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.

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.

DAVIDSON – It was the opener of the 2021 Pioneer Football League slate for the Davidson. Opposing the Wildcats were the Toreros of San Diego, a traditional league power who desperately wanted to avenge the pandemic-forced spring 2021 season which saw Davidson knock off the four-time defending Pioneer League champs to claim the conference championship for the first time ever. It was Davidson who would take the day, as the Wildcats held off a late rally to defeat the Toreros 28-16 at Richardson Stadium.

Davidson had what seemed to be a great start to the game, forcing a three-and-out and taking over after a punt. The momentum was short-lived, however, and a bad pitch on the Wildcats' second play from scrimmage saw the ball hit the turf, recovered by the San Diego defense. Two plays later, Emilio Martinez ran in from thirteen yards out to give the visitors an early 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats went into full ball control mode later in the quarter, though, marching eighty-three yards on sixteen plays on a drive that ended the first quarter and began the second. By the time junior Dylan Sparks scored on a one-yard run, Davidson had chewed off nearly nine minutes of clock and kept a potent Torero offense on the sidelines.

It was the San Diego special teams that made the biggest play in the second quarter, though. After coming up short on a run, the Toreros chose to punt from midfield. The punt rolled down towards the goal line and was batted out of bounds inside the one-yard line. The San Diego defense stepped up on the next play, tackling the Davidson ball carrier in the end zone for a safety and 9-7 lead. After the ensuing free kick, the Toreros sought to extend their lead with a field goal, but the kick bounced off the right upright.

Davidson started the second half with eight straight rushing plays before Louis Calosimo was able to find Eli Turner, Jr. lurking behind the defense, and the two connected on a thirty-one-yard pass to get the Wildcats inside the five-yard line. Two plays later, Mark McCurdy went around the left side for the Davidson touchdown and the Wildcats had the lead for the first time on the afternoon. Davidson had a chance to extend the lead later in the quarter, but a bad snap on a field goal attempt gave the ball back to the Toreros and saw the score stay at 14-9 going into the final quarter.

San Diego refused to give up and came within five points after an eleven-yard touchdown pass from Mason Randall to Michael Carner. The Toreros had another chance late in the quarter but was stopped on fourth down by the tenacious Davidson defense. Looking to put the game on ice, Louis Colosimo found Eli Turner, Jr. on a twenty-five-yard slant route for a touchdown to cap the scoring, and Jordan Burrell picked off a late pass to seal the deal for Davidson.

Up Next

Both teams are staying in Pioneer League play as Davidson (2-1, 1-0) travels to Florida to take on the Hatters of Stetson University while San Diego (0-4, 0-1) hosts league newcomer St. Thomas.

CHARLOTTE – Thursday was Founder's Day at Charlotte with the university celebrating seventy-five years of being an institution of higher learning. On Friday, the school's football team hosted Conference USA rival Middle Tennessee.  Founders was definitely the name of the game as both teams found the end zone multiple times as Charlotte defeated Middle Tennessee in a 42-39 offensive showdown on Friday night.

After forcing a punt on the opening drive of the game, Charlotte took over at its own 14-yard line. The 49ers, looking to shake off a poor offensive performance the week before at Georgia State, proceeded to march down the field, covering the eighty-six yards between them and the goal line in ten plays, with Chris Reynolds finding Grant DuBose over the middle for a seventeen-yard score. With the touchdown pass, Reynolds tied Matt Johnson's program record for touchdown passes. Reynolds would break the record late in the first quarter with another passing score to DuBose.

Middle Tennessee matched the 49ers with their own long scoring drives in the first half, going seventy-five yards in both, with each resulting in a Chase Cunningham touchdown pass. Jimmy Marshall and Jaylin Lane were on the receiving ends of these scoring passes. Where the Blue Raiders were able to best the home team in the first half was with a Zeke Rankin 26 yd field goal. Those three points made the difference as the visitors led 17-14 going into the halftime break.

