GWU Gridders Top Southeastern Louisiana, 28-21
September 30, 2006 | Football
HAMMOND, La. - Gardner-Webb stormed back with 28 second-half points and held Southeastern Louisiana on fourth down in the shadows of their own goal line with under a minute to play to tough out a gritty, 28-21, road win Saturday night.
Trailing 10-0 at halftime, Gardner-Webb (3-2) got a 21-yard Mario E. Brown interception deep in Southeastern territory early in the third quarter, and Duvaughn Flagler darted 14 yards on an option reverse play on first down - cutting the lead to 10-7 with 10:39 to play in the quarter.
Gardner-Webb turned the game's momentum around quickly on the ensuing kickoff, as Mike Vesser knocked the football loose from return man Dremell Adams - and Austin Gaines recovered at the SELU 30 yard line.
A 22-yard tunnel screen from Devin Campbell to Kory Alston pushed the Bulldogs inside the 10-yard line, and Campbell hit Flagler on a third-down fade rout from five yards out to give Gardner-Webb a 14-10 lead with 7:49 to play in the third.
"Turnovers are always big if you capatilize and Coach [Joe] Pizzo ran that reverse at a good time after that interception," said GWU head coach Steve Patton. "That was a big call. It fired everyone up, then we cover well and get that kickoff turnover and we had momentum on the road. You go from 10 down to a four-point lead and that's big for emotion and momentum. We started playing better after that."
Southeastern Louisiana (1-4), which had its previous three losses to Division I-A Southern Miss, Texas Tech and New Mexico State, drove 77 yards deep inside GWU territory after a long pass play of 44 yards to start the fourth quarter - but the Bulldogs' defense - led by Brown's tenacious play - held strong and forced a 26-yard field goal with 13:25 to play in the game.
Campbell went to his favorite target, Flagler, on Gardner-Webb's next drive, hitting the 6-foot-1, 206-pounder on two long gains to set the Bulldogs up in great position with first down at the SELU 28 yard line. David Montgomery then darted for runs of eight and 10 yards to put the 'Dogs in business, and classmate Philip Peoples took the air out of the Lions' faithful with a 10-yard scoring dash up the gut for a 21-13 Bulldog lead with 9:40 left in the game.
The Lions weren't finished, however, chewing up clock and yardage to tie the game. The 11-play, 67-yard march culminated with a six-yard scoring pass from Seth Babin to running back Jay Lucas with 5:00 left. Babin and Lucas converted the two-point play to tie the game - but Gardner-Webb had a quick answer.
Montgomery, a freshman who played for Southeastern Louisiana head coach Dennis Roland as a junior at North Gwinnett (Ga.) High, took a first-down option pitch and sped on an electric, 73-yard run down to the Lions' three-yard line. Peoples gave GWU the lead back two plays later, going untouched into the end zone. Hunter Smith's extra point pushed the lead to 28-21 with just 3:32 left in the game.
All that was left was for a big defensive stand, and although the Lions' offense drove deep again, GWU's young defense - with only three upperclassmen on the two-deep - stiffened.
Brown, who set a new Big South Conference record with 25 total tackles (15 solo), had four of his stops on the decisive defensive stand. Brown's biggest stop came on third-and-five at the GWU six-yard line, as he stopped a screen pass to Byron Ross for just a one-yard gain, setting up fourth-and-four with just 58 seconds remaining.
Babin's fourth down pass sailed out of bounds after a solid pass rush, giving the Bulldogs the football back and just 52 seconds to run out.
Campbell kneeled down twice to take care of the clock, and GWU had its second road win of the season.
"You have to give both teams credit, when we went up eight, they didn't fold their tents and came back, but our kids answered again. That run by David Montgomery was a huge play, and our defense made the plays when they had to. We told them they just have to win that next play, and they did."
"My heart goes out to Southeastern, but our kids fought hard and needed this win," Patton added. "Going into a bye week, it's easier to go to work for two weeks of practice after a win. Especially for a young team."
Brown's 25 tackles were accompanied by 3.0 tackles for loss, two quarterback pressures and a 21-yard interception return. His mark broke the previous total set by GWU classmate Mike Pavelko last October 22 at VMI (24 hits).
Gardner-Webb's offense recovered from a rough first half to finish with 310 total yards, despite having the football for just 56 plays. Montgomery finished with a career-best 93 yards on just six carries, while Peoples had eight carries for 39 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Flagler had seven catches for 67 yards yards and a score through the air, while carrying once for a score. Campbell, playing hurt, was 16-of-29 for 181 yards and a touchdown. The Bulldogs posted a 3-0 edge in the turnover department, which proved huge in the game's final score.
In addition to Brown's record-setting day on defense, GWU got a career-best 10 hits and an interception from Dave Simpson, a career-high 10 hits from freshman Quantavis Jackson and 10 hits from Pavelko.
GWU will enjoy an open date before returning home to face Glenville State on October 14 at 6 pm ET in Spangler Stadium.
| GWU 28, Southeastern Louisiana 21 |
