ST. CHARLES – On the best rushing day of the season for Lindenwood, it was Gardner-Webb running back Carson Gresock who stole the headlines.
Gresock rushed for 119 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead Gardner-Webb to a 48-20 victory over Lindenwood Saturday at Hunter Stadium.
In addition to his prowess on the ground, Gresock caught two passes for 33 yards and completed a pass for 12 yards, earning OVC-Big South Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Lindenwood (3-5, 2-2) will try to get back on the winning track when it travels to Nissan Stadium in Nashville to face Tennessee State (2-6, 0-4) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN-Plus.
The Lions had their best day of the season running the ball. Steve Hall gained 105 yards, including a season-long 51-yard scamper. Jared Rhodes added 59 and La’Revious Woods added 20, as Lions’ running backs gained a season-high 184 yards and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
In the previous three games, Lindenwood running backs had 52 carries for only 128 yards (2.5 ypc), including a meager three yards on 12 carries a week earlier against Tennessee Tech.
“We want to be a balanced offense, and if we’re doing what we need to do, we’re a good running team,” Lindenwood coach Stugart said.
Led by Gresock, the Runnin’ Bulldogs lived up to their name as well. First, Gresock took a direct snap in the ‘Wildcat’ formation and plowed into the end zone from short yardage to complete a 13-play drive. Then, on fourth-and-1, Gresock bobbled a direct snap, snagged it out of midair, found a crease and scooted 20 yards into the end zone for a quick 14-0 Gardner-Webb lead.
All four of Gresock’s touchdown runs came with him taking a direct snap, finding an alley and bulldozing his way into the end zone. He leads FCS with 7.59 yards per carry and is 12th in the nation with nine touchdowns.
“They did an excellent job on their run game operation,” Stugart said. “We got behind early and it just felt like we were digging out of holes.”
The Lindenwood running game was also effective early. Of the Lions first 16 plays, 11 were handoffs to either Hall or Rhodes for a total of 64 yards. A Will Graham 31-yard field goal cut the deficit to 14-3 early in the second quarter.
“We felt there were opportunities to run against this team, and we were able to do that,” Stugart said. “Offensively, I felt like we did the things we needed to do to win, and that’s what stings. Our offense had a good day, but it was a harder day for us defensively.”
When Gresock was not accepting the snap, Gardner-Webb quarterback Cole Pennington was, and the effectiveness was identical. Pennington completed his first 10 passes, including a 25-yard strike to Caleb Borders and a 12-yard connection to Quasean Holmes to place the ball at the Lindenwood two-yard line. Gresock’s third TD made it 21-6.
“We lost at the line of scrimmage on first down. They had too many second-and-fives and that’s a tough spot on the call sheet,” Stugart said.
Holmes broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run to give Gardner-Webb four touchdowns on its first four possessions and a 28-6 lead late in the second quarter before Lindenwood mustered its most impressive drive of the day.
Glantz found Rico Bond for 18 yards on fourth-and-6 before finding Darrin Fugitt for a seven-yard touchdown strike with 10 seconds remaining until halftime. The 13-play, 75-yard drive in 1:48 sliced the deficit to 28-13 at halftime.
The Lindenwood defense appeared to force a three-and-out during Gardner-Webb’s first possession after halftime. Sanjay Strickland and Tajay Passmore combined for a sack on third-and-8, but it was deemed that Passmore’s hand contacted the helmet of Pennington, and the drive continued. Nine plays later, Gresock entered the end zone for a fourth time, and the Gardner-Webb lead was back to 22 points.
“It was an unfortunate time to be called for that. That was the key stop we needed to get back and make it a one-possession game,” Stugart said.
Hall was the catalyst of a second Lindenwood 75-yard touchdown drive. Before finishing in the end zone on a 1-yard run, he burst into the secondary for a 51-yard scamper that included a cutback, a stiff arm and another gear. Hall, who has been playing through an ankle injury suffered at St. Thomas in Week 1, looked as fresh as he has all season.
“With Steve’s early season injuries, he just hasn’t been playing enough to get in a groove. Even when he came back, there were instinctual things he was missing. It was fun to see Steve look like the Steve of last year,” Stugart said.
But 35-20 was the closest the Lions would get.
A Gardner-Webb interception and fumble recovery set the stage for a touchdown and two field goals in a 3:57 span of the fourth quarter. In all, the Runnin’ Bulldogs produced points on eight of their 10 drives that did not involve running out the clock.
“A quote I shared with our team was, ‘One game doesn’t define your season, but it can reveal some truth,’” Stugart said. “We said, ‘What are the truths of our team?’ We have to get some confidence back, and our guys came in (to practice) this week with a reset attitude.”
On Tennessee State:
Tennessee State is coached by Reggie Barlow, former head coach of the D.C. Defenders of the UFL. Barlow guided the Defenders to a 9-1 record and a UFL championship game appearance in 2023, earning Coach of the Year honors. He played as a wide receiver and punt returner in the NFL for the Jaguars, Raiders and Buccaneers, earning a Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay in 2002.
The Tennessee State quarterback is St. Louis native Byron McNair, who played football at Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights and spent two years at NAIA Kansas Wesleyan.
Cardinal Ritter alums Dominique Dixon (30 tackles) and Bryce Gray (16 tackles, four tackles for loss) are starters on the Tennessee State defense.
For photos of the Gardner-Webb vs. Lindenwood game, Click this link: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Football/Football-2025/Lindenwood-2025/Gardner-Webb-vs-Lindenwood-10-25-25