WINGATE - The UNC Pembroke football team used a late fourth quarter rally to spark the offense, but No. 17 Wingate put up points in every quarter to defeat the Braves 30-21 on Saturday evening at Irwin Belk Stadium.
 
The Braves (0-1) have now dropped their season opener in the last two season and fall to 1-6 when playing at Wingate. The Bulldogs (1-0) have now won 13-straight season openers and improve to 10-3 all-time against UNCP. 

 

THE BASICS

SCORE: No. 17 Wingate 30, UNC Pembroke 21 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 0-1; Wingate 1-0 LOCATION: Wingate, N.C. (Irwin Belk Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Wingate started their drive on their own 43-yard line and picked up a gain of five yards with a run from Elijah Holmes. Holmes completed a pass to Carlos Estronza followed by a five-yard run from Xavier Pugh for a first down. The Bulldogs had to settle for a 42-yard field goal for the first score of the game. WU 3, UNCP 0   The Braves began their drive on their own 25-yard line, but Marcus Martin's pass was picked off by Omar Ba at the UNCP 30 to give the Bulldogs the ball back. Elijah Holmes completed a 12-yard pass to Xavier Jackson to set up Xavier Pugh for a three-yard touchdown run. WU 10, UNCP 0   Marcus Martin connected with Joel Felder on back-to-back attempts including a 45-yard completion to move the Braves down the field to their own 32-yard line. Martin connected with an open JaQuan Albright followed by a 15-yard completion to Que Kennedy for a touchdown. WU 10, UNCP 7

2ND QUARTER

Wingate started a drive the end the first quarter and used a seven-yard run from Xavier Pugh to give the Bulldogs a first down on the UNCP 18-yard line. Elijah Holmes found an open Carlos Estronza for an 18-yard touchdown. WU 17, UNCP 7 3RD QUARTER The hosts started their drive on their own 42-yard line where Xavier Pugh ran up the middle for a gain of three yards. Elijah Holmes completed a pass to Jaylen Himes for 18-yards followed by a 15-yard completion to Laron Warner for a touchdown. WU 24, UNCP 7

4TH QUARTER

Tre Robinson completed a pair of passes to Malik Brown for a total of 57 yards to end the third quarter as the Braves started the fourth quarter on the Wingate three-yard line. Robinson split the Bulldogs defense for a two-yard touchdown. WU 24, UNCP 14 Elijah Holmes moved the Wingate offense down the field with a completion to Xavier Jackson for a gain of 38-yards to their own 34-yard line, but the Bulldogs would have to settle for a 40-yard field goal from Caleb Bonesteel. WU 27, UNCP 14   Tre Robinson found an open Malik Brown for a gain of 17-yards followed by a 14-yard run from Robinson to move the UNCP offense to its own 39-yard line. Robinson connected with JaQuan Albright for a gain of 12-yards and would eventually find Brown for a 19-yard touchdown. WU 27, UNCP 21   Wingate's Jake Snapp returned the kickoff back 52-yards to start the Bulldogs on the UNCP 42-yard line. Xavier Pugh carried the ball four consecutive times on the drive, but Wingate would come out of the drive with a 42-yard field goal from Caleb Bonesteel. WU 30, UNCP 21

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Tre Robinson finished the game completing 11 of his 19 pass attempts for 162 yards. The sophomore threw for one touchdown and rushed for 54 yards and one touchdown as well.  + Malik Brown registered a touchdown and caught four passes for a total of 93 yards.  + Evan VanMeter ended the game with a team-best nine tackles, four of which were solo tackles. Jaiden Nesbit also had 10 tackles and a pair of tackles for loss yards.

NOTABLES

+ Wingate finished Saturday's contest with 357 total yards of offense while UNC Pembroke was limited to 338 total offensive yards.  + The Braves have now lost their last six contests against the Bulldogs and fall to 1-6 when playing at Wingate.

UP NEXT

The Braves will host Fayetteville State on Saturday for their home opener and Military Appreciation Night. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at UNCPBraves.com/Tickets.

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BACK THE BRAVES

Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Football program by joining the Braves Club. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu.