Gardner-Webb Faces First Road Test Saturday At Western Carolina (6:00 PM)
September 11, 2009 | Football
BOILING SPRINGS - Gardner-Webb's football program faces its
first stiff test of the season Saturday, with Southern Conference
member Western Carolina lying in wait in Cullowhee for a 6 pm ET
kickoff.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (1-0) performed as expected last week in a
58-14 win over Division II Mars Hill, and finished without any
significant injuries in rolling up 526 yards of total offense and
holding the Lions under 200 yards.
Gardner-Webb did fall behind 7-0 in the first quarter with a
sluggish start, something head coach Steve Patton mentioned during
his weekly media luncheon as an area the Bulldogs must improve upon
quickly.
"We didn't start well [against Mars Hill]," Patton said. "If we do
that against the rest of our non-conference schedule, against teams
like Western Carolina, NC State and Buffalo, we'll be behind by
more than a touchdown. We've got to get off to a better start than
we did."
GWU did respond with a fury, running off 58 unanswered points
before Mars Hill found the end zone late in the fourth quarter for
the final margin. The 'Dogs got a poised performance from senior
quarterback Stan Doolittle (6-3, 224), who passed for 247 yards and
a pair of scores in the game. Doolittle completed 14-of-16 passes
for 195 yards and both scores in a 24-point second quarter - part
of a stretch that saw the Ninety Six, S.C., native complete
12-straight passes.
Those 12-straight passes finished just one shy of the school's
single-game record (Division I era), set by current assistant coach
Jeremy Martin against ETSU in 2002.
"Stan had a stretch there from the end of the first quarter until
halftime that he was really clicking," said Patton. "Hitting
passes, making plays. The third down pass he threw to Nick [Melton]
for 22 yards [on the first scoring drive], Dan Marino couldn't have
made a better throw there. [Stan] showed a lot of confidence in his
offensive line, and avoided the rush a few times, which was good to
see."
With the lead growing quickly, Gardner-Webb stuck to the ground
game for much of the second half, with reserves Patrick Hall (84
yards, 2 TD) and Kenny Little (43 yards, TD) getting the bulk of
those carries in the third and fourth quarters. The 'Dogs rushed
for 244 yards as a team, with Hall scoring from 58 and 18 yards in
the second half.
The Bulldog defense, highly touted heading into the 2009 season,
had little trouble with Mars Hill, making 11 tackles behind the
line of scrimmage (two sacks), forcing six turnovers and pressuring
the quarterback 10 times - with many of those resulting in
knockdowns. Mars Hill rushed for minus-5 yards combined in the
decisive second and third quarters, and had just 184 yards of total
offense on the night.
True freshman tackle Matt Goods (6-2, 285) had a strong game for
the 'Dogs up front, earning Big South Conference Freshman of the
Week honors after tallying 3.5 tackles for loss, two pressures, a
sack and a pass break up in just over two quarters of action. The
East Orange, N.J., native also had six total tackles in the
game.
Ryan Gates tied the Big South's single-game scoring record with 16
points, hitting three short field goals and connecting on a perfect
7-of-7 PATs. The preseason All-American earned Big South Conference
Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his efforts.
Playing at Western Carolina for the first time since a 39-16 loss
in 2003, Gardner-Webb trails the all-time senior college series
with the Catamounts by a 2-1 count. GWU hasn't won in Cullowhee
since its junior college era, defeating the Cats 23-7 during the
1932 season.
Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 6 pm ET in E.J. Whitmire
Stadium / Bob Waters Field, with the action airing live on WGWG-FM
(88.3) and wgwg.org (live audio stream). Fabian Fuentes and Jared
Pankhurst will call the action.
