GAME NOTES: Gardner-Webb Returns Home For Saturday Battle With Charleston Southern
October 27, 2011 | Football
THE GAME
Gardner-Webb will host Charleston Southern as part of Homecoming 2011 festivities, with kickoff set for 1:30 pm on Harris Field at Spangler Stadium. The game will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3) and The Big South Network subscription video streaming service (bigsouthsports.com).
SERIES NOTES
Gardner-Webb holds an 8-3-0 record in the all-time series vs. Charleston Southern, including wins in three of the last four seasons and two in a row. GWU topped the Bucs, 35-25, last season in Charleston, S.C., and knocked off CSU, 27-20, on October 17, 2009 in Boiling Springs.
THE COACHES
Gardner-Webb head coach Ron Dickerson, Jr., is in his first season in charge of the Runnin' Bulldogs. GWU is his first head coaching job overall. Jay Mills is in his ninth season as head coach at Charleston Southern, and has forged a 43-58 record during that time - including a share of the 2005 Big South Conference title.
LAST TIME vs. BUCS IN BOILING SPRINGS
OCTOBER 17, 2009 - Patrick Hall scored the winning touchdown with 22 seconds left to lift Gardner-Webb to a 27-20 win over Charleston Southern. The Bucs tied the game with 1:56 to play on an 11-yard touchdown pass, but GWU would answer with Hall's third touchdown run of the day. Hall finished with a game-high 118 yards on the ground, part of a rushing attack that produced 204 for the Runnin' Bulldogs as a team.
HOMECOMING NOTES
Gardner-Webb is 7-4 on Homecoming since moving to the NCAA Division I FCS level in 2000, and has dropped two Homecoming dates in a row - to Stony Brook in 2009 and to Presbyterian last season. GWU dropped a Homecoming game to Charleston Southern in 2005, but has beaten the Bucs twice more on Homecoming (2004 and 2007) since joining the Big South Conference ... Saturday will be the third Homecoming game for GWU in a row this season - the Runnin' Bulldogs were the Homecoming opponent for both Presbyterian (10/15) and Coastal Carolina (10/22).
PATTERSON PILING UP STATS
Linebacker Marty Patterson (6-3, 235, RSr.) has made up for lost time, returning to the lineup with a full head of steam after missing last season with an injury and the first two games of 2011. The Mt. Airy, Ga., standout has registered 52 tackles in his five starts this season, including 47 in the past four games (11.8 per game). Patterson now has 273 career tackles, which puts him 20th in Gardner-Webb history, just past former All-America end and Kansas City Chief draft pick Brian Johnston (269 hits).
THREE IN A ROW
Gardner-Webb will play just its third home game of the season on Saturday (Oct. 29), but that game will kickoff a three-game homestand that will see the 'Dogs at home next Thursday (Nov. 3) vs. Virginia State (6:00 pm) and the following Saturday vs. Stony Brook (1:30 pm). The Thursday night duel with Virginia State marks the first Thursday night home football game in Gardner-Webb history.
NO. 1 EARNS HONORS ... AGAIN
Trever Austin's big effort at Coastal Carolina garnered the rookie a pair of honors on Monday. The former Crest (N.C.) High star was named Big South Conference Freshman of the Week for the third time this season, and was named National FCS Placekicker of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards. Austin's 14 points marked a new career-high and his four field goals pushed him into the league lead in that category with nine so far in 2011. Austin was an All-State selection and Shrine Bowl choice as a senior at Crest in 2010.
BIG PLAYS A PLUS
Gardner-Webb registered seven "explosive" offensive plays at Coastal Carolina, giving the Runnin' Bulldogs 25 plays of 20 yards or more through seven games in 2011. Last season, GWU recorded just 21 plays longer than 20 yards in 11 games played. The seven plays of 20 yards or more in a single game are the most for Gardner-Webb this season, and one of the top totals for any game in the past five seasons. Gardner-Webb had just seven rushing plays of 20 yards or more all last season, but has recorded nearly double that total (12) through seven games in 2011. Ricky Rhodes has four of those runs to his credit.
PUSH THEM BACK
Gardner-Webb's defensive front was expected to be a strong suit for the Runnin' Bulldogs heading into 2011, and that group has helped spearhead the team to 61.0 tackles for loss through seven games. Gardner-Webb ranks fifth in the nation in that category, with 49 solo tackles behind the line - and 11.0 coming in the form of quarterback sacks.
RHODES ROLLS IN NEW ROLE
Coming into the Coastal Carolina game, Ricky Rhodes (5-7, 175, RJr.) had carried the football only 36 times in the season's first six games. On Saturday night, the Richmond, Ky., native carried the rock 33 times for a career-high 143 yards to help Gardner-Webb to a spirit-lifting road win. Rhodes also passed for a five-yard touchdown out of the wildcat formation, giving Gardner-Webb a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter. He posted six offensive plays of at least 10 yards in the game, and piled up 202 all-purpose yards. His efforts earned Rhodes the Big South Offensive Player of the Week award, the first for a GWU player this season on that side of the ball.
