BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - It was homecoming at Gardner-Webb, Saturday, as they hosted Charleston Southern in the second Big South game of the year for each team. Two years ago, the Bucs spoiled the homecoming celebration with a 38-7 trouncing of the home team. This year, the Bulldogs got their revenge with a heartbreaking 29-25 defeat of Charleston Southern, breaking the two-game winning streak that CSU held.

"I couldn't be more proud of this team, and the effort that they showed," said Coach Mills. "It has become the custom that they give their all, every week. I felt like we made a lot of strides and improvements in all areas. It was the best second half performance that we've had. Now we will have to get back to work. We really feel like we are close to getting this thing flipped around."

Eli Byrd, still battling a sore shoulder, split time with Sidney Bryant behind center. Bryant got the majority of the snaps, completing 19-29 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Byrd had 66 yards on an eight-of-12 passing night. Dee Brown had six catches for 40 yards, while Alexius Ferguson caught five passes for 47 yards out of the back field.

The Runnin' Bulldogs lived up to their name, rushing for 186 yards on a season-high 45 carries. Patrick Hall accounted for 100 yards on just 13 carries. Dobson Collins led all receivers with 10 receptions and 114 yards, as quarterback Stan Doolittle passed for 200 yards against the CSU defense.

CJ Hirschman led the CSU defense with 10 stops, while David Misher, Jonna Lee and Josh Warrior each had eight tackles. Cedric McGowan and Mario Brown each had 10 tackles for GWU.

On the first play from scrimmage Byrd tried to find Brown down the sideline, but the pass came up short and Dave Simpson picked it off for the 18th interception of the year for the Bucs.

The defense came up huge on the first series, though, and after the snap was fumbled on a 40-yard field goal attempt, the kicker, Evan Kay, tried to run the ball for the first down. A solid hit forced a fumble, and Jada Ross picked it up with no one in front of him as he scampered 77 yards to pay-dirt to put CSU up 7-0 just four minutes into the game. The return was the third-longest fumble return in Big South, and in Charleston Southern history.

After getting back into CSU territory, the GWU offense was stalled again, thanks in large part to a seven-yard sack by Jonna Lee, who came through the line untouched to tackle quarterback Stan Doolittle and force a punt.

Up 7-0, the CSU offense came back onto the field back up deep in their own territory to run just the second play from scrimmage. The result was no better for CSU, though, as the ball went through the hands of Byrd, resulting in a safety. After the fourth fumble in the first nine minutes of the game, CSU found themselves up 7-2.

Another tackle-for-loss, this time by Josh Warrior, forced another Gardner-Webb punt, and CSU came onto the field with 3:50 left in the first quarter. Backed up on their own 10, Demarcus Moon caught the ball out of the backfield moving it out 20 yards to give CSU some breathing room. It would be the only forward progress CSU would make on the drive, punting it back over to the Bulldogs.

Gardner-Webb put together a drive that stretched in to the second quarter. After the CSU defense had been on the field for 15:29 of the first 16:53 in the game, the tired legs gave way to the first offensive touchdown of the game as Patrick Hall punched it in to go up 9-7.

A 21-yard reception by Brown, coupled with a solid run by Demarcus Moon, set up a 34-yard Nick Ellis field goal with 7:57 left in the half to put CSU back up by a point, 10-7. Already the all-time points leader in school history, the field goal put Ellis over 200 points for his career, only the third kicker in Big South history to reach 200 points.

The Bulldogs put together a 12-play, 58-yard drive of their own that resulted in a 23-yard field goal as the see-saw battle tilted back in their favor, 12-10 with 5:56 left in the first half.

A 48-yard field goal attempt by Ellis with under a minute left in the half fell short, and Gardner-Webb ran the final 45 seconds off the clock, content with their 12-10 halftime lead. It was just the third time this season that the Bucs have held their opponent to under 15 first-half points.

A season-long 39-yard field goal by Kay started the second half scoring, increasing the GWU lead to five at 15-10.

Backed up deep, the coaches called for a fake punt to keep the drive alive, and Ellis calmly lobbed a pass into the middle of the field to Mike McCann to push the ball across midfield for the first down. Forced to punt again, a roughing the kicker call against the Bulldogs gave CSU another first down, setting them up on the 37 yardline. The Bucs took advantage of the opportunities, and a 15-yard pass to Ryan Ard capped the drive with CSU's first offensive touchdown of the night. Bryant called his own number on the two-point conversion, running it up the middle to put CSU up 18-15.

After a punt by each team, GWU struck in the form of a 46-yard touchdown run by Hall put the Bulldogs back on top 22-18 with 4:58 left in the third.

On third and 10, a screen pass from Bryant to Alexius Ferguson converted for 26 yards across midfield. On the same drive, a fourth-and-inches pass to Ard set up CSU with a first down on the 21 yardline. A screen pass to Ferguson moved the chains one more time, setting up first and goal. From there, a five-yard fade pass to Vernon Huger tilted the score back in CSU's favor, capping a 16-play, 78-yard drive as the Bucs went back up 25-22.

Despite an extended rest on the previous drive, the defense was unable to hold the powerful GWU offense, and a 10-play drive ended with an 11-yard pass to Duvaughn Flagler, pushing the score to 29-25 with 4:32 to go in the game.

Knowing what they needed to come from behind for the win, the Bucs started to drive the field until the turnover bug bit again. This time, Bryant tried to find Markus Murry across the middle, but linebacker Mario Brown had other thoughts, as he snatched the ball out of the air, returning it just across midfield with under four minutes to play.

With no timeouts left for CSU, the Bucs desperately needed to force a three-and-out by the GWU offense to have any hope of late-game heroics. The three-and-out came, and the stage was set; First and 10 on the 16 yardline with 1:36 on the clock.

A pass interference call helped move the ball up the field, but a fumbled snap looked to end the hopes. Calmly, Bryant completed a 22-yard pass to Murry to move the ball out near midfield. Coming back in for the final snap of the game, Byrd heaved the ball to the goal line but a host of Bulldogs knocked it down, and put a serious damper on CSU's Big South title hopes.

All hope is not lost for the Bucs, as they strive for their third-straight winning season, a fact that isn't lost in the agony of defeat.

"It wasn't long ago that this school hadn't had a winning season," said Mills to the team after the game. "And now, we've come so far that we expect it. Now we expect that we will win every game."

By The Numbers

1 - Completions by Nick Ellis this season after his third-quarter pass on a fake punt.

1 - Charleston Southern has won just one game on the road this season.

3 - Nick Ellis became the third kicker in Big South history to top 200 career points.

4 - Jada Ross recovered his fourth fumble of his CSU career.