Rocky Mount, NC - Behind Bryan Haywood’s 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the Blue & Gold football team of North Carolina Wesleyan moved to 2-0 in USA South play with a 35-13 victory over Greensboro College on Saturday.  The opening period saw Haywood reel off the longest play from scrimmage in program history with a 96-yard TD run that gave the Battling Bishops a quick 7-0 lead, and the senior tailback later tallied Wesleyan’s final score early in the fourth quarter with a 19-yard touchdown rush. The Bishops are now
3-2 overall, while the Pride drop to 2-3 on the season,
0-2 in league action.

Haywood’s record run came less than two minutes into the contest after an interception by NCWC’s DeAngelo Stewart at Wesleyan’s own 4-yardline. Teammate Teron Bush added a score of his own later in the period when he capped a 3-play, 50-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown rush.  With the Battling Bishops holding a 14-0 advantage, both defenses held strong in a scoreless second quarter.

The Pride got on the board in the third quarter on a 16-yard touchdown catch by Antwan Thorpe from Mike Caparaso, making the score 14-7 in favor of Wesleyan.

The Bishops, however, responded with three unanswered touchdowns… two coming from quarterback Bo Jordan to wide receiver Laqwan Brodie from nine and 21 yards out, respectively, and the final coming from Haywood.

Greensboro tacked on its final seven points when back-up QB Seth Adams connected with Jorge Espinosa for an 18-yard score as time expired.

Wesleyan’s defense held the Pride to just 252 yards of offense on the day, recorded four sacks, and forced four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble). Senior Quentin Pope had a team-high five tackles, while junior Jaren Wilcox turned in two sacks for a loss of 20 yards. Stewart (2) and senior Erric Blagmon tallied the Battling Bishops’ three picks.

Offensively, Jordan finished 26-of-33 for a record-breaking 358 yards and two touchdowns. Orlando Webb hauled in eight catches for 120 yards, while Alonzo Washington and Brodie had six receptions apiece. As a team, the Bishops amassed 528 yards of offense on the day.

For the Pride, Caparaso and Adams combined to complete 19-of-40 passes for 183 yards. Greensboro was limited to just 69 rushing yards in the contest. Defensively, Devon Morrison and Sean Sheehy each recorded a game-high eight takedowns, while Nathan Wooten had two sacks.

Wesleyan returns to action next Saturday on the road at USA South foe Christopher Newport. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. in Newport News.