingate led 21-14 with 8:27 left in the second quarter.

Newberry scored three touchdowns in a 15-minute span to turn the 21-14 deficit into a 35-21 advantage. Parker’s 54-yard interception return for a touchdown capped the 21-0 flurry and gave Newberry the two-touchdown lead with precisely seven minutes to play in the contest.

Forty-one seconds later, Haffly found redshirt junior wide receiver Delric Ellington (Charlotte, N.C.) with a 31-yard TD pass to pull the hosts within eight points. The PAT kick was blocked, accounting for the final margin.

Wingate would get the ball back once more in the waning moments, but the Newberry defense forced a three-and-out. The visitors picked up three crucial first downs to run out the clock.

Jordan barely missed his second 100-yard performance Saturday, as the West Montgomery High School product rushed 16 times for 93 yards. Ellington topped Wingate’s receiving charts, catching six passes for 104 yards and one score. Floyd grabbed five passes for 81 yards and two TDs. In addition, Floyd returned four kick-offs for 110 yards and one punt for 25 yards. He led all performers with 216 all-purpose yards Saturday.

Gantt helped Newberry make nine-of-17 third-down conversions. The scarlet-and-gray compiled 22 first downs, compared to 15 for Wingate. The Bulldogs committed 16 penalties for 126 yards. Newberry also eclipsed the century mark in penalty yards, as the scarlet-and-gray had 12 infractions for 110 yards.

Wingate will most likely maintain its lead in the SAC turnover margin category, as Wingate recovered two fumbles and recorded two interceptions. Newberry had two interceptions Saturday. Bulldog senior safety Tylan Merkerson (Oxford, Ga.) notched 10 tackles to top the Wingate charts. Redshirt junior cornerback Terrence Stephens (Queen Creek, Ariz.) had nine tackles and a team-best three pass break-ups Saturday for the Bulldogs.

Parker was by no means a one-man show for the Newberry defense. Sophomore linebacker Apollo Stretch (Columbia, S.C.) was Newberry’s top tackler with seven stops, a QB sack, two tackles for loss, three pass break-ups and a quarterback hurry.