GWU Hosts Tusculum Saturday Night In 2008 Home Football Opener
September 05, 2008 | Football
BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb will host Tusculum Saturday
night for the first time in nine seasons, with kickoff set for 6 pm
ET Saturday night in Spangler Stadium.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (0-1) and Pioneers (1-0) had different
outcomes in their respective season openers, with GWU dropping a
28-12 decision on the road to an improved Tennessee Tech squad
– and Tusculum avenging a 2007 defeat by hammering Charleston
(WVa.) 40-0 at home.
The last time Gardner-Webb and Tusculum locked horns came on Oct.
31, 1999 in Spangler Stadium. GWU built a 24-7 lead in its final
year as a member of the South Atlantic Conference, but had to
withstand a furious Pioneer rally before holding to a 24-21 win
– its seventh in what would be a 7-4 campaign.
Since that time, Tusculum – under former Furman quarterback
Frankie DeBusk – has emerged as a perennial top-25 contender
in the NCAA Division II ranks, winning the South Atlantic
Conference title in 2003.
Gardner-Webb hopes to find the end zone more efficiently the rest
of this season, after going just 2-for-5 with one touchdown in the
loss at Tennessee Tech. A talented offense coming in, the Runnin'
Bulldogs will look to quarterback Stan Doolittle (235 yards in
opener) and receivers James Perry III (seven catches) and Dobson
Collins (eight catches) to stretch the field. A combination of
runners will also look to establish some form of a ground game
after rushing for just 45 yards nine days ago in Cookeville.
Tusculum's offense is perhaps more talented than the group across
the line from GWU last week, with senior quarterback Corey Russell
(6-4, 190) one of the nation's top passers at the Division II level
– with more than 6,000 yards under his belt already. The
mobile Russell passed for 251 yards and three scores vs.
Charleston, and ran for another.
Defensively, Gardner-Webb stopped Tennessee Tech more often than
not, allowing just 264 total yards and 64 rushing yards – but
fell victim to the Golden Eagles' timely efficient performance in
the red zone. Tech went 5-for-5 when driving inside the 20,
producing three touchdowns (two passing) and two field goals.
Tusculum's defense was also stingy in yardage allowed, and pitched
a shutout. Former Gaffney (S.C.) High star Jarvis Littlejohn (5-11,
240) is one of the Pioneers' defensive leaders, along with a
sizeable front three and deep secondary.
Kickoff is set for 6 pm ET in Spangler Stadium. The game will air
live on WGWG-FM (88.3) and will be available as a video stream for
subscribers to the Big South Conference's Edge, a pay-per-view
service available at bigsouthsports.com – and available for
GWU home football games all season long.
