Gardner-Webb's Gates, Goods Earn Big South Conference Weekly Honors
September 07, 2009 | Football
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Gardner-Webb kicker Ryan Gates was named Big
South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, and defensive
tackle Matthew Goods was named Freshman of the Week by the league
office Monday.
Gates (Newnan, Ga. / East Coweta HS) had a busy Saturday, netting a
career-high 16 points in Gardner-Webb's 58-14 win over Mars Hill.
The preseason FCS All-America selection was perfect on seven PAT
attempts, and nailed all three of his field goal opportunities,
hitting from 30, 31 and 30 yards.
Gates, who was a first-team All-Big South Conference selection last
season, has made 19 field goals in just 12 career games with the
Runnin' Bulldogs - which ranks him among the NCAA active career
leaders with 1.58 field goals made per contest. Gates has scored 91
career points, including a school-freshman record 75 markers last
season.
Goods (East Orange, N.J. / Milford (NY) Academy) provided a major
spark in his first collegiate game, helping a Gardner-Webb
defensive effort that held Mars Hill to just 55 yards on the ground
and 183 total offensive yards. He played a key role in limiting the
Lions to minus-5 yards rushing and only 33 total yards combined in
the second and third quarters of the game.
The 6-foot-2, 285-pounder, finished with a team-high six total
tackles (three solo), 3.5 tackles for loss (minus-17 yards), a sack
and two quarterback pressures on the night. He made three key plays
in succession after entering the game late in the first quarter,
recording a three-yard tackle behind the line of scrimmage,
breaking up a pass and pressuring the quarterback as GWU seized
momentum and scored 58 unanswered points.
Gardner-Webb (1-0) will now hit the road for a crucial matchup at
Western Carolina, the first of a four-game road swing that will
keep the Runnin' Bulldogs away from Norman Harris Field at Ernest
W. Spangler Stadium until October 17.
The 'Dogs and Catamounts will kick off in Cullowhee Saturday night
(Sept. 12) at 6 pm ET. The game will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3) and
wgwg.org, the 50,000-watt station's official website. Fabian
Fuentes and Jared Pankhurst will provide the call.
NOTES: Gardner-Webb had several career firsts on
Saturday: John Rock tossed his first touchdown pass; Kenny Little
scored his first career touchdown and Nick Melton caught his first
career touchdown … GWU's Stan Doolittle completed 14-of-16
passes for 195 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions during
Saturday's second quarter alone … Gardner-Webb outgained the
Lions 404-33 in the second and third quarters combined … GWU
is 0-2 in its previous trips to Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire
Stadium in Cullowhee, N.C. … The 'Dogs dropped decisions to
Western Carolina in 1983 and 2003 on the road, but defeated the
Catamounts, 26-20, in a 2004 overtime tussle on Sept. 25, 2004 in
Boiling Springs.
