The Citadel Finishes Perfect In SoCon With Win At VMI
LEXINGTON, Va. (Citadel) – The 5th-ranked Citadel football team finished a perfect 8-0 in the Southern Conference with a 30-20 win over VMI on Saturday afternoon in Lexington, Virginia.
The Bulldogs (10-0, 8-0 SoCon) tied the Southern Conference single-season record with eight wins, becoming only the seventh team in conference history to win eight SoCon games and the first since Appalachian State in 2009, and completed a perfect run in conference play for the first time in program history.
The Citadel scored first thanks to a 21-yard field goal by Cody Clark with 6:21 left in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. On VMI’s (3-7, 1-6 SoCon) ensuing possession with the Keydets driving at the 40-yard line, Jonathan King strip-sacked the quarterback, scooped up the ball and took it all the way to the house. The 54-yard return gave the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter.
On its next drive, VMI responded with a trick play with the quarterback throwing a backwards pass to the tight end and then catching a 30-yard pass down the sideline for a touchdown. The touchdown made the score 10-7 with 14:26 left in the second quarter.
The Citadel countered the touchdown on its next possession as Dominique Allen punched it in from seven yards out to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 17-7. The touchdown was set up by a one-handed catch by Rudder Brown for 16 yards to put the ball on the 37-yard line.
On the Bulldogs’ second possession of the second half, Allen found Brown deep downfield again for a 70-yard pass to put the ball on the eight-yard line. On the next play Allen went to the air again, this time finding Tyler Renew in the end zone to make it a 23-7 game after the PAT was blocked. The two-play, 78-yard drive took just 38 seconds off the clock.
The Keydets scored twice in the third quarter but on the second touchdown Kevin Graham tipped the PAT and it sailed wide to keep a 23-20 advantage for The Citadel.
The Bulldogs responded on their first possession of the fourth quarter, driving 84 yards down the field in 3:15 to pad their lead to 30-20. Jonathan Dorogy was the workhorse for the Bulldogs on the drive, breaking free for a 34-yard rush on the first play of the possession and then punching the ball in from 17 yards out on a 4th-down conversion for his second touchdown in the last three games.
VMI had two possessions following the Bulldogs’ touchdown but The Citadel’s defense held strong and forced the Keydets to punt and then turn the ball over on downs on their last possession in the game.
Allen finished the game with a career-high 133 passing yards and added 113 rushing yards for his third 100-yard game of the season and fifth of his career. Brown’s 86 receiving yards are a career-best, and Joe Crochet‘s 3.0 tackles for loss are a single-game career-high.
The Citadel wraps up the regular season next Saturday when it travels to North Carolina. Kickoff from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is set for 3:30 p.m. For tickets, visit CitadelSports.com/tickets or call 843-953-DOGS (3647).
