The Charlotte 49ers rallied in the second half to take the lead only to see Wesley College return the favor with 14 fourth-quarter points to post a 35-28 victory in the 49ers final home game of the inaugural season.
Charlotte (4-6), facing its fifth straight nationally ranked team, suffered its fourth straight loss.
The 49ers were undone by three turnovers on offense and 10-of-17 Wesley third-down conversions on defense.
Wesley (7-2) took a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown run from Joe Callahan and Callahan’s two-yard pass to Kyle George before Charlotte started its rally.
The Wolverine’s tried an onside kick after going ahead 14-0, but the ball went out of bounds at Wesley’s 39, setting the 49ers up in scoring position. Seven plays later, Kalif Phillips rushed 12 yards to give the 49ers their first score and cut Wesley’s lead to 14-7 at the half.
In the second half, Charlotte’s Dmarjai Devine forced and recovered a fumble on the opening kick, again giving the 49ers exceptional field position at the Wesley 22. After three plays yielded no yards, the 49ers lined up for a field goal. Backup quarterback Lee McNeill, the 49ers holder, however, rolled out to his right and found Mark Pettit alone in the end zone for the score on the fake field goal.
On their next drive, Charlotte took the lead, 21-14, when QB Matt Johnson found C.J. Crawford in the end zone for a three-yard score to complete a 10-play, 58-yard drive.
The 49ers forced another punt, and appeared to be moving again. Alan Barnwell rushed for nine yards and then pushed out on a 12-yard run only to fumble at the Wesley 28. The Wolverines capitalized with their third touchdown – on an eight-play drive that covered 78 yards. Rick Jackson scored on a two-yard run to knot the score, 21-21.
“We had them on their heels,” Brad Lambert, 49ers head coach, said. “Coming out in the second half, we came out really strong. (After the fake field goal) the momentum went with us. We just didn’t make enough plays today. Defensively, on third down, we just didn’t play very well. We just have to get off the field on third down. We’re not doing that good enough right now.”
The 49ers have a bye week before completing their inaugural season at Morehead State on Saturday, Nov. 23