'Dogs Fall 40-14 At #12 Liberty Saturday In Big South Grid Action
November 07, 2010 | Football
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Gardner-Webb fell victim to 26 unanswered points Saturday at #12 Liberty and dropped a 40-14 decision at Williams Stadium.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-6, 1-3 Big South) lost their third straight game in league play.
GWU fell behind on the opening kickoff, as Danny Broggin broke free down the left sideline and sprinted 85 yards to the end zone. The 'Dogs responded after a pair of solid defensive series, and drove 77 yards on six plays to tie the game.
Chandler Browning found Jamal Patmon down the right sideline on a 33-yard scoring pass with 7:18 to play in the first quarter, but the 'Dogs would go cold offensively from there - and Liberty began to take advantage of excellent field position to pull away.
Matt Bevins put the Flames (7-2, 4-0 Big South) up 10-7 with 1:05 to play on a short field goal after a GWU fumble and - after the Runnin' Bulldogs held again on defense - Bevins nailed a 39-yard field goal for a 13-7 edge with 10:33 left before the half.
The Flames would eventually expand the lead, sandwiching a 26-yard touchdown pass from Mike Brown to Chris Summers and a two-yard touchdown run by Brown around another Bevins field goal for a 30-7 lead at halftime.
Bevins added his fourth field goal with 8:55 to play in the third quarter for a 33-7 lead, before Gardner-Webb took advantage of a Liberty fumble and converted a six-yard drive into a John Rock touchdown sneak for a 33-14 score with 13:01 to play in the game.
Brown hit Summers on a 56-yard to9uchdown pass with 12:11 left to play for the final margin.
Liberty registered 396 yards of total offense in the game, paced by Brown - who passed for 220 and a pair of scores and ran for 77 yards and another touchdown. Summers had seven catches for 117 and two touchdowns.
Gardner-Webb finished with 252 yards offensively, with injuries continuing to plague the 'Dogs on both sides of the football. Defensive end Hudson Smith played both ways again Saturday, starting at running back and coming off the bench on defense - leading the team with 32 yards rushing on seven carries and collecting four total tackles.
Browning started and passed for 135 yards with two interceptions and James Perry III led the receiving corps with three catches for 48 yards - leaving him two catches shy of his third year in a row with 50 receptions.
Freshman Gianni Olivas led the defense with eight total tackles and a pass break up in the end zone.
GWU will travel to Stony Brook next Saturday for a 1 pm kickoff on Long Island. Liberty plays at Coastal Carolina.