Charlotte took the opening drive of the second half and drove the ball all the way to the nineteen-yard line, but a tipped field goal attempt fell short, and Charlotte was in need of some type of spark to baring the crowd back into the game. That spark almost came from an acrobatic interception by Lance McMillan, but he was ruled out of bounds. Instead, the 49ers would have to retake possession of the ball by forcing a Middle Tennessee punt. The ball was downed at the eleven-yard line, meaning the home team would need to march eighty-nine yards to hit paydirt. And march they did, taking four minutes off the clock and culminating with Reynolds's third touchdown pass of the night, this one to Elijah Spencer.

Middle Tennessee wasted no time responding. Three plays later, the Charlotte players watched DJ England-Chisolm race fifty-one yards down the home sideline on his way to a touchdown that helped the Blue Raiders retake the lead. Two drives later, Charlotte offered its response, a seventy-seven yard drive with Calvin Camp ripping off the last forty-four on a run as time expired in the third quarter, giving Charlotte the lead heading into the last stanza.

The fourth quarter was setting up to be a battle of wills between two offenses that ended up combining for over a thousand total yards. The points would be plenty. Shadrich Byrd began the fourth quarter scoring by catching a pass and making two Middle Tennessee defenders fall over on his way to a nineteen-yard touchdown to put the 49ers up by eleven. Chase Cunningham and the Blue Raiders were not content to let the game slip away and the QB hit Jarrin Pierce for his fourth TD pass of the night to bring the game back within three points after a successful two-point conversion. Charlotte responded again, marching seventy-five plus yards for the fourth time on the evening with Chris Reynolds adding a one-yard rushing touchdown to go with his four through the air. Middle Tennessee scored again on Cunningham's fifth touchdown of the night, but the 49ers recovered the onside kick to seal the win and start the season 3-1 for the first time since 2014.

Notable North Carolinians

Chris Reynolds (Davie) – became Charlotte's all-time leader in passing touchdowns; was 25-36 for 339 yards and four touchdowns; also rushed for a fourth-quarter score.

Calvin Camp (Shelby) – the redshirt senior running back had 101 yards on twelve carries, the long being a 44-yard run to give Charlotte the lead going into the fourth quarter.

D'Mitri Emanuel (Marvin Ridge), Jaxon Hughes (Northern Guilford), and TJ Moore (Mallard Creek) – the offensive linemen paved the way for over two hundred rushing yards and did not give up a sack.

Up Next

Charlotte (3-1) travels to take on Illinois of the Big Ten while Middle Tennessee (1-3) stays in the Conference USA East Division, hosting Marshall.

BOONE — After a timely touchdown from App State's Camerun Peoples late in the first half, a fired-up Shawn Clark pumped his left fist, flexed from a squat position, and engaged in a friendly tussle with lineman Cooper Hodges before slapping the right tackle on the helmet.

You think that score and this game meant something to the Mountaineers' head coach, a 1998 graduate of App State?

Chandler Staton hit a go-ahead field goal from 45 yards out with 5:45 left, and the defense made a key stand before Nate Noel's open-field running clinched a 31-30 victory over longtime rival Marshall on Thursday night in front of 28,377 fans at a rocking Kidd Brewer Stadium.

"Those were two great football programs, two great universities, that battled to the very end," Clark said. "It was a 15-round heavyweight fight, and we were the last team standing."

The biggest crowd for a midweek game at Kidd Brewer Stadium gave the Mountaineers (3-1) a lift as they climbed out of a nine-point hole and erased a fourth-quarter deficit in a win for the first time since midway through the 2017 season at Idaho.

"That's outstanding," Clark said. "That's what great programs are built upon — the fan support, the support of our community. We can't thank you enough … It's made a big-time difference in our program and made a big-time difference in the game tonight."

Following Staton's field goal, Marshall (2-2) moved into App State territory, but D'Marco Jackson and Jalen McLeod forced a 6-yard loss after Brendan Harrington quickly disrupted the rushing attempt. Caleb Spurlin's second-down pressure forced a throwaway, and a third-down incompletion led to a punt that gave App State possession at its own 8 with four minutes left.

Noel had gains of 11, 14, 41, and 22 yards on the final drive alone, smartly going down short of the end zone in the final two minutes to prevent Marshall from possibly regaining possession with an eight-point deficit. He finished with a career-high 187 yards on 20 carries.

