CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College football team hosted their second straight non-conference foe at Bailey Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, holding Gardner-Webb scoreless for a period of over 25 minutes but falling in the end 42-21.

Finding the end zone twice in a span of two minutes and 11 seconds shortly before halftime, the Blue Hose responded to a 21-0 hole by cutting that deficit to seven at the midway point. Over 90 percent of Presby's offense came in the passing attack (297 yards).

Time of possession turned out to be a large factor in Saturday's result, as the Runnin' Bulldogs held the ball for 37 minutes and change. After a scoreless 3^rd quarter from both teams, G-W outscored PC 21-7 in the final frame.

Head coach Steve Englehart's crew will now look forward to their third straight home meeting on September 28, competing under the lights once again in the Pioneer Football League opener against Davidson.

 
FINAL SCORE: Gardner-Webb, 42 – Presbyterian, 21
RECORDS: Presbyterian (2-2) – Gardner-Webb (1-3)
LOCATION: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)

 
NOTABLES
 
- Redshirt-freshman quarterback Collin Hurst turned in his second 200-yard passing effort in the last three games, completing his first eight throws and going 14-for-22 altogether. Ty Englehart added 55 more passing yards before being sidelined with a mid-game injury.

- Senior linebacker Alex Herriott – who recently climbed to 3^rd place in PC's Division I record book for career tackles – assembled 11 stops in the two teams' first encounter since 2019. It's the 11^th time in his decorated career with a double-digit number in that department.

- Jaydn Harris-Ervin and Anthony Thornton tag-teamed for 17 more tackles (nine and eight, respectively), as PC's defense kept the Runnin' Bulldogs off the scoreboard for the equivalent of nearly two full quarters.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
 
- Neither offense could account for a great deal of production in the opening stanza, save for a 10-play 75-yard touchdown drive from the visitors in their first series.

- Gardner-Webb rode that 7-0 advantage into the 2^nd quarter, although their last offensive snap of the 1^st saw QB Tyler Riddell sacked by Robert Porter for a loss of 14 yards.

- The Runnin' Bulldogs began the 2^nd frame in a similar manner to the start of the contest, conjuring up an 80-yard drive that covered 11 snaps and over five minutes of clock.

- A 51-yard TD burst from G-W pushed the margin to 21-0 with exactly seven minutes left until intermission, although the Blue Hose didn't back down and began to turn the tide from then until the break.

- The comeback started with a heavy dose of Hurst completions, delivering a 30-yarder to Wyatt Hodges and a 27-yarder to Jayden Pressey. On second and goal from the 2, Hurst again aimed for Hodges to get PC on the board, capping a 75-yard set in seven plays.

- A sudden deep-ball interception by senior safety Brooks Russ-Martin handed the Blue Hose the possession right back just moments later. They promptly returned to the end zone three plays after that takeaway while covering 62 more yards.

- Presbyterian scored their second straight touchdown with some trickery, dialing up a wide-receiver-to-quarterback connection from 13 yards away. Jalen Patrick lofted it up to Englehart to turn a once-dire situation into a 21-14 tally.

- After four consecutive punts from the Scotsmen to open up the game, Coach E's group went into the locker room with all the momentum and back-to-back TD's in less than three minutes.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
 
- Forcing a Gardner-Webb punt in the first series of the 3^rd, the Blue Hose were able to march inside the opponent's 10-yard line thanks to a 43-yard dart from Hurst to Patrick.

- However, PC stalled near the end zone with a three-yard rush on 3^rd and 6. Things took a turn for the worse as Mack Mikko squared up a short field goal attempt, unable to put it in the air due to a G-W block.

- The old Big South rivals exchanged punts throughout the rest of the quarter, leading to a scoreless 3^rd and an unchanged one-score differential.

- Fewer than three minutes into the final chapter, the Runnin' Bulldogs secured a 3^rd-and-long TD that nudged the lead back to 14.

- Gardner-Webb then managed another late touchdown to put the game out of reach, a 93-yard sequence on 13 snaps that finished with a nine-yard run.

- G-W's time management expertise was enough to grant them the W, penning consecutive drives that combined for 27 plays, 173 yards, and over 13 minutes of time.

- Presbyterian's lone strike of the second half was a 61-yard completion from Hurst to senior Cincere Gill, although the ending margin was lifted back to 21 points thanks to a Runnin' Bulldog score with 1:18 to go.




UP NEXT
 
- The annual Carolina Border Clash will signal the beginning of the eight-game PFL slate in seven days, with PC welcoming another 7:00 PM start against arch-rival Davidson.

- Dubbed the "Battle for the 1919 Cup" in reference to the year of the inaugural affair between the two colleges, Davidson will head to Bailey Memorial with an extra week of prep after enacting their BYE week on Saturday.

- The Wildcats have downed their last two adversaries – Catawba and Point – by an added score of 91-26 after taking a season-opening loss to Georgetown in Washington, D.C.

- ESPN+ will once again be covering the event, with PC looking to break a three-game losing skid to their nearby league enemies.