WINGATE - JoJo Spann's 42-yard touchdown reception with 4-1/2 minutes left to play gave the UNC Pembroke football team a late lead, but undefeated Wingate drove 65 yards on the ensuing possession and used a 14-yard touchdown pass with 1:34 left to play to thwart the Braves, 31-28, on Saturday evening at a foggy Irwin Belk Stadium.

The triumph snapped a two-game series win streak for the Braves (1-5) who drove to the Wingate 40-yard line on their final drive, but had their last-ditch scoring attempt stopped on consecutive incomplete passes. It was the fifth-straight victory for Wingate (5-0) who moved to 4-1 at home in the series with the Black & Gold.

It was a career night for Spann who finished the game with eight catches for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but E.J. Williams contributed to the effort as well with six catches for 82 yards and a pair of scores. Dominick Samson threw for a career-best 272 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-30 passing with one interception.

Lawrence Pittman ran for 172 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries to lead Wingate, while quarterback James Whitaker threw for 184 yards and three scores on 15-of-24 passing.

Christopher Ploch turned in a career-best nine tackles to pace Code Black which also finished the night with sacks by Tyler Hinton, Jordan Howard and Khalil Vance. Albert Wright recorded eight tackles and a pair of pass break-ups as well. 

The Braves grabbed their first lead since week 2 on Samson's 25-yard touchdown pass to Williams midway through the third quarter, but the Bulldogs went back out in front later in the period on Whitaker's 26-yard touchdown pass to Jake Jensen through thick fog that blanketed the playing surface for much of the second half.

Spann capped off a 7-play, 95-yard touchdown drive with his catch and score in the waning minutes, but Wingate drove 65 yards on seven plays on the ensuing possession and Jay Hood hauled in Whitaker's pass on 2nd-and-5 from the 14-yard line to complete the comeback effort.

A botched snap on fourth down on UNCP's opening possession of the contest set the Bulldogs up in short field, and Wingate took the lead three plays later on Whitaker's 8-yard scoring strike to Jay Hood on third down. The Bulldogs made it a 14-0 game with four minutes gone in the second quarter when Pittman capped a 4-play, 61-yard drive by lowering his shoulder and driving across the goal line.

The Braves shook off nightmarish starts to their first two offensive possessions and made the third time a charm when Samson found a wide open Spann down the center of the field for a 50-yard touchdown. That scoring strike capped a 4-play, 65-yard drive, and marked the second-straight game that Spann turned in a touchdown reception of 40 or more yards.

The momentum switched hands on an eerily familiar play on the ensuing possession when a botched snap on a fourth down punt attempt by Wingate set the Braves up in short field. Williams made an acrobatic catch in the end zone moments later to cap a 3-play, 19-yard drive that knotted the score back up with 7:20 to play in the second period.

Freddy McCollum's 39-yard field goal attempt with just more than a minute left before the intermission ricocheted off the right upright and bounced through to give the Bulldogs a 17-14 advantage heading into the lockerrooms.

The Braves will be back in action again on October 21 when they head to Athens, W.Va., to take on Concord (1-5) at Callaghan Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.