"I kind of felt like it was a little (too) easy," Noel said of the free path he had once he approached the 5-yard line. "I remembered the situation and knew to fall. I was thinking about the Todd Gurley situation that happened when he fell and scored accidentally and they came back and won."

Corey Sutton had 10 catches for 127 yards with one incredible, rally-starting score, and Thomas Hennigan contributed nine catches for 123 yards to help Chase Brice throw for 283 yards. Defensively, Jackson had another monster game with 14 tackles.

Peoples scored three first-half touchdowns, including one on a 2-yard run with four seconds left before the break, to help App State take a 21-20 lead into the locker room.

App State and Marshall played every year from 1977-1996 as SoCon rivals, with the Mountaineers' last victory in the series being a 10-3 win in 1995, when Clark delivered a key block on the game's only touchdown.

"I think we were 'bend but don't break'," Spurlin said. "I think that's from offense to special teams to defense. We compete and play hard. There's nothing else to say about that. You watch the film, offense, defense, and special teams all play hard."

Michael Hughes made a TD-saving tackle on the opening kickoff, and a three-and-out stop by App State's defense preceded a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive for the Mountaineers. Hennigan made two catches for 43 yards on the series, and Peoples scored the first of his three short touchdowns with 9:38 remaining in the period.

Marshall accounted for the next three scores, but stops at the App State 4 and App State 15 led to short field goals, and the Thundering Herd took a 13-7 lead on a 56-yard touchdown pass early the second quarter.

App State responded with a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that covered 5:23, as Peoples scored on a 2-yard run midway through the quarter. Marshall immediately retook the lead on a 97-yard kickoff return by Rasheen Ali, but the Mountaineers had time for one more first-half drive following a third-down sack from Jalen McLeod.

Four completions by Brice and a pair of flags for defensive pass interference set up a first-and-goal situation from the 2 with eight seconds left in the half. With two timeouts at their disposal, the Mountaineers put the ball in Peoples' hands, and he scored for the second time on the night with Spurlin providing a lead block.

Marshall capitalized on a defensive interception on a deep throw toward the end zone and a lost fumble near midfield in the third quarter, kicking a 46-yard field goal to take a 23-21 lead and adding an 8-yard touchdown run with 4:16 remaining in the quarter.

Trailing by nine points to start the fourth quarter, App State moved from its 38 to the Marshall 25 thanks to an acrobatic catch by Sutton. Two plays later, he improbably came down with a 24-yard touchdown catch at the left-edge of the end zone.

Officials reviewed the play and confirmed that Sutton dragged his back foot on the black end-zone turf just before his lead foot hit the turf out of bounds. Sutton reacted immediately to the arms-up signal from the official, sprinting roughly 50 yards to celebrate.

"I definitely practice it and feel like I have a good understanding of where my foot is when it's still in bounds a little bit," said Sutton, who used similar footwork on a highlight-reel catch against Troy in 2018. "This was a little closer and I wasn't sure I was in until the replay."

Marshall had an opportunity to extend its lead again, advancing to the App State 15, but a 32-yard field goal sailed wide right with 10:17 left.

App State took over from there, rushing for 111 yards, completing all five of its pass attempts for 86 yards, and limiting Marshall to 71 yards of offense in a dominant fourth quarter. Noel had 104 rushing yards on nine carries in the final 15 minutes.

"We just came out and kept fighting and fighting and fighting," Clark said. "That's what this program is about. We're going to fight to the very end."

Story courtesy of App State Strategic Communications

JEFFERSON CITY, TN – The 16th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs held Carson-Newman University to 137 yards of offense, blanking the Eagles over the final three quarters en route to a 25-3 victory in South Atlantic Conference football action at Burke-Tarr Stadium. Wingate improves to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the SAC, while Carson-Newman falls to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in league play. It's the first time the Eagles have been held to three points at home since the 2005 season. Wingate has held Carson-Newman to just three points over the last six quarters dating back to the 2019 meeting.

Photo Credit: Ashley Garcia

Four Takeaways From the Win

Series Momentum is With Wingate

Although Carson-Newman leads the overall series with Wingate 25-8, Wingate has won seven of the last eleven in the series. The Bulldogs are now 4-13 in Jefferson City with each of the four wins being in the last six games at Carson-Newman. The 22-point win is Wingate's biggest ever margin of victory against the Eagles.

