CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian turned three Gardner-Webb fumbles into 14 points and churned out nearly 300 yards rushing to beat the Runnin' Bulldogs, 31-21, in both teams' season finale.

Gardner-Webb (1-10, 0-5 Big South) lost its sixth in a row.

The Runnin' Bulldogs seized an early lead after Devin Mines picked off a Blue Hose pass and returned it deep into Presbyterian territory. Tyrell Maxwell scored on a 13-yard quarterback draw on first down, giving GWU a 7-0 lead with 10:37 left in the first quarter.

After Presbyterian kicked a 32-yard field goal, Gardner-Webb drove inside the Blue Hose five-yard line, but stalled after a fumble out of bounds. Presbyterian then blocked a short field goal attempt to keep the score at 7-3 early in the second quarter.

Both teams failed on fourth down chances midway through the second quarter, with Presbyterian driving down to the GWU three-yard line before being stopped.

The score remained the same heading into halftime, but the Blue Hose (4-7, 1-4 Big South) took control of the game on the first play of the second half.

Freshman back Torrance Marable broke up the middle for a 78-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter, giving Presbyterian the lead for good with 14:40 on the clock.

Gardner-Webb rallied and moved to the Blue Hose 30-yard line, but Adonus Lee fumbled after an eight-yard catch to give Presbyterian possession. A 70-yard drive followed for the Blue Hose, with quarterback Ben Cheek diving in from eight-yards away for a 17-7 lead with 5:27 to play in the third.

The Runnin' Bulldogs drove out near midfield, but disaster struck again – as Maxwell fumbled after picking up 12 yards into Presbyterian territory near the end of the third quarter. 

The Blue Hose again took advantage, driving 66 yards on eight plays to push their edge to 24-7 with 11:46 remaining in the game. Cheek capped the drive again, going in from five yards away.

Gardner-Webb finally got rolling on offense again with just under six minutes left, driving 89 yards on seven plays to cut into the lead. Tyrell Maxwell completed three-straight passes to get the 'Dogs to midfield, then scrambled 50 yards for a touchdown with 3:42 on the game clock.

The onside kick was not successful and Presbyterian scored quickly after that – with Cheek keeping on an option play and dashing 46 yards untouched for a touchdown. The extra point put the Blue Hose up 31-14 with only 3:33 left.

Gardner-Webb scored again on its next drive to keep the outcome in doubt, with Maxwell hitting Brody Rollins on a 25-yard scoring play. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Presbyterian, and the Blue Hose took a knee to run out the clock.

Maxwell finished with 344 yards of total offense in his final game in a Gardner-Webb uniform, rushing 20 times for 175 yards and two scores – despite 30 lost yards on four sacks. The Orangeburg, S.C., senior also completed 17-of-33 passes for 169 yards and a score.

Rollins caught seven passes for 86 yards to lead the receiving corps, which saw eight different men catch a pass on Saturday. Jayln Cagle finished with 73 yards rushing on 19 carries and had an eight-yard catch.

Gardner-Webb outgained Presbyterian 437-427 on the day, but fumbled five times – with three recovered by the Blue Hose.

Kenyatta Dunbar led the defense with nine total tackles.

Presbyterian finished with 297 yards on the ground, led by Marable's 186 yards on 16 carries. Cheek finished with 96 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and completed 8-of-8 passes for 122 yards coming off the bench midway through the first quarter.

Nick Moss (12 tackles) and Robert Baker (10 tackles) led the Blue Hose defense. Rock Ya-Sin broke up two passes and finished with seven total stops.