BIG FRONT LINE
Gardner-Webb's offensive line has drawn solid reviews during preseason camp, coming together nicely as a unit under new position coach Dwayne Ledford. The starting five: left tackle Harrison Martin (6-6, 285, RJr.); left guard Jamie Dunaway (6-4, 290, Jr.); center Austin Sargent (6-3, 290, Jr.); right guard Jeff Harris (6-2, 291, RSo.) and right tackle Steve Demilio (6-5, 290, RJr.) average a solid 6-foot-4, 289-pounds per man and have at least three years each in a college weight program under their belts.
RUNNING CRAZY ON OPENING NIGHT
Gardner-Webb hit the ground with a physical approach in its season opener, and produced two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since October 12, 2002. Kenny Little darted for a career-high 131 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries and Juanne Blount barrelled his way to 102 yards on 14 carries - pacing a 220-yard team effort on the ground. The last duo to rush for 100 yards in the same game was quarterback Jeremy Martin and running back Chris Foster - the team's current position coach - against Elon in 2002. The game marked the first 100-yard game of Little's career and the fourth for Blount - who played a major role as a freshman in 2010.
STAFF EXPERIENCE
Gardner-Webb's current coaching staff has a combined 143 years of coaching experience among them, with much of that coming on the college level. Current GWU coaches have held full-time positions at BCS conference schools Pittsburgh, Colorado, Penn State, Clemson, Georgia, West Virginia, Wake Forest and Ole Miss - with two climbing as high as coordinator at that level. Defensive line coach Ron Dickerson, Sr., was an FBS-level head coach in the mid-1990s at Temple.
PRESEASON TRADITION CONTINUES
Gardner-Webb placed four men on preseason FCS All-America squads during the summer months, adding to a long tradition of preseason honors for Runnin' Bulldogs players. Receiver James Perry III and guard Jamie Dunaway each earned honorable mention honors from Consensus Draft services. Linebacker Marty Patterson was a fourth-team selection by Phil Steele and a third-team selection by College Sporting News. Long snapper Hudson Smith was also a third-team selection by College Sporting News (CSN). Patterson was a preseason All-America choice for the second season in a row. Since 2003, Gardner-Webb has seen 18 players earn preseason All-America honors - with at least one on a preseason team in each of the past eight seasons.
STRANGE STAT OF THE WEEK
The road team was victorious in all three Big South Conference league contests last weekend: Liberty defeated Charleston Southern (38-16), Stony Brook topped VMI (42-14) and Gardner-Webb beat Coastal Carolina (26-24).
MOVING AND SHAKING
Gardner-Webb made several position moves that could prove to be very helpful over the course of the 2011 season. Tyler Hough-Jenkins (6-4, 270, RFr.) has moved from offense to the defensive line, and excelled during fall camp - pushing his way onto the two-deep with a strong performance. Speedster Ricky Rhodes (5-7, 175, RJr.) could emerge as one of the league's most dangerous all-purpose threats, having moved to offense full-time in the spring. The Richmond, Ky., native is a slippery, versatile performer who will also field kickoffs and punts. Highly-touted quarterback Jordan Paul (6-3, 180, Fr.) took snaps under center and at receiver during camp, and is another dangerous all-around threat. With Jeff Harris' emergence at offensive guard, and the addition of some young talent at the position, veteran Maurice Bryan (6-2, 265, RJr.) was allowed to move back to the defensive line, where he will be a tremendous help in the trenches for the 'Dogs.
TWO FROM THE BOWL SUBDIVISION IN '11
For the third time in five seasons, Gardner-Webb did battle at a pair of bowl subdivision teams in the same season. Just like 2009, the 'Dogs took on teams from the MAC and the ACC. With games at Ohio (9/10) and Wake Forest (9/17), Gardner-Webb did something it had never done before, however - take on FBS teams in back-to-back weeks.
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE
In other Big South Conference action this week: VMI takes on traditional rival The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. (1:00); Presbyterian travels to No. 23 Liberty (3:30) and Coastal Carolina heads to Long Island to face streaking Stony Brook (4:00).
FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR UNITE
Gardner-Webb's defensive front four will feature the last two Big South Conference Freshman of the Year selections - tackle Matt Goods (6-2, 275, RSo.) and end Preston Pemasa (6-2, 250, So.). The duo teams with three-year starter Jordan Woods (6-3, 245, Sr.) and veteran Dylan Taylor (6-0, 265, RJr.) to pose a formidable threat up front
ON THE AIR
Gardner-Webb's football games this season can be heard live on WGWG-FM (88.3), the school's 50,000-watt flagship station. Fabian Fuentes and David Allen will provide the call for the Runnin' Bulldogs in 2011. Log onto to wgwg.org for a live audio stream via the internet as well.
BIG SOUTH NETWORK
The Big South Network, presented by State Farm, will carry all of Gardner-Webb's home football games and all Big South Conference games live as part of the league's subscription-based video streaming package. Interested parties may register for an account at bigsouthsports.com. †
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