Rocky Mount, N.C. - The Battling Bishops wrapped up their 2015 football season on Saturday, picking up their fourth straight victory by a 42-33 score over Ferrum. Coach Jeff Filkovski honored his 2015 senior class prior to kickoff. Playing their final games for the Blue & Gold were Dustin Midgett, John Young, Kenneth Newsome, Robbie Lanier, Cordell Gibbs, Shabre' Judkins, Martin Brazwell, Zach Gibson, and Kenneth Flowers.
The Panthers raced out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter before a 7-yard TD rush by Adrian Minondo got NCWC on the board. The 8-play, 61-yard drive featured seven rushes by the freshman tailback and a big 27-yard pass from Midgett to junior Malik Adams. Ferrum proceeded to miss a 29-yard field goal on its next possession, which Midgett turned into an 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by an 18-yard TD pass to Slade Dale for a 14-13 NCWC advantage.
The two squads traded touchdowns on their ensuing possessions for a 21-19 Wesleyan lead at the break. The Bishops' score came on a 16-yard pass from Midgett to Adams.
Each team managed a touchdown in the third quarter, with Ferrum's coming at the 8:50 mark on a 2-yard run by Harvey Taylor that put the Panthers on top 26-21. Wesleyan responded with a 9-play drive that saw a pair of critical roughing-the-passer penalties called -- the latter of which send Midgett briefly to the sideline. Freshman quarterback Nathan Gardner calmly completed the go-ahead drive with his first career touchdown pass, a 5-yarder to Adams.
Up 28-26 at that point, the Bishops would not trail again. Freshman Andrew Tyson's 1-yard run early in the fourth gave NCWC a 9-point lead, and after Taylor's third TD of the day pulled the Panthers to within two, Midgett answered with the final pass and completion of his career -- a 54-yard bomb to Adams that essentially sealed the win.
Ferrum attempted one final drive, but Deondre' Gunter's sack and forced fumble was recovered by NCWC's Aaron Meade and allowed the Bishops to run out the clock.
Minondo rushed for 211 yards on the day, while Midgett completed 10 passes for 186 yards. Adams caught eight passes for 162 yards and a trio of touchdowns, bringing his season-record total to 19 and upping his career-record total to 36 -- both of which are new USA South records. Defensively, Judkins and Newsome combined for 15 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, and fumble recovery, and a pass break-up.
Midgett finishes his career with a number of game and/or season records to his credit. Most notably, however, he will graduate as Wesleyan's all-time leader in touchdown passes with 52 scoring strikes during his career.
After an 0-4 start, the Bishops finished the season strong by winning five of their last six games to secure a 5-5 overall record for the second straight year. Their 5-2 mark in USA South play tied for second best in the league, marking the program's highest conference finish since 2010.