BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to complete the come-from-behind 35-32 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 21.
 
The Colonels (3-4, 2-0 UAC) did not waste time, as Braedon Sloan ran down the field 61 yards on the second play of the game to take a quick 7-0 lead. Gardner-Webb (3-4, 1-1 Big South-OVC) marched down the field on their opening drive, but Mike Smith, Jr. broke up a pass on fourth down to give EKU the ball back.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs defense bowed up on the next Eastern Kentucky drive, as Ja'Kai Young picked off a pass at the 40-yard line, running all the way to the endzone and tying the game 7-7 with 10:51 left in the opening stanza. EKU responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, punctuated with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Parker McKinney to Jalen Burbage to give the Colonels a 14-7 lead with 4:46 left in the first quarter.
 
On Gardner-Webb's next possession, Cam Junior sacked Jaylen King, forcing a fumble that was recovered by EKU's Ryan Jackson. The Colonels could not take advantage, as Raequan Ousley broke up a pass to Jackson Hensley on fourth down to give GWU the ball back. The Runnin' Bulldogs gave the ball right back to Eastern Kentucky, as Jordon Thomas stripped the ball out of Ephraim Floyd's hands to give EKU the ball back at the 45-yard line.
 
This time, Eastern Kentucky capitalized, as Josh Carter ran into the endzone from 22 yards out to swell the EKU advantage to 21-7 with 11:47 left in the first half. Gardner-Webb drove down the field with a long drive, converting three fourth downs, including King running into the endzone on fourth down at the six-yard line to cut the deficit to 21-14 with 4:59 left in the second quarter.
 
Right before the end of the first half, Ousley ended the EKU drive with an interception with 2:40 remaining in the quarter. The Runnin' Bulldogs got down to the redzone again, with Narii Gaither storming to the endzone, tying the game at 21-21 at the half.
 
Gardner-Webb took the opening drive of the second half all the way down to the 11-yard line, but a sack by Logan Blake forced a fumble on fourth down, with Jaylen Herrud recovering the ball and returning the ball to the 37 yard-line. The Colonels took the ball down to the three-yard line of GWU, but a big tackle by Ty French and Josiah Wright forced a field goal, and EKU went ahead 24-21 with 2:00 left in the third quarter.
 
After a punt pinned Gardner-Webb at their own 12-yard line to open the fourth quarter, Jayden Brown ripped off an 88-yard touchdown run to give the Runnin' Bulldogs their first lead of the night, going ahead 28-24 with 12:10 left in the game. Gardner-Webb got the ball right back, as William McRainey forced a fumble, and Wright picked it up to give GWU the ball at the 27-yard line.
 
GWU capitalized on the next drive, as King found AJ Johnson down the sideline, who ran 37 yards to paydirt to swell the Runnin' Bulldog bulge to 35-24 with 10:25 left in the game.
 
EKU went on a 98-yard drive, aided by three penalties against Gardner-Webb, with Sloan ending the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. McKinney found Burbage in the endzone on the ensuing two-point conversion, cutting the Runnin' Bulldogs lead down to 35-32 with 2:12 remaining.
 
Floyd recovered the onside kick attempt, and with 1:20 left in the game, Brown rushed ahead for 15 yards, giving Gardner-Webb a first down and sealing the 35-32 win for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Jayden Brown's 142 rushing yards is a career-high. His 88-yard touchdown rush is the third-longest rushing touchdown in school history. Narii Gaither has the longest touchdown run in school history, a 96-yarder on March 6, 2021 vs Presbyterian.
• Gardner-Webb forced Parker McKinney to throw three interceptions in a game for the first time in his career.
• Ja'Kai Young's 40-yard pick six is the first interception returned for a touchdown by GWU since Ty Anderson had a 45-yard interception return for a TD on Oct. 1, 2022 at Marshall.
• Narii Gaither now has 20 career rushing touchdowns. He is just the seventh player in Gardner-Webb history to record at least 20 rushing touchdowns in a career, and is tied with Juanne Blount (2010-14) for seventh-most in school history.
• With 14 tackles, William McRainey has now recorded 10+ tackles in three straight games. McRainey now has 297 career tackles, just three shy of becoming the 20^th player in program history to record at least 300 career tackles.

 
QUOTABLE
Tre Lamb on playing at home: "We've had a really good record at home since I've been here. We had a great crowd, a great atmosphere that seems to get our guys fired up. We got stops when we needed to in the second half. It was a great team effort. There's something special about Spangler Stadium. The crowd certainly impacted the game, and I want to thank those that showed up."
 
Tre Lamb on his team's play: "We played close to a complete game. We still had some bad fumbles. But defensively, we made plays and got to a quarterback who I think is the best QB in FCS football. I think he's going to play at the next level. But the ball bounced our way a little bit. We only had seven takeaways entering tonight, and we had four in this game. We had been preaching it during the week, and finally, the fruits of the labor showed tonight."
 
Tre Lamb on Defensive Coordinator Josh Reardon: "We moved Coach Reardon to the field from the booth. This was a tough game for us defensively. They've played good teams and have looked good. We moved Coach Reardon down for emotional support more than anything. We have a lot of guys injured. We felt like his presence down there would give us an emotional boost and a little bit of juice. Give us some of that emotion that we have been lacking. He can look those guys in the eye, and talk to them. This is a big win for him too. He used to coach at Eastern Kentucky, and we're 2-0 against them since he's been here. I'm proud of him, and he got a game ball tonight along with our true freshman quarterback. Our defense did a great job tonight."
 
Tre Lamb on Jaylen King: "No one outside of college football knows how hard it is to do what he just did. He's a true freshman, 18 years old, and he got here in July. And he has started back-to-back weekends against two top-25 caliber teams. He played so good tonight, and the people around him stepped up too. The running backs and offensive line were outstanding tonight creating some explosive runs. We have to make sure we keep him even, but he is going to be a fantastic player for a very long time. He is a special athlete, and a really smart, tough kid. I'm extremely proud of him."
 
Jaylen King on his play: "I just want to thank God for putting me here. And I have to give credit to my teammates, my offensive line, and my coaches. Last night, I couldn't sleep at all. I was watching so much film this week, and I was nervous. Since the ECU game, it has gotten a little easier. Practice has gotten easier. I've definitely gotten better since then."
 
William McRainey on how the defense stopped Parker McKinney: "We needed to slow him down. That was our plan. We wanted to make them drive down the field. That's a really explosive offense, and our goal was to limit that. I feel like we won the explosive play battle today. "
 
UP NEXT
Gardner-Webb returns to Spangler Stadium and to conference play, hosting nationally-ranked UT Martin on Saturday, Oct. 28 for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 1:30 PM. Fans can purchase tickets at gwusports.com