By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Gardner-Webb seized momentum early in the contest Saturday and never let it go as Tennessee Tech closed out the home portion of the schedule with the Runnin' Bulldogs claiming a 35-0 victory over the Golden Eagles.
Tech (3-7, 1-4 Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association) closes out the season next week as it travels to Tennessee State for a 2 p.m. contest at Nissan Stadium.
The visitors scored 21 unanswered points in the first quarter, picking up their first score just 1:02 into the game as Jamari Brown intercepted Jordyn Potts and evaded the offense-turned-defenders for a 33-yard return for a touchdown.
Big plays led to three scores. After Tech turned the ball on downs on its second possession at its own 32, the Runnin' Bulldogs needed two plays to get in as Narii Gaither caught the first of his two touchdown passes from Jaylen King for 23 yards.
Before the quarter ended, GWU (6-4, 4-1 Big South-OVC) was back in the end zone as Gaither caught a 59-yard strike from King for a one-play scoring drive.
After Hayden Olsen had a 51-yard field goal attempt blocked by Raequan Ousley midway through the second quarter, Gardner-Webb scored twice more with Karim Page catching a 62-yard pass from King for a score, then Potts was intercepted for the second time with Ja'Kai Young taking the ball back 62-yards for the final touchdown of the game. Jay Biliingsley was 5-for-5 on PATs.
Neither team scored in the second half.
Gardner-Webb only had seven first downs in the contest and was held to 61 rushing yards on 33 carries as the Runnin' Bulldogs ended the game with 232 total offensive yards on 52 plays. King completed 12 of his 19 passes for 171 yards, but Tech's defense got to him five times for sacks.
Jayden Brown led GWU in rushing with 38 yards on 11 carries, while Page had three catches for 80 yards, Gather 82 yards on two catches.
As a team, Tech finished with 229 yards of offense on 83 plays, rushing for 23 yards on 39 carries. Marcus Knight had 18 yards on 10 carries, while O.J. Ross had 13 yards on six carries.
Potts finished the game with 206 passing yards on a 24-of-44 day, intercepted three times in the contest. Brad Clark had 68 yards on five catches, while Jalal Dean had four catches for 46 yards.
Defensively, Jacquez McGowan led Tech with 10 total tackles with 3.5 for-loss, including 2.5 sacks. Gerald Kilgore and Tim Coutras also had seven stops.
The game was the final home game for 18 seniors – 16 student-athletes and two managers – and was also the final home game for the current configuration of Tucker Stadium as the west grandstands will be demolished following the completion of the season.
Photo | Jim Dillon
