Oct. 7, 2004

Final Stats

Charleston, SC - The Citadel rode the back of senior tailback Nehemiah Broughton as he posted 120 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown to lead a 26-point surge in the second half while carrying the Bulldogs past Benedict 29-0, Thursday night in Johnson Hagood Stadium.

"We got after them with an aggressive approach on defense," Zernhelt stated. "The special teams did a great job too. We struggled on offense in the early stages, but finally started clicking in the second half."

The Citadel (1-3) relied heavily on its' defense throughout the game as it forced three fumbles and held the Tigers to a mere 135 yards of total offense. The shutout marked the first shutout by a Bulldog team since 1992.

The first half was a virtual stalemate until the 1:02 mark in the second quarter as The Citadel drove 38 yards on five plays to setup a 29-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Blake Vandiver.

The second half was a different story all together as the Bulldogs jumped all over the Tigers and posted 26 points in the second half. Broughton started the scoring barrage at the 6:10 mark of the third quarter as he bulled through the Tiger defense for a two-yard scoring run. The score put The Citadel up 9-0.

The next Benedict possession ended with a fumble on its' own six yard line as Bulldog freshman defensive tackle Jacob Bryant forced and recovered the mishap. Freshman quarterback Duran Lawson hooked up with junior wide receiver Justin Woodberry for a 10-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive. The score was the first career score for both Woodberry and Lawson and put the Bulldogs up 16-0.

Benedict (2-4) put together their best drive on their next possession only to miss a 35-yard field goal. The Citadel then put together a 5:47 drive that covered 80 yards and ended in a magnificent 24-yard scoring run from Lawson to push the advantage to 23-0. The Bulldogs added two more field goals in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring at 29-0.

Of note, the 120-yard rushing performance by Broughton marked the 10th of his career. Broughton also moved into sixth place all-time in Citadel history with 2,207 yard on his career. The game also marked the first win for coach Zernhelt.

The Citadel returns to action on Saturday, October 16 as they travel to Greenville, SC to take on nationally ranked Furman. Coach Zernhelt's Quotes Following The Citadel's 29-0 victory over the Benedict Tigers:

On the game: "We got after them with an aggressive approach on defense. The special teams did a great job too. We struggled on offense in the early stages, but finally started clicking in the second half."

On first game: "It felt great for our kids and coaches to get one under the belt. We recapped the game in the locker room and the praise was very needed for the hard work these players have put in for the past few weeks."

On Duran Lawson: "We let him play the rest of the game after the second series because he deserved it. He finally showed what he can do when he plays a long period of time. He made some good reads, but made some bad reads too and we will correct those over the next week."

On Furman: "They are really loaded. They are really banged up and are off to a good start, but we are looking forward to the challenge of playing at Furman next week."

Benedict head football coach John Hendrick on the 29-0 loss to The Citadel:

"It was a very lethargic game. We turned the ball over way too many times and we had some short punts that gave them good field position. Our line up needs to be more disciplined. We can't make the kind of mistakes we made tonight and expect to win. We had a lot of penalties and we gave up too many drives. Many of our drives were unsuccessful and it caused us to lose 29-0."

Junior defensive lineman Garry McCausland:

"We had a good game in the first half, then we became complacent at times. Our play in the second half just didn't match the intensity we had in the first half."