No. 14 Coastal Carolina Tops Gardner-Webb, 52-24, Saturday
November 11, 2006 | Football
GAME STATS
BOILING SPRINGS - No. 14 Coastal Carolina ran off 38 unanswered
points to erase an early Gardner-Webb lead, handling the host
Bulldogs, 52-24, Saturday at Spangler Stadium.
With the win, and Charleston Southern's road loss at Liberty on
Saturday, the Chanticleers (8-2, 3-0 Big South) wrapped up at least
a share of their third league title in a row. The loss was the
second worst ever in a Big South game for Gardner-Webb, nearly
matching a 31-point home loss last year to Charleston Southern
(Nov. 4, 2005).
The Chanticleers ran up 638 yards of total offense in the game,
with quarterback Tyler Thigpen completing 22-of-27 passes for 306
yards and two scores - and rushing for 119 more yards on just 10
carries. His 76-yard run on a bootleg play with less than two
minutes to play set up the Chants' final touchdown, as Mike Tolbert
capped the scoring with a three-yard run with just 11 ticks
left.
Gardner-Webb (6-4, 2-2 Big South) wrapped up their league schedule
on Saturday, and used a muffed punt by CCU to go in front early.
After that miscue at the Chanticleers' 22-yard line, Philip Peoples
capped the short drive with by bulling in from five yards out for a
7-0 Bulldog lead with 11:43 to play in the first quarter.
The fun would stop there for the hosts, as Coastal marched 76 yards
on just six plays, as Tolbert darted in from 20 yards out to tie
the game with 9:23 remaining in the first. The Chants got the ball
back after forcing a punt and went to work again, covering 75 yards
on just nine plays to take a 14-7 lead on an Aundres Perkins' run
from 13 yards out. Perkins capped another marathon drive to push
the lead to 21-7, as Coastal Carolina went 87 yards on 12 plays and
chewed 4:39 off the clock midway through the second quarter.
Perkins caught a swing pass from Thigpen with less than a minute to
play before halftime, and rumbled in from 14 yards out for a 28-7
Coastal Carolina lead at the break. The Chanticleers had 363 total
yards at intermission, and held GWU to just 97 total yards in the
first 30 minutes.
Josh Hoke got things going in the third quarter with a 31-yard
field goal to push the lead to 31-7, and Jerome Simpson turned a
first down gain into a 61-yard scoring pass from Thigpen to put the
Chanticleers up 38-7 with 8:25 to play in the third quarter.
Hunter Smith snapped the scoring string with a 34-yard field goal
with 2:46 to play in the third, and backup quarterback Stan
Doolittle helped the 'Dogs take advantage of a CCU turnover,
rushing for a two-yard score to cap a 15-yard scoring drive with
1:38 left in the third.
Tolbert's second scoring run of the game pushed Coastal's lead to
45-17 midway through the fourth, before Doolittle connected with
Jordan Peyton from five yards out to cap a 65-yard scoring drive
for GWU that cut the Chanticleers' lead to 45-24 with 6:23 left in
the game.
Gardner-Webb converted an onside kick attempt and drive to the
Chanticleers' one-yard line, but Doolittle threw his third
interception of the half to end the threat, and Coastal drove 97
yards in the final three minutes to finish off the scoring.
In addition to Thigpen's big day, Jamie Fordham (84 yards), Tolbert
(73 yards, 3 TD) and Perkins (45 yards, 2 TD) helped the
Chanticleers rumble for 332 yards on the ground. Coastal
intercepted Gardner-Webb five times in the game as well.
Gardner-Webb managed 337 total yards after its slow start, but had
just 80 rushing yards on 33 carries. Stan Doolittle came off the
bench to complete 18-of-27 passes for a career-high 180 yards and a
touchdown, but was picked off three times. Starter Devin Campbell
was 8-of-12 for 77 yards and two interceptions on the day.
Freshman Philip Peoples had 53 of Gardner-Webb's 80 rushing yards,
carrying 12 times.
The Bulldogs will wrap up their 2006 season next Saturday at home,
as they host Southern Conference member Wofford (6-4) at 1:30 pm
ET. The Terriers blitzed Chattanooga, 55-0, Saturday afternoon.
| #14 Coastal Carolina 52, GWU 24 |
