Greenville, S.C. The Bulldogs found themselves once again rallying from a first half 23-point deficit in attempt to upset No. 11 Furman, but came up short as the Paladins topped The Citadel 23-17 on Saturday at Paladin Stadium in Greenville.
While holding Furman scoreless in the second half, the Bulldogs had two possessions in the last 5:19 to score a touchdown and possibly take a one-point lead for the win, but both drives fell short as The Citadel struggled to get the ball in Paladin territory.
With just under a minute left on the game clock, Bulldog quarterback Duran Lawson completed a 26-yard pass to Andre Roberts, moving the ball to the Citadel 46-yard line and giving the Bulldogs a first down and a chance to tie the game. However, Lawson's second interception of the game came on the next play as Jeremy Blocker capped the win for the Paladins at 00:48 left in game.
“We've had a lot of close losses this year,” Head Coach Kevin Higgins said. “We obviously had a chance here today. However, I was disappointed with how we came out in the first half, not being able to get anything going offensively.”
Things started off in the Bulldogs favor early in the afternoon when Furman's kicker Trent Hawk dropped the snap on The Citadel's 39-yard line during the first possession of the game. However, a quick four plays and a turnover on downs at the Bulldogs 34-yard line at 9:26 in the first quickly changed the mood for the remainder of the half.
The Paladins (5-2 overall and 3-0 SoCon) took advantage of the next possession taking the lead for the game driving the ball 18 yards in six plays, taking 2:41 of the clock, and finishing with a Paladin 34-yard field goal by Scott Beckler at 4:11.
While the Bulldogs shutdown Furman's running game, keeping the Paladins, who average over 200 yards rushing a game, to only 88 yards on Saturday, full back Jerome Felton dominated the first half with three touchdowns in the second quarter.
Felton's first score was a three-yard touchdown run at 11:02 that ended a drive which started with a Jordan Sorrells 42-yard pass to R.J. Webb putting Furman at The Citadel's 22-yard line. An offside penalty against the Bulldogs moved the Paladins to the 17, setting up the touchdown for Furman four plays later, making the score 10-0.
Only 1:42 later, Furman started a drive that ended in another Felton touchdown, this time a 2-yard run that was set up by a Citadel pass interference call on junior defensive back Kendrick Lyles, moving the Paladins from the Bulldog 13 to the 2-yard line. Furman followed that score with an on-side kick, recovered by the Paladins' cornerback Masharn Austin on the Furman 49-yard line. Ten plays and 3:53 minutes later, the Paladins added six more with a Felton 4-yard touchdown run. A failed point-after brought the score to 23-0 going into the half.
In an attempt to rally from a first half 23-0 deficit, the Bulldogs came out making up 129 total yards in the third quarter for a total of 245 yards in three quarters, while the Paladins totaled only 45 third quarter yards, totaling 287 after three periods.
The game took a turn for the better early in the third when Bulldog defensive back Joshua Lawson avoided The Citadel's first possible shutout in three years by intercepting a Sorrells pass in the third quarter. Putting the Bulldogs in great field possession at their own 49, The Citadel drove the ball 41-yards in six plays, ending with a 12-yard touchdown run by Nuru Goodrum for the score at 9:18 in the third.
Stopping the Paladins on their next possession, the Bulldogs moved the ball 70-yards in eight plays resulting in a Blake Vandiver 38-yard field goal, a season long, at 9:18 in the third. A Furman interference on a fair catch called by The Citadel's Gary Domanski, put the Dogs on their own 41-yard line at 10:33 in the fourth to start the Bulldogs' third scoring drive of the game. Lawson's 29-yard pass to Joshua Haney, followed by a 24-yard pass to Roberts, put the Bulldogs at first-and-goal on the Paladins' 6-yard line. After two Nuru Goodrum rushes, Lawson scored the touchdown on a quarterback sneak. Vandiver's point-after was good, making the score 23-17 with eight minutes left in the game.
The Citadel held Furman to only 22 yards on their last two possessions of the game, but was unable to come up with the points on their end for the win.
For the Bulldogs, Duran Lawson finished the game completing 20-of-31 passes for 246 yards and two interceptions. Roberts recorded his first 100-yard game with 133 receiving yards on nine catches, while freshman Marquel Willis totaled 59 yards on four catches. On defense, senior Nuru Goodrum led The Citadel with 61 yards on 14 carries, while junior Tory Cooper rushed eight times for 54 yards, averaging 6.8 yards a carry. Joshua Lawson finished with 12 tackles, five solo and seven assisted, while true freshman Terrence Reese tallied nine tackles, one forced fumble and one sack for a loss of eight yards.
The Citadel (1-5 overall; 1-2 SoCon) will return home to take on Western Carolina on Oct. 21 and Georgia Southern on Oct. 28 at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Both games will kick-off at 2 p.m. For more information on Bulldogs Football or The Citadel Athletics, go to www.CitadelSports.com.
