BREVARD, N.C. - The NC Wesleyan College football team held off conference foe Brevard College 29-21 on the road Saturday by making a goal-line stand as the clock ticked to zeros to knock off the Tornadoes.
Wesleyan improves to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the USA South with the win while Brevard falls to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
After Brevard got on the board first with a first quarter touchdown pass, the Bishops came right back and tied the game at 7 with a 12 yard TD pass from senior QB Nate Gardner to junior tight end Ben Dorfman. Wesleyan would then add two Caleb Mann field goals to tie Brevard at 13 all midway through the second quarter.
Wesleyan then continued their offensive power by scoring two more touchdowns in the 2nd quarter to lead 26-13 at the break. Dorfman then caught another TD pass from Gardner, this time a 4 yard pass to complete a short drive with 3 minutes to go before junior linebacker Antonio Johnson then extended his streak of defensive touchdowns to three weeks in a row with his 50 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. This one came with 58 seconds to go in the quarter. Johnson would go on to lead the defense with his 12 total tackles and 10 solo along with a sack and a forced fumble during his stellar day.
After no scoring in the third quarter by either team, NCWC then used another Mann field goal, this time a 26 yarder to start the fourth to go up by 16 points, 29-13. Brevard would then rally adding a touchdown and two-point conversion to trim Wesleyan's lead down to 8 with 9 minutes to go. The Tornadoes then got the ball back with 5 to go and drove to the Wesleyan one as they tried to tie the game, but the Bishops defense held strong stopping them four times for the win.
Gardner would go on to lead the offense throwing for 175 yards and two scores while senior wideout Trey Lancaster secured yet another 100 yard game, his 4th this season, with his 108 yards receiving on 6 catches including one for 50 yards as well.
Senior linebacker JT Lichtenberger also played well defensively recording 9 total tackles and 6 solo while Marcus Leggett and Christian Shaw also registered 7 tackles apiece.
The Bishops will now return home to host conference rival Methodist University during homecoming weekend next Saturday at 1 PM from Rocky Mount Ath. Stadium.