Wingate is Leaning on McLean

Bulldogs kicker McLean Robertson tied a school record with four field goals made, all coming in the first half. Roberton was a national finalist for the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award in 2019 and is kicking in top form in 2021.

The Dogs' Defense is Stout

Saturday's game was the first time Carson-Newman has been held to three points since 2018 (at Newberry) and the first time the Eagles have been held to three points at home since 2005 (vs. Presbyterian). Dating back to the 2019 meeting, Carson-Newman has just three points against Wingate over the last six quarters of play. The vaunted Carson-Newman running attack has just been held to exactly 87 yards the last two against Wingate.

With his 16 of 28 passing for 238 yards, Shaw Crocker now has sixteen career 200-yard passing games for Wingate. His touchdown pass to RJ Mobley in the third quarter was his 53rd career touchdown pass. Crocker also rushed for forty yards on the ground, the second-highest of his career.

Up Next

Wingate (3-0, 1-0)  is back home the next two weeks, hosting Catawba next Saturday and Tusculum on October 2nd for Homecoming. Both games are at 6pm.

ATLANTA — Georgia State (1-2) won a defensive battle in Atlanta, 20-9, Saturday night at Center Parc Stadium to hand Charlotte (2-1) its first loss of the football season in the 49ers' first road game.

"They made the plays they needed to make to win the game," head coach Will Healy said.  "Missed an opportunity.  Humbled, frustrated, but not deterred. The response for what happened tonight is going to be the most important part."

Charlotte took a 9-7 lead early in the second half after forcing a safety but the Panthers scored the final 13 points to come away with the victory.

Charlotte benefited from two big turnovers in building its lead but their own fumble in the red zone kept GSU within striking distance.

"We missed some opportunities," Healy reiterated. "Credit to them for making it hard on us. (Panther head coach) Shawn (Elliott) did an unbelievable job. They're  0-2 and their backs against the wall."

Chris Reynolds threw a touchdown pass for the eighth straight game to give the 49ers a 7-0 lead in the second quarter but Georgia State answered with its own TD to knot the score by halftime.

The 49ers' TD was set up when Charlotte graduate student safety Jon Alexander, a transfer from Kansas State, chased down Panthers running back Destin Coates and forced a fumble at the five-yard line to stop a Panthers scoring opportunity.

Charlotte responded on the next drive and converted a pair of fourth downs to extend the possession before Reynolds hit freshman Elijah Spencer with a 36-yard crossing TD for the first score of the game.  Kicker Jonathan Cruz connected on the point after, breaking the record for consecutive PAT's made with 47 straight.

GSU answered with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Darren Grainger to Jamari Thrash with 4:03 remaining in the half.

Charlotte's defense came up big again on the Panthers' first drive of the second half.  After a false start on third and one sent GSU back to its 14, a bad snap sent Grainger into the end zone, where he recovered the snap but threw wildly as Kofi Wardlow applied pressure.  The intentional grounding call resulted in a safety and gave Charlotte a 9-7 lead.

After Charlotte failed to convert on 4th down on the ensuing drive, the Panthers took their first lead, 13-9, on a 28-yard pass from Grainger to Ja'Cyais Credle.  DE Markees Watts blocked the PAT to keep Charlotte within four.

Charlotte drove into the red zone late in the third quarter but fumbled to turn the ball over to the Panthers.

Alexander thwarted another promising Panther drive with an INT at the 49ers' 17-yard line early in the 4th quarter but the 49ers were not able to capitalize.

The Panthers scored again in the closing minutes to ice the victory.

Charlotte will host Middle Tennessee in the 49ers' Conference USA opener, Friday at 6:30.

BUIES CREEK – Campbell piled up 580 yards of total offense and logged a school-record 10 takeaways, downing visiting Presbyterian 72-0 Saturday at Barker-Lane Stadium. 

Campbell (1-2) scored touchdowns on eight of its first nine possessions, shutting out the Blue Hose (2-1), who came into Saturday averaging 76.0 points per game. CU forced turnovers on six of PC’s first eight drives, ending the night matching a school record with seven interceptions (at Carthage, 9/27/08) to go along with three fumble recoveries.

