By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Wingate and Catawba will always be a football rivalry, but the Bulldogs have beaten Catawba five straight times, including a 28-0 beatdown in 2022, so there has been an absence of joy in the series lately for players and fans.

Maybe Catawba’s new coaching staff can change that discouraging trend. Catawba’s 30-13 South Atlantic Conference win against Emory & Henry last week provided some energy and some optimism. Catawba (3-2, 1-2) put together a dominant second half that had to be its best football of the season.

Wingate is a 21-point favorite to beat the Indians based on the Massey Ratings, although, on paper, it looks to be a tighter game than that. Catawba fans can find out at 6 p.m. on Saturday. That’s when kickoff is scheduled on Kirkland Field in Shuford Stadium.

Wingate QB Shaw Crocker is finally gone. That’s good news. He seemed to be a Catawba killer for a very long time.

Actually, Wingate doesn’t have anyone now who leaps off the offensive stat sheet. The Bulldogs don’t have anyone in the top 10 in the South Atlantic Conference in rushing or passing.

Wingate (3-2, 2-1) got a very easy win last week against Erskine, which looks to be the SAC’s weakest team, but the Bulldogs have played a lot of the same teams that Catawba has.

Wingate played Mars Hill, Tusculum and Emory & Henry before those teams played Catawba, so Catawba coaches have been seeing Wingate on film week after week and they know what the Bulldogs can do and what they can’t do. Catawba coaches had this week’s scouting report taken care of before the week even started.

Like the Indians, Wingate lost to Mars Hill (15-10) and Tusculum (23-21).

Catawba’s Preston Brown continues to lead SAC passers (1,386 yards, 14 TDs) and Bo Pryor is still the league’s leading receiver, but Catawba ran the ball extremely well last week, so that’s something else Wingate will have to prepare for.

The idea is to be able to take whatever the defense gives. The Indians hope to be able to do that against the Bulldogs. Theoretically, they can’t stop everything.

Catawba kicker Bryson Sims is the reigning SAC Special Teams Player of the Week. He kicked key field goals when Catawba was still trying to catch up to Emory & Henry in the third quarter.

Experienced linebacker Christian Bennett (East Rowan) has been good. He’s third on the team in tackles behind defensive backs Deno Wardlow and Jakarri Martin.

The SAC is a stout league and Catawba’s schedule doesn’t include some of the weaker teams in the conference.

Catawba may not be favored the rest of the season, but it looks like the Indians have improved enough to win their share.