The 34th head-to-head meeting between Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate will also be the first meeting between the two South Atlantic Conference rivals in the postseason as the Bulldogs visit Hickory on Saturday with a trip to the Regional Final on the line. LR leads the all-time series 20-13, including a 31-24 victory in Wingate on September 13.
For the Bears, 2018 marks the fourth postseason appearance in program history and the Bears third trip to the Regional Semifinal. The Bears 43-21 win in the opening round of the playoffs marked the 500th win in program history and the fifth NCAA Playoff victory for the Bears. The LR defense forced six turnovers and kicker
Chase Allbaugh set a program record with five field goals as the Bears cruised to a victory.
Wingate is coming off an upset victory over No. 2 seed West Georgia on the road and has caught fire. The Bulldogs have won seven straight entering Saturday and have the SAC Defensive Player of the Year in Cardell Rawlings to go with the SAC Offensive Rookie of the Year in Nijere Peoples.
The September matchup between the two was a tail of two halves. The Bears dominated the opening stanza, going into halftime with a 24-7 advantage. Just minutes into the third quarter, the Bears extended the lead to 31-7 but Wingate would storm back and scored three touchdowns in a seven minute span to pull within 31-24. However, both defense tightened and no one scored over the final 16:47 of the game. The turning point came late in the fourth quarter on a 4th & goal from the 1. Lenoir-Rhyne stuffed a QB sneak and took over on downs to secure the victory.
Two of the league's best young quarterbacks square off. Wingate's Shaw Crocker (RS-Fr.) led the conference with 24 TD passes and is trailed by LR's
Grayson Willingham (RS-So.) with 23 TD strikes.
The winner of Saturday's clash will move on to face the winner of No. 1 seed Valdosta St. vs. No. 4 seed Bowie St. in the Regional Final next Saturday.