The Camels’ 72 points are the most in a single game against an NCAA Division I opponent, and second-most all-time, picking up the program’s first shutout since 2018 (9/22/18 vs. Shaw).

Wiley Hartley, making his first career start at quarterback in place of an injured Hajj-Malik Williams, tossed six touchdowns with 342 passing yards, both CU single-game records, completing 22-of-30 passes. Dylan Earney added 82 yards passing, completing 4-of-5 passes in relief, giving CU a school single-game record 424 passing yards. After a record-setting night in his first career start, Hartley was named honorable mention FCS Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards. 

Wiley Hartley (Photo Credit: Bennett Scarborough)

Austin Hite led 12 different Camels who caught passes, including six who hauled in touchdowns, with five catches for 93 yards and a score. Caleb Snead found the end zone for the fourth time in three games, making four catches for 43 yards. Jordan Goco also grabbed a 60-yard TD, one of five Camels to score their first career touchdowns in the win.

Michael Jamerson rushed for two touchdowns, both in the first quarter, totaling 101 yards on the ground on 22 carries. 

Peyton Woulard collected Campbell’s first interception of the night and added a team-high eight tackles for CU, while DJ Charles made five stops with a pick. 

JT Whitmore also collected 3.0 sacks and forced a pair of fumbles, while Brevin Allen added 2.5 tackles for loss, including 2.0 sacks. Freshman linebacker CJ Tillman also returned an interception for a TD in the fourth quarter, adding four tackles, including a stop for loss. 

PC quarterback Ren Hefley, sacked seven times in the loss, completed 20-of-39 passes for 145 yards while throwing six interceptions. Keegan Holloran led the PC defense with a game-high 13 tackles. 

The win marked Campbell’s third straight in the series over the Blue Hose.

Before starting Big South play at North Alabama on October 2, Campbell will have an open date on September 25.

The trip to Florence, Ala., which will count as a Big South Conference game for the first time in the series, will be the first of two straight road matchups for the Camels to start league play, also heading to Gardner-Webb on October 9.

Campbell returns to Buies Creek for its Big South home opener on October 16, hosting No. 20 Monmouth.

BOONE — A rainbow descended toward Kidd Brewer Stadium's new north end zone facility Saturday evening.

With an above-capacity crowd of 30,224 gathered for App State's first Boone-based home game with no crowd-size restrictions in 651 days, a 44-10 victory against Elon included a rich mix of gold and black at the end of The Rock's rainbow — along with a throwback white logo.

T.D. Roof's 90-yard interception return set up a third-quarter touchdown that gave the Mountaineers (2-1) a 27-3 lead on a day they honored Hall of Fame coach Jerry Moore by unveiling a statue and dedicating a plaza bearing his name. Black helmets with colorful stripes and white 'A' logos even paid tribute to Moore's first team in 1989.

Thirty-two years later, Moore was on hand as one of his mid-90s standouts, Shawn Clark, coached App State in a full Kidd Brewer Stadium for the first time.

"We have the best fans in college football who are very passionate," Clark said. "It was exciting to come back to The Rock in our new $50 million complex with a sold-out crowd. Our fans were here, they were behind us, and we appreciate that, and now we need our fans on Thursday night."

D'Marco Jackson delivered a career-high three sacks among his 4.5 tackles for loss and 13 stops to lead a stout defense that limited Elon (1-2) to 291 yards of offense. On special teams, Chandler Staton converted all three of his field-goal tries, including a 45-yarder late in the first half.

Offensively, quarterback Chase Brice had a rushing touchdown to go along with a 19-of-25 passing effort for 293 yards and one more touchdown. Malik Williams produced the first score with a 47-yard touchdown on his way to a career-high 123 receiving yards on four catches, and Corey Sutton caught seven passes for 128 yards as the Mountaineers had two receivers eclipse the century mark.

Roof's end-zone interception return off a tipped pass set up the first of two touchdown runs from Camerun Peoples, who finished with 80 yards on 11 rushes, and Nate Noel contributed 73 yards on 17 carries. Local product Anderson Castle's first career touchdown came on an 8-yard run in the final minute.

"We've been waiting a long time for this, and we wanted to put a good show on just for them," Williams said of the fans. "Having them out there felt amazing. A couple of the receivers, we were nervous starting out seeing all the fans, but it felt good."

