{"id":5620,"date":"2026-10-10T23:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T03:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/?p=5620"},"modified":"2026-11-02T16:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T21:09:04","slug":"top-five-gardner-webb-defensive-players-against-eastern-illinois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/?p=5620","title":{"rendered":"Top Five Gardner-Webb Defensive Players Against     Eastern Illinois"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Trey Weems<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. \u2014 The Gardner-Webb Runnin\u2019 Bulldogs had several defensive players step up during their game against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 10. Despite a 21-7 loss, the Bulldogs made key plays throughout the game, including tackles for loss that helped slow the Panthers\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Five Gardner-Webb defenders stood out for their contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em><u>Tre Yanez<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tre Yanez led the way with six total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. His performance helped Gardner-Webb make stops and pressure Eastern Illinois\u2019 offense&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em><u>Tye Holsey<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tye Holsey recorded six total tackles and two tackles for loss. His ability to make plays behind the line of scrimmage made him one of the Bulldogs\u2019 top defensive performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em><u>Cahari Haynes<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cahari Haynes recorded six total tackles, tying for the team lead. He contributed to the defensive effort by making stops and limiting Eastern Illinois\u2019 offensive opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEIU challenged us, and that game showed us where we need to improve,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to learn from it and keep pushing each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em><u>Preston Hamilton<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Preston Hamilton also finished with six total tackles, demonstrating his ability to contribute throughout the game. His performance helped Gardner-Webb remain competitive defensively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em><u>Renardo Lewis<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Renardo Lewis recorded four total tackles and led Gardner-Webb with 2.5 tackles for loss. His ability to get into the backfield made him an important part of the Bulldogs\u2019 defensive effort.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em><u>Team Effort<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gardner-Webb\u2019s defense showed effort and toughness against Eastern Illinois. Yanez, Holsey, Haynes, Hamilton and Lewis all contributed, with tackles for loss playing an important role in the Bulldogs\u2019 defensive performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Gardner-Webb came up short, these five players demonstrated their ability to make plays and compete. The Bulldogs will look to build on those performances as the season continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>By Trey Weems BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. \u2014 The Gardner-Webb Runnin\u2019 Bulldogs had several defensive players step up during their game against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 10. Despite a 21-7 loss, the Bulldogs made key plays <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/?p=5620\" title=\"Top Five Gardner-Webb Defensive Players Against     Eastern Illinois\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5620"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5629,"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620\/revisions\/5629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwu-today.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}