Gardner-Webb Tops #12/13 Charleston Southern, 27-10, Saturday Afternoon
November 16, 2013 | Football
Gardner-Webb (6-5, 1-3 Big South) picked up its third win of the season over a ranked team, and improved to 5-1 at home in its final game of the season at Spangler Stadium.
Charleston Southern (10-2, 3-1 Big South) lost for the first time against an FCS team this season.
"Our gameplan wasn't overly complicated. Facing the option, you have to be where you're supposed to be," said GWU head coach Carroll McCray, who imporoved to 3-1 this season against top-15 teams. "I was concerned about stopping their big fullback. But those guys inside did a good job and started us off in the right direction."
Gardner-Webb got an early turnover to quickly seize momentum, with Chad Geter picking off a Danny Croghan III pass inside the 20 and returning it the Bucs' 15-yard line with just under 13 minutes to play in the first quarter.
Juanne Blount barreled in from the eight-yard line with 11:58 on the clock for an early lead. The Runnin' Bulldogs took advantage of a six-yard punt to get on the board again on its next drive, with Jordan Day connecting on a 34-yard field goal with 3:02 in the first.
The lone sustained drive for either team pushed the lead to 17-0 in the second quarter. Lucas Beatty was 6-of-8 on the drive, including a 31-yard strike to Kenny Cook on third down to get deep into CSU territory. The two hooked up again on a four-yard touchdown with 9:11 to play - again on third down - for a 17-0 lead.
A disastrous miscue on back-to-back plays by Charleston Southern led to more points for the Runnin' Bulldogs one drive later. Kyle Copeland was whistled for intentional grounding and a 16-yard loss on pressure and a credited sack from O.J. Mau and punter Truett Burns was brought down for a 27-yard loss on fourth down - giving Gardner-Webb the football at the CSU 16.
Charleston Southern's defense buckled down, however, holding Gardner-Webb to a 26-yard field goal and a 20-0 lead that would remain the same until halftime.
CSU came out with some fire to start the third quarter. After stalling on its opening drive, Burns uncorked a 49-yard punt that pinned Gardner-Webb at its own six. Beatty threw an interception on third down, which Elijah Lee stepped in front of and returned 17 yards to the house.
With momentum swinging in the visitor's direction, J.J. Hubbard posted perhaps the game's biggest play. The Tampa, Fla., junior fielded the kickoff at his own 13, darted slightly to the right and took off. His 87-yard touchdown return was the first since he did so at VMI in the 2011 season finale.
Gardner-Webb's defense stayed focused, forcing two more punts, and GWU took over with 5:22 left in the third at its own 23-yard line when Charlston Southern caught a break.
A third-down pass by Beatty was tipped by a GWU receiver, and Troy McGowens caught the deflection at the Gardner-Webb 29 - returning it down to the 25. After an 18-yard completion from Croghan to tight end Nathan Prater, the Runnin' Bulldogs clamped down again on defense.
Three plays later, Tanner Burch and Shaquille Riddick stuffed Croghan for a one-yard loss at the four, and forced a 22-yard field goal from Mark DeBoy that trimmed the lead to 27-10 with 1:59 left in the quarter.
Charleston Southern backed Gardner-Webb up again on the first possession of the fourth quarter, and held the football at the GWU 48 after Day booted a 44-yard punt. The defense stood tall again, with Keon Williams breaking up a pass on second down and Riddick catching Croghan for a one-yard gain to force fourth down and a decision.
The Bucs went for it, and Riddick sacked Croghan to end the drive in Charleston Southern territory. Charleston Southern would get down to the GWU 27-yard line on its next drive, before a fourth down pass fell incomplete with 4:55 to play.
Gardner-Webb picked up a first down to move the chains on its next drive, but faced fourth down at its own 38 with 2:35 left. Day dropped the snap, but avoided disaster by stepping outside the rush and sprinting 21 yards for a first down. GWU picked up another first down after that and ran out the clock for the win.
Gardner-Webb had 246 yards offensively, with 112 coming on the ground. Beatty was effective with the quarterback draw, rushing for 27 yards on four carries - but Blount led the ground game with 56 yards on 21 attempts.
Beatty completed 20-of-33 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off twice. The Charlotte, N.C., junior was not sacked on Saturday, as the GWU offensive line held strong against an aggressive Bucs' front.
Cook collected 79 yards on seven catches, with six grabs coming in the first half. Jordan Day punted spectacularly, booming six for an average of 47.5 and pinning three inside the 20. He also connected on both his field goal attempts and had the momentum burst of 21 yards on the ground.
By game's end, Gardner-Webb had limited Charleston Southern to just 16 yards rushing on 36 carries - with 13.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 team sacks playing a role with 79 yards lost from scrimmage on those plays.
The Buccaneers came into the game ranked in the top-10 nationally in rushing at 256 yards per game. The point total was CSU's lowest since losing 43-10 at Colorado on October 19. Christian Reyes finished with 32 yards on 13 carries, with his attempts limited once Charleston Southern fell behind by multiple scores and was forced to take to the air. Reyes entered the game averaging an effective 107.6 yards per game.
The Bucs had 203 yards of total offense, with Croghan completing 13-of-25 passes for 154 yards and an interception. Colton Korn caught five passes for 37 yards to lead the receiving corps.
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