Jackson's career day included sacks in the first, second and fourth quarters. He joined Jordan Fehr (2018 vs. Coastal Carolina) and Eric Boggs (2015 vs. Louisiana) as the only App State players in the FBS era with three sacks in a single game.

Perhaps his biggest hit came right before a sack, as he leveled a pass-catching running back for a 5-yard loss in a one-on-one showdown out in space. His 4.5 tackles for loss are the most by an App State player in the FBS era.

"On defense, we were having trouble trying to communicate because it was so loud, but on defense we fed off that energy by our supporters," Jackson said. "It was awesome."

App State nearly scored on its opening possession but lost a fumble into the end zone. The next series began with a 26-yard completion to Sutton and ended with a 47-yard strike to a streaking Williams.

Only a few plays into the second quarter, Brice had thrown for 179 yards with an 8-for-8 start.

"When you're seeing the defense and seeing rotation, you can kind of anticipate where your guys are going to be," Brice said. "It also helps when they're wide open, and it's about giving my guys a chance. I think I did a better job of that today — putting the ball out there and letting them go make a play. Letting them catch and run, and kudos to 'The Bulls' up front. They did a great job of protecting me today. I only got hit one time, and that's on me for holding the ball too much."

The game remained relatively close into the third quarter, as Staton made a 44-yard field goal early in the second quarter and drilled a 45-yarder right before halftime to help the Mountaineers take a 13-3 lead into their new locker room.

A 27-yard pass to Jalen Virgil kickstarted App State's second possession of the third quarter, and Noel's 5-yard run on a fourth-and-4 play from the Elon 8 extended the series. Three plays later, Brice scored from the 1.

The Phoenix reached App State's 9 on the next possession, and Roof was trailing a receiver when the ball bounced off the Elon's players hands in the end zone. The ball went right to Roof, who sprinted down the left sideline and was finally brought down at the Phoenix 10.

"Every blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while," Roof said. "Just kind of right spot, right time. I obviously got hawked (down) and was pretty gassed, but we can work on that."

The Mountaineers closed the game by forcing another turnover, thanks to a Logan Doublin hit that led to a recovery by safety Ronald Clarke, and there's a quick turnaround as App State prepares for its next game.

On Thursday, Marshall comes to Boone to face the Mountaineers in a nationally televised game at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

"I'm very proud of our football team," Clark said. "Winning in college football is hard, and it doesn't matter if it's 1-0 or 100-0, a win is a win. There's an old saying in football that there's no such thing as a bad win. We have a lot of things to get cleaned up and a lot of things to learn from coming back on a short week."

CHARLOTTE – Fresh off its first-ever win over a Power 5 program, no one would have blamed the Charlotte 49ers if they had looked past this week's matchup against Gardner-Webb, an FCS school an hour away from campus. The Niners were focused, though, and powered their way to a 38-10 win Saturday night at Richardson Stadium.

When Gardner-Webb won the opening toss and deferred, Charlotte sought to set the tone immediately and an opening kickoff return to midfield by Keith Pearson got the Niners into a great position. Six plays later, Chris Reynolds eluded three Gardner-Webb defenders on his way to a 37-yard score to open the game. After being forced to punt on their first drive of the game, Gardner-Webb was able to take possession on an interception of a tipped pass hauled in by Dameon Williams. The Runnin' Bulldogs turned it into three points on a 45-yard Austin McKay field goal.

Charlotte responded strongly on its next three drives, finding the end zone in all three. A five-yard rush by Shadrick Byrd was accompanied by Calvin Camp one-yarder and 11-yard pass and catch from Reynolds to Jairus Mack. Gardner-Webb was able to find some bright spots in the second quarter as well, with Narii Gaither hitting paydirt from fourteen yards out and Honus Wagner intercepting a pass to get the Runnin' Bulldogs into position to attempt a field goal which ultimately went wide.

