WINGATE, N.C. — Anderson (4-5) lost to Wingate (5-4) 35-14 Saturday at Irwin Belk Stadium.
The Trojans outscored Wingate 14-7 in the first quarter, with
Wilson Edwards' 36-yard touchdown pass to
Lennix Valarie and
Daniel Williams' punt block returned for a touchdown accounting for AU's points. Wingate answered with seven points in the second quarter and 21 in the third, while Anderson was limited to eight first downs, 33 rushing yards and 118 passing yards as Wingate finished with 488 yards of total offense.
Edwards completed 10 of 21 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Valarie caught three passes for 59 yards and a touchdown.
Alex Ledford recorded nine tackles.
Zack Ramsey added five tackles with one sack.
The Trojans built a 14-0 first-quarter lead before ending the quarter ahead 14-7. The defense forced a punt on Wingate's opening possession behind Ramsey's third-down sack, and
Sadler Soles later forced and recovered a fumble at the Wingate 46 after AU had lost a fourth-down fumble near midfield. Edwards turned the takeaway into points with a five-play drive, completing an 8-yard pass to
Rob Sanders for a first down before finding Valarie for the touchdown at 5:26, and
Phillip Bonacci added the extra point. The Black and Gold's defense followed with another stop, including a third-down sack shared by
Josue Esiki and
Christian Sexton, before the special-teams touchdown at 3:46. Wingate put together a late scoring drive and cut the margin with a touchdown and extra point in the final seconds.
AU's red-zone defense closed the second quarter by keeping Wingate out of the end zone, with Gunnar Hilsinger missing a 30-yard field goal as time expired to leave the score tied 14-14. Earlier, Wingate finished a 74-yard drive with Ethan Wallace's 31-yard touchdown run and the tying PAT at 10:36. The Trojans answered with a 10-yard completion from Edwards to Sanders and a 15-yard run by
Darren Lloyd, but back-to-back sacks ended the drive. Samuel Mullis later flipped field position with a 52-yard punt, and
Chase Brightharp hurried a third-down incompletion to help force a Wingate punt before the final stand.
The third quarter turned on turnovers for the Trojans, as Edwards was intercepted on the opening possession and Wingate converted the short field into a touchdown and extra point for a 21-14 lead at 13:00. The Black and Gold answered with a 15-yard completion from Edwards to Valarie, a 17-yard Lloyd run and an 8-yard
Parr Folsom carry before another interception ended the series at the Wingate 20. AU's defense forced Wingate into a fourth-and-1 later in the quarter, but the Bulldogs converted and finished an 11-play drive with a touchdown to make it 28-14 with 4:03 left. After Mullis punted on the next Trojans possession, Wingate added a 70-yard touchdown pass at 2:31, and AU closed the quarter with a 24-yard Edwards completion to
Devin Larry before punting again as Wingate carried a 35-14 lead into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, AU's defense produced a takeaway when Williams forced a fumble that
RJ Gibson recovered and returned 5 yards to the AU 30 early in the quarter, then later stopped Wingate on fourth-and-2 at the AU 37. The offense could not turn the first takeaway into points, gaining 2 yards before Mullis punted, and the Trojans finished the quarter without a first down.
Rafael Little added a tackle for loss during Wingate's next possession, and Ramsey made the fourth-down stop at 5:15 to give the Black and Gold another possession. Wingate limited that drive to minus-9 yards, and after Mullis' 42-yard punt, the hosts ran out the remaining time in a 35-14 final.
Up next, the Trojans host Mars Hill on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 4 p.m. in Anderson, S.C. The Trojans will celebrate senior day, as well as Homecoming and Veteran's Appreciation.
