GAME 6
RMU (2-3) vs. Gardner-Webb (1-3)
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2023 • 4:00 p.m.
Spangler Stadium (8,500) • Boiling Springs, N.C.
 
TV: ESPN+
Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) 
Twitter: @RMU_Football • Instagram: RMU_Football
 
No Huddle
 
- The RMU football team opens up their conference schedule as they look to pick up their third win of the 2023 campaign. The Colonials will travel south to North Carolina and face off against Gardner-Webb for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
 
- The Colonials are led by Bernard Clark, Jr., who is in his sixth season at the helm of the program. In his first head coach position, Clark was named the 2019 Northeast Conference (NEC) Co-Coach of the Year and owns an overall record of 15-37 (.288).
 
- Clark was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame presented by AutoNation, joining Dewey Selmon (Oklahoma) and Grant Wistrom (Nebraska) as part of the Class of 2022. The trio were honored at the annual AvMed Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon presented by AutoNation Dec. 29, 2022, at Jungle Island and were recognized in an on-field ceremony at the 89th Capital One Orange Bowl Dec. 30, 2022, at Hard Rock Stadium.
 
- RMU is coming off a 35-10 loss against Howard at Joe Walton Stadium (9/30) in only their second matchup in series history. The Bison scored 21 points in the second quarter and held the Colonials to three points in the second half en route to a comfortable victory.
 
- Quarterback Anthony Chiccitt finished 25-for-39 passing for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception. After four starts, this was the first game that Chiccitt has thrown an interception during the 2023 campaign.
 
- Tight end Chaese Jackson caught seven passes for 76 yards and one touchdown, including a 13-yard scoring reception from Chiccitt in the second quarter. Jackson has caught a touchdown in three straight games for the Colonials and is second on the team in receptions, yards and tied for touchdown catches with wide receiver Noah Robinson.
 
- Defensively against Howard, safety Dee Pierce led the Colonials with seven tackles. Joe Casale and Tony Brown each had two tackles for loss as RMU finished the day with eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
 
- Prior to the Howard contest, the Colonials had quite the day against UVA-Lynchburg at Joe Walton Stadium. RMU posted their highest score of the season and notched their first shutout since the 2017 season. The Colonials scored touchdowns on four straight possessions in the first quarter en route to a dominant win.
 
- Quarterback Anthony Chiccitt had his best day as a Colonial going 11-for-16 passing with a career-high four touchdown passes. Chiccitt's four touchdown passes in the game were caught by different receivers such as Noah Robinson, Lucas Landen, Kimon O'Sullivan, and Chaese Jackson.

- A total of eight different Colonials registered at least one reception in the win against UVA-Lynchburg (9/23), including wide receiver Noah Robinson, who caught six balls for 126 yards and one touchdown. 
 
- A total of three Colonials were named to the 2023 Big South-OVC Association Watch List, which came as part of Big South-OVC Association Media Day in Nashville, Tenn., at the Sheraton Music City Hotel. Garnering the plaudits for RMU were senior linebackers Joe Casale and Jamar Shegog and fifth-year punter George Souders III. Casale was named to the 2022 All-Big South Second Team, while Shegog earned a spot on the 2021 All-Big South Second Team as well as the HERO Sports 2020-21 Freshman All-America Team.
 
- The Big South and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) announced Feb. 20, 2022, the creation of an association of their football member institutions to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I season and have an initial term of four years. The unique agreement combines the football membership of the two conferences to ensure NCAA championship access and stability. Selected as the 2023 preseason favorite for the inaugural Big South-OVC Association in a vote of league head coaches was Southeast Missouri State.
 
- RMU continues Big South-OVC play next weekend at Bryant which is scheduled for 4:00 pm on ESPN+. The Colonials will play the next two games on the road before returning to Joe Walton Stadium on October 28th when they host Tennessee Tech.

GARDNER-WEBB LINKS
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
                           
The All-Time Series (Gardner-Webb) – The Colonials and Bulldogs have two matchups in their series history both coming in the last two years. Gardner-Webb has won both games in the series with their first meeting being the closest which was a 28-17 Bulldogs victory back in 2021. 
 
Colonial Play Makers – Quarterback Anthony Chiccitt and wide receiver continue to stay atop the Big South-OVC leader boards in their own respective categories. Chiccitt leads the conference in pass efficiency with a rate of 157.86 and passing touchdowns with 11, while Robinson is second in the conference in receptions and receiving yards per game. 

Did You Know? Wide receiver Noah Robinson is fifth in the entire FCS with 447 yards receiving yards and tied for 10th in the Football Championship Subdivision with 89.4 receiving yards per game.
 
Firecracker – To get ready for the 2023 season, redshirt senior linebacker Jamar Shegog entered the Brentwood Firecracker 5K in Pittsburgh, Pa., on the Fourth of July. Shegog navigated the 40th annual 3.1 mile jaunt in a time of 27:03 to finish in the top half of the 1,686 participants. Shegog has compiled career totals of 155 career tackles in 22 games in an RMU uniform, the most by a student-athlete that has spent his entire career with the Colonials. Included among his career numbers are 78 solo stops, two-and-a-half sacks and two forced fumbles.
 
The Third – Returning for the Colonials as the starting punter is grad student George Souders III, who has anchored the RMU special teams for years. Also serving as the holder for kicker Jayson Jenkins, Souders has amassed 8,112 career yards punting on 210 attempts, an average of 38.6 yards per punt. In RMU's last game @ Youngstown State (9/16), Souders punted six times for 252 yards (42.0 yards per punt) with a long of 51. He also pinned a pair inside the 20-yard line of the Penguins. Entering Saturday's game as part of Homecoming festivities, Souders ranks fourth in the RMU career record book for punting yards.
 
Still On Top – The program's first running back, Tim Hall (1994-95), spent two seasons with the Colonials and during his career rushed for 2,908 yards. He accomplished the feat on 393 carries, an average of 7.40 yards per attempt. That total remains No. 1 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) record book (minimum 350 rushes) entering the 2023 season, a span that hits 27 years this fall. Matt Cannon of Southern Utah sits second with an average of 7.25 yards per carry thanks to 5,489 yards on 757 attempts.

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