Charlotte took their foot off the gas pedal in the second half, moving some of the second team onto the field to get game action. Fayetteville's ChaVon McEachern earned his first touchdown of the season, a thirteen-yard run early in the second half. Jonathan Cruz was five for five on PATs on the evening, giving him 46 straight successful PATs, tying a school record. Cruz added a field goal early in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

Next Week

Gardner-Webb (0-2) hosts Lincoln (Pa.) in the Runnin' Bulldogs' first home game of the season at Spangler Stadium while Charlotte (2-0) is on the road at Georgia State.

Notable North Carolinians

ChaVon McEachern (Trinity Christian) – the redshirt freshman running back led the Niners with seventy-four yards and a score.

Chris Reynolds (Davie) – the senior quarterback rushed for a score to open the game and also threw a touchdown pass.

Marcus Robitaille (Marvin Ridge) – the redshirt sophomore defensive back had five tackles, including four solo and one tackle for loss.

William McRainey (West Brunswick) – the sophomore linebacker had seven tackles for Gardner-Webb.

CHARLOTTE – It was the first time that the Charlotte 49ers had ever hosted a Power Five opponent in its brief nine-year history. The crowd was excited to host an in-state opponent on a Friday night leading into Labor Day weekend. The fans in attendance were given a good show as the two teams combined for over a thousand yards of offense and five lead changes in the second half alone. Paced by Chris Reynolds's 324 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown, Charlotte claimed its first-ever win over a P5 opponent, defeating Duke 31-28 to open the 2021 college football season.

The energy and momentum were on the Niners' side early in the game with Charlotte forcing the Blue Devils to punt on the first possession of the game and then hopping on the scoreboard five plays later with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Chris Reynolds to a streaking Grant DuBose. The early 7-0 lead had the 49ers faithful on their feet and saw the visiting Blue Devils scrambling to respond but unable to do so until a few drives later.

Charlotte led by a touchdown going into the second quarter and was on its way to a 32-yard Jonathan Cruz field goal to take a 10-0 lead over the visitors. Duke responded with force on its next drive, moving seventy-five yards in six plays, but it was the 43-yard scoring play that will stick out in the minds of the visiting fans. Gunnar Holmberg hit Jordan Waters on the left side and Waters bulled over a Charlotte defender and raced to the end zone. 

The Charlotte offense looked a little shaky on their subsequent drives in the first half. Duke did not show the hesitancy that they demonstrated in the first quarter, moving methodically down the field on their next drive, taking the lead with a five-yard touchdown run by Mataeo Durant. Durant finished the night with 255 yards and three scores.

Any signs that Charlotte might back down against Duke to start the second half were quickly dismissed as the Niners moved down the field, aided by a 40-yard Calvin Cook run to get Charlotte down to the one-yard-line. Two plays later, Chris Reynolds was able to hit paydirt on a quarterback sneak, helping Charlotte retake the lead. A promising Duke drive saw the Blue Devils poised to bring the lead back to the visitors, but a Tyler Murray forced fumble was recovered in the end zone by Charlotte, ending any hopes of a score.

The fourth quarter seemed like it would quickly become the Mataeo Durant show. The senior running back put the Blue Devils on his back, putting Duke back on top with a blistering 59-yard scoring run around the left side. Charlotte floundered around for a few possessions, but eventually came alive with quick passes to Taylor Thompson, Victor Cruz, and Grant DuBose got the Niners in scoring position and Charlotte retook the lead with the second Reynolds to DuBose touchdown of the night. Durant and the Blue Devils would not be denied, though, as the standout running back rushed for his second long touchdown of the quarter, a 53-yard scamper that gave Duke a 28-24 lead.

It was Charlotte's night, however, and fate had the Niners marching down towards their destiny. Victor Tucker's three big grabs got Charlotte in scoring position and Chris Reynolds found an open Shedrich Byrd for an 11-yard score to cause a scene unlike any other in the program's nine-year history.

Both teams host in-state FCS opponents next week as Charlotte (1-0) hosts Gardner-Webb while Duke (0-1) will face off against North Carolina A&T.

Notable North Carolinians

Chris Reynolds (Davie) – the senior quarterback passed for 324 yards and three scores while running for one as well.

Gunnar Holmberg (Heritage) – the graduate quarterback was 20 of 29 for 241 yards and a touchdown

Jordan Waters (Fairmont) – the redshirt sophomore's physical scoring catch and run opened the scoring for the Blue Devils in the second quarter