BOILING SPRINGS – No. 20 Charleston Southern raced to a 21-0 halftime
lead and clamped down defensively to beat Gardner-Webb, 34-0, Saturday
afternoon at Ernest W. Spangler Stadium.
It marked the first time GWU (2-5, 1-2 Big South) had been shut out in
Spangler Stadium since October 26, 2013 vs. Liberty.
The first-place Bucaneers (6-1, 3-0 Big South) will host top-ranked
Coastal Carolina (7-0, 2-0 Big South) next Saturday afternoon.
Both teams held their ground in the game’s early going, before
Charleston Southern got a quick scoring drive on the strength of Austin Brown’s
arm. The senior quarterback hit Kenny Dinkins down the right side for a 32-yard
touchdown that capped a 4-play, 61-yard march.
The Buccaneers put together a lengthy, sustained drive for their second
score, taking advantage of a roughing the passer foul to keep the drive alive –
and a pass interference call on third down in the GWU end zone to set up first
and goal from the two. Ben Robinson punched in one play later to cap the
10-play, 72-yard scoring drive and CSU led 14-0.
Gardner-Webb finally got into Charleston Southern territory on its next
drive, getting a 24-yard scramble from Tyrell Maxwell to get to the CSU 48, but
the drive stalled from there. The Bucs answered with a six-play, 80-yard drive
that culminated with a 38-yard scoring toss from Brown to Mike Holloway for a
21-0 lead with 3:40 to play before the half.
Charleston Southern added to its lead two drives into the second
quarter, getting a wheel route open down the left side – which allowed Brown to
connect with Robinson on a 24-yard scoring play. The extra point missed, but
CSU was in control with a 27-0 lead.
Another deep drive by CSU ended in a missed 26-yard field goal with 25
seconds left on the third quarter clock, but Solomon Brown picked off a Maxwell
pass on first down and returned it 28 yards for a defensive touchdown and the
final margin.
Gardner-Webb was limited to a season-low 110 yards of total offense on
52 plays.
Charleston Southern finished with 391 yards on 68 plays, gaining 189 on
the ground and 202 through the air. Brown was efficient, completing 14-of-24
attempts for those 202 yards and three scores. He had just 12 yards on the
ground, but Robinson (58 yards, TD), Holloway (36 yards), Alan Barnwell (31
yards) and Hammond (29 yards) paced a ground game that saw eight different ball
carriers in the game.
Gardner-Webb was led defensively by Tanner Burch (13 tackles), Azziz
Higgins (11 tackles) and Chad Geter (10 tackles) and saw Higgins break up two
passes from his linebacker spot.
Aaron Brown had 11 hits to pace the Buccaneers’ effort defensively,
with nose guard Caleb Batchelor finishing with six hits, 2.0 tackles for loss
and a quarterback hurry. Brown also had seven hits to go with his interception
return for a score.
Gardner-Webb begins a two-game league road trip next Saturday,
traveling to Presbyterian for a Halloween battle at 2:00 pm in Clinton, S.C.
(Big South Network).
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