Runnin' Bulldogs Deliver 26-24 Win Over Coastal Carolina
October 23, 2011 | Football
The Runnin' Bulldogs (2-5, 1-2 Big South) got a career-best four field goals from Austin in the game, and snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Chanticleers. The series continued its trend of tight finishes, with each of the last five meetings decided by a touchdown or less.
"Something I preach to our guys is playing hard, and playing hard no matter the situation," said head coach Ron Dickerson, Jr. "We've had some tough breaks over the last few weeks, but those young men have continued to play hard. We put ourselves in a position to win this football game by playing hard in all phases, and we didn't panic when adversity hit. We kept our heads up and won the game. Guys stepped up and made plays all over the field tonight."
Gardner-Webb fell behind in dramatic fashion with less than two minutes left, when Tre Henderson answered Austin's third field goal of the game with an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 1:54 left to give the Chanticleers (4-3, 1-2 Big South) a 24-23 lead.
Coastal Carolina was flagged for an excessive celebration penalty after the score, forcing the hosts to kick off from its own 15-yard line, and Ricky Rhodes' kick return to the CCU 44-yard line turned into a more costly play for the Chanticleers when they were whistled for a facemask during the play and a late hit out of bounds following the play. Those mistakes set the Runnin' Bulldogs all the way to the Coastal Carolina 14-yard line - easily within Austin's range.
With the Chanticleers' timeouts spent, Rhodes ran three plays to get the clock to 3.7 seconds and the ball near the center of the field. After a GWU timeout, Austin lined up and drilled the game winner.
Rhodes, starting in place of injured running back Kenny Little, was heroic himself. In a gritty performance that defied his 5-foot-7, 175-pound frame, Rhodes carried 33 times for a career-best 143 yards, passed for a five-yard score that gave GWU a 20-10 lead in the third quarter, and posted 202 all-purpose yards to pace a smart, hard-nosed effort by the Gardner-Webb offense.
Gardner-Webb and Coastal Carolina traded field goals in the first quarter, then the Runnin' Bulldogs caught their first break of the game. A 61-yard punt by Graham Purvis was downed by Hudson Smith at the one, and safety Alonzo Winfield hammered the ball loose on the next play that was recovered by Devin Johnston. GWU was not able to convert that miscue into a touchdown, but did take a 6-3 lead on Austin's second field goal of the game with 12:21 to play before half.
Coastal went 62 yards on nine plays to answer, getting an end-around touchdown pass from Matt Hazel to Akeen Wesley from 21 yards out with 7:47 to play in the second - and took a 10-6 lead into the locker room.
Gardner-Webb made its move with a dominant third quarter. Rhodes darted up the middle on a 43-yard dash to set up a 20-yard scoring pass from Lucas Beatty to Pork Chop Dugas for a 13-10 lead just 53 seconds after halftime. Rhodes capped another touchdown drive with 5:22 to play in the third quarter, hitting Dugas on a jump pass from five yards out to give the 'Dogs a 20-10 lead.
The drive was aided by a bizarre play after it was halted in GWU territory. Graham Purvis had a punt blocked on fourth down from his own 33, but defensive end Jordan Woods scooped up the loose ball deep in the backfield and raced 31 yards down the right sideline for a momentum-changing first down. Rhodes' pass to Dugas came four plays later.
Coastal Carolina made its move midway through the fourth quarter, marching 92 yards on eight plays to pull within 20-17 on Travis Small's two-yard run with 7:21 left in the game. Gardner-Webb would answer, chewing up more than five minutes of clock behind Rhodes and Beatty. A 14-yard touchdown run by Rhodes was called back, however, and Austin's third field goal of the game gave GWU a 23-17 edge with 2:06 left.
Henderson then seized momentum quickly back for the Chants, taking the ensuing kickoff down the left sideline for the beginning of the game's wild finish.
Gardner-Webb dominated the game's stat sheet, outgaining Coastal Carolina 405-267, including a healthy 223-63 edge on the ground and a near 14-minute edge in time of possession. GWU was also a perfect 6-for-6 in the red zone, and allowed the Chanticleers just one visit into the red zone.
In addition to Rhodes' big night, Beatty was effective and efficient in his third career start, completing 16-of-25 passes for 177 yards and a score. Tight end Treymaine Schley caught four passes for a career-high 69 yards, James Perry III had three catches for 29 yards and Dugas had two catches for 25 yards and two scores as Beatty connected with eight different receivers.
Marty Patterson was the lynchpin for GWU defensively, collecting a game-high 11 total tackles (10 solo), a tackle for loss and a pass break up in a physical performance for the 'Dogs on that side of the ball. Keon Williams made five solo stops and broke up a pass at corner and tackle Matt Goods had four hits a sack and a forced fumble inside. Gianni Olivas had a first-half interception to halt a Coastal Carolina drive in his own territory.
Aramis Hillary completed 20-of-33 passes for 183 yards to pace Coastal, hitting Hazel six times for 65 yards. Small led the ground attack with 41 yards on 12 carries and a score. The Chanticleers were whistled 11 times for 111 penalty yards in the game.
Gardner-Webb will now begin a key, three-game home stand, beginning with Charleston Southern at 1:30 pm next Saturday in Boiling Springs.
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