Defense, Rushing Attack Lead GWU To 31-12 Win Over Tusculum
September 06, 2008 | Football
BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb held Tusculum to just six
yards rushing and kept the Pioneers out of the end zone Saturday,
and rang up 411 total yards to win, 31-12.
Patrick Hall (Gastonia, N.C. / Ashbrook HS) ran for 98 yards and
two touchdowns on 12 carries, including a 54-yard touchdown run
with 6:41 to play in the third quarter to pace a rushing attack
that accumulated 249 yards for Gardner-Webb (1-1).
Tusculum kicked two field goals in the first quarter to take a 6-0
lead, before gardner-Webb marched 72 yards on 13 plays (6:30) to go
up 7-6 on a two-yard run by Hall with 11:13 to play before the
half. The Pioneers got another Gareth Rowlands' field goal after a
Bulldog turnover to go back up 9-7, but Philip Peoples capped an
80-yard drive with a one-yard plunge to give GWU a 14-9 edge at the
break.
Peoples and Hall each scored in the third quarter to put GWU up
28-9, and put the game out of reach.
Freshman Ryan Gates capped the scoring with a 39-yard field goal
– his third of the young season – to cap the scoring with
9:56 remaining.
Gardner-Webb managed 24 first downs in the game, held on to the
football for 34:39 and went 4-for-4 in the red zone after going
2-for-5 in a loss to Tennessee Tech in the season opener.
Quarterback Stan Doolittle overcame a slow start to finish 12-of-24
for 133 yards, with five going to Dobson Collins for 38 yards.
James Perry III caught three passes for 32 yards and Tyson Petty
added two for 44 yards – but it was the Bulldogs' running game
that stole the headlines.
In addition to Hall's big night, Peoples carried 15 times for 61
yards and two scores, David Montgomery had seven carries for 62
yards, Doolittle rushed 11 times for 30 yards and Brandon Jackson
averaged nine yards on two carries – with both going for first
downs.
Gardner-Webb averaged an impressive 5.1 yards per rush and gained
13 of their first down total on the ground.
The Bulldog defense held its second opponent in a row to less than
270 total yards, and the six yards allowed on the ground was the
fewest since the 1999 season opener at Johnson C. Smith. The effort
was even more notable with the absence of two-time All-America
linebacker Mario Brown – who missed the game with an
injury.
Sophomore Marty Patterson stepped into the lineup and finished with
a team-high eight hits (seven solo), three quarterback pressures,
2.5 tackles for loss a sack and one batted down pass. Cedric
McGowan (seven tackles, PBU), Daniel Cooke (seven tackles, two PBU)
and Bryce Nixon (six tackles, three PBU) led the Bulldog
secondary.
Tusculum finished with 265 total yards on the day, with Corey
Russell completing 28-of-45 attempts for 259 yards and an
interception. Ryan Tallent caught 12 passes for 87 yards and
Jarrell NeSmith hauled in eight passes for 83 yards to pace the
Pioneers. Russell was sacked twice in the game.
Gaffney (S.C.) High product Jarvis Littlejohn led the Pioneers'
defense with 13 total tackles (five solo).
Gardner-Webb will hit the road again next week traveling to face
OVC member Austin Peay at 7 pm ET on Saturday night (Sept. 13) in
Clarksville.
| Box Score: GWU 31, Tusculum 12 |
