BOILING SPRINGS – Saturday night's matchup between Western
Carolina and Gardner-Webb saw a budding in-state rivalry building into a new
chapter as each team was still breaking in fairly new head coaches who both sport
offensive philosophies that want to run as many plays as possible in a quick-paced
manner. The two teams did not disappoint, combining for 1200 yards of offense
and eighty-six points. Although Western Carolina had a quarterback who threw
for over 400 yards, it was Gardner-Webb, who lived up to their Runnin' Bulldogs
name, sporting two 100+ yard rushers on the night, who were victorious on Saturday,
winning 52-34.
The first quarter did not have the fireworks that fans and
pundits alike were expecting. Gardner-Webb forced a three-and-out on the first
drive of the game, but fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, giving
Western Carolina the ball back in Bulldogs territory. The Catamounts took advantage
of the turnover, landing on the scoreboard first with a thirty-eight-yard
Richard McCollum field goal. Not wanting to be outdone by another in-state
kicker, Gardner-Webb's Austin McKay kicked his own field goal to knot the score
at three.
Although the first half was marred with turnovers with each
team fumbling twice and turning the ball over on downs once, there were bright
spots for each squad as well. Gardner-Webb running back Narii Gaither ran hard for Gardner-Webb
and wide receiver TJ Luther made two great catches with the sun right in his
eyes, the second in the back corner of the end zone to give the Bulldogs their
first touchdown of the day. Western Carolina's KJ Milner had multiple tackles
for loss and a recovered fumble and quarterback Rogan Wells was 12 of 16
passing with a scoring toss to Kenny Benjamin.
The teams started to settle down as the second quarter got
underway. After the Catamounts added another McCollum field goal to cut the
deficit to four, Rogan Wells led his team on their first/only touchdown drive
of the half, moving Western Carolina fifty-eight yards in eight plays,
culminating with a thirteen-yard scoring grab by Kenny Benjamin.
The Runnin' Bulldogs looked to regain the momentum late in
the quarter, and quarterback Bailey Fisher was ready to step up and led his
team on a seventy-yard scoring drive, finishing the drive on his own with a
keeper, but it was Western Carolina who would have the last word in the half with
Wells continuing with his hot hand, leading the visiting Catamounts
seventy-nine yards in eleven plays. Calvin Jones made a great grab at the one-yard
line to get the Catamounts into position and TJ Jones punched it in two plays
later to give Western a 20-17 halftime lead.
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| Gardner-Webb QB Bailey Fisher celebrates a touchdown. Photo: Brian Barnes |
The second half was a tale of two quarters. The third quarter
saw both teams trading punches and trying to light up the scoreboard. After
forcing an initial punt which rolled all the way to the two-yard line, Western
Carolina struck fast and quarterback Rogan Wells broke free on an eighty-two-yard keeper three plays later to give the Catamounts a three-point lead. TJ
Luther got Gardner-Webb right back in scoring position after returning the
ensuing kickoff seventy yards to the Western Carolina thirty-yard line. This
set up Narii Gaither, who picked up eighteen of his team-leading 151 rushing yards
on a rushing touchdown three plays later. Wells and the Catamounts sought to
respond immediately. Wells, who finished with 427 yards on the evening, accounted
for all eighty-three yards through the air on this drive, finishing with a six-yard
pass to Raphael Williams to make it a two-score game again. Western Carolina
would not see the end zone again the rest of the night. The rest of the game
would belong to the home team.
Gardner-Webb got back into and then began to control the last
twenty minutes of the game. Freshman Donovan Jones added two scores for the
Bulldogs, a six-yard score, and a back-breaking seventy-nine scamper to seal the
deal. Between these two Jones scores was a pick-six for junior Jamari Brown.
Up Next
Gardner-Webb (2-2) takes on Monmouth in the Runnin' Bulldogs
Big South Conference opener while Western Carolina (0-4) opens Southern
Conference play on the road at Chattanooga.
