BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb (7-5, 5-3) football team dropped its season finale to visiting Western Illinois (4-8, 3-5) by the final of 29-24 on Saturday afternoon inside Spangler Stadium.
The Leathernecks took the early lead following a 49-yard reception by Brandon Lanier late in the first quarter. However, Gardner-Webb battled back with two straight scores, a 47-yard field goal off the foot of Charlie Viorel followed by a 54-yard run by Carson Gresock, giving the Dawgs a 10-7 lead.
Western Illinois used a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Cason Carswell to Alex Williams while giving the Leathernecks a 14-10 lead heading into halftime.
That lead grew to 29-10 after WIU scored the first two touchdowns of the half. It appeared the Leathernecks would take a sizeable lead into the final frame, but Gardner-Webb used an 8-play, 75-yards plus a two-point conversion, trimming the deficit to 29-18. Cole Pennington found Caleb Borders on 4th-and-5.
Pennington tossed his second touchdown of the game three minutes into the fourth quarter as Chris Lofton hauled in a 20-yard pass, but the two-point try failed, leaving the score at 29-24 in favor of Western Illinois with 12:02 on the clock.
The Runnin' Bulldogs had one last effort to win the game, but Chris Lofton was tackled in the field of play with no timeouts as time ran out on a 29-24 loss.
