Gardner-Webb Faces Gridiron Challenge From VMI Saturday
October 27, 2006 | Football
LIVE STATS
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Gardner-Webb and VMI will square off in
a key Big South Conference football game on Saturday afternoon at
1:30 pm ET in Spangler Stadium, as both teams look to pick up a
crucial conference victory.
The forecast for kickoff Saturday calls for sunny skies and
61-degree temperatures, near perfect weather conditions for the
annual Homecoming crowd in Boiling Springs. GWU will need the extra
fan support, as the Bulldogs (5-2, 1-0 Big South) will duel with a
VMI team that is much better than its 1-7 overall record (0-2 Big
South).
"They're a much, much better team than their record," said GWU head
coach Steve Patton. "Coach [Jim] Reid has those guys playing as
hard as any team in the country right now, and they're playing much
better on both sides. VMI was really banged up with injuries
earlier in the year, and now they've finally gotten healthy. This
is going to be a tough game, and we're hoping that our team
continues to respond to the challenges of playing in
conference.
"When you only have four conference games, every one is
important."
VMI exploded for over 400 yards of offense last week in a near
upset of Charleston Southern. The Keydets drove to the Bucs'
13-yard line late in the fourth quarter, but were halted on fourth
down and lost, 27-22, to a team that is off to a 7-0 start. Just
two weeks ago, VMI led No. 24 Coastal Carolina with less than a
minute left after a Sean Mizzer touchdown run - only to see the
Chanticleers score with 18 seconds left to take a 31-27 win in
Lexington.
With quarterback Jonathan Wilson's return, the Keydets' offense is
even more dangerous. Last week, the senior signal caller passed for
more than 250 yards and ran for 90 more to spark a very solid
effort by the Keydets' on that side of the football.
Freshman cornerback Christian Kelly was named Big South Freshman of
the Week after picking off three passes - part of a
four-interception effort against CSU's Collin Drafts, the Big
South's Preseason Player of the Year.
Gardner-Webb also had an inspired effort last week, and the
Bulldogs were able to pull out a 27-24 win at Liberty. Quarterback
Devin Campbell threw for 267 of his 293 yards in the final 30
minutes, directing the Bulldogs to 17 first downs in the third and
fourth quarters alone.
Hunter Smith's 40-yard field goal with five seconds left won the
game, as the Greensboro, N.C., senior boomed a pair of
fourth-quarter field goals in a clutch performance.
Last week's win marked the third time this season that Gardner-Webb
has rallied to win in the fourth quarter. Gardner-Webb will offer
live stats for the first time ever during the VMI game. The live
stats' link at the top of this story will go active just prior to
kickoff on Saturday afternoon.
| GWU-VMI Game Notes |
