Tusculum sophomore quarterback Matthew Palazzo accounted for three scores including a 46-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Burke with 2:59 remaining as the Pioneers edged 24th-ranked Wingate 23-21 Saturday night at Irwin Belk Stadium in the South Atlantic Conference football opener for both teams.
Tusculum (1-2, 1-0 SAC) snaps a four-game losing streak to the Bulldogs (1-2, 0-1 SAC) and records its first victory at Wingate since 2014. The two-point margin of victory is the narrowest in the 27 meetings in the history of the series.
Wingate out-gained Tusculum offensively 398-253 while running 23 more plays than the visitors. But the Pioneers did not commit a turnover for the first time this season while the TU defense recorded a pair of interceptions and got a third-quarter safety which would prove to be the difference in the game.
The Greeneville, Tennessee native, who was making his first collegiate start, went 15-for-30 for 202 passing yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a pair of TDs in the first half to spot TU to a 14-0 lead.
Junior linebacker Wesley Scott recorded a season-high 11 tackles with a sack. Ryan Dolce tallied nine stops, while Jermaine Witherspoon and Adrian Robinson accounted for eight hits apiece.
