Boone, N.C. The Citadel Bulldogs football team travels to Boone, N.C. to take on the No. 1 team in Division 1-AA and defending national champion Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Kick-off of The Citadel's 960th game is slated for 3:30 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast live on The Citadel Sports Network ESPN/WTMZ 910 AM and through Bulldog Insider on www.CitadelSports.com.
The Bulldogs (3-5, 3-2 SoCon) are riding a two-game winning streak after a 24-21 victory over Georgia Southern, their first victory over the Eagles since 2003. The Citadel is now off to their best start since 2003 when they started 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the conference. The Bulldogs finished that season 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the SoCon.
Junior quarterback Duran Lawson led the Bulldog offense with 201 yards passing and two touchdowns. Junior running back Tory Cooper followed up his career-high 204-yard rushing performance against Western Carolina on Oct. 21 with 82 yards on 24 carries, and four catches for 21 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles.
The Mountaineers (8-1, 5-0 SoCon) are coming off a 40-7 thrashing of Furman a week ago. Junior running back Kevin Richardson rushed for 183 yards on 27 carries and scored four touchdowns against the Paladins. Richardson is now third in the conference with 821 yards rushing and second with 16 touchdowns.
Saturday's match-up between The Citadel and Appalachian State will be the 35th meeting between the two schools. Appalachian State leads the series between the Bulldogs 23-11, with their most recent win a 45-13 final in Charleston in 2005. The last time the Bulldogs defeated the Mountaineers was in 2003 when the Citadel topped App State 24-21 at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Before 2003, the last time the Bulldogs claimed a win over the Mountaineers was the third of a three-game winning streak against App State in 1993. Between 1991 and 1993, The Citadel defeated the Mountaineers, 17-0, 25-0, and 27-14, with the first and third games in Charleston. Those years were the only times the Bulldogs defeated App State in consecutive games. The Citadel is 3-14 in Boone with their last win at Appalachian State in 1992, when they shutout the Mountaineers, one of three shutouts that season. The Bulldogs finished the season 11-2 overall and 6-1 in the SoCon, making it to the NCAA I-AA Playoffs Quarterfinal.
For live audio of Saturday's contest against Appalachian State, tune into WTMZ 910 AM. An audio broadcast can also be viewed through Bulldog Insider at www.CitadelSports.com. For more information contact The Citadel Media Relations Office at (843) 953-5120.
More Notes:
The Last Time
The last time The Citadel defeated Appalachian State was in 2003 when the Bulldogs topped the Mountaineers 24-21 at Johnson Hagood Stadium. It was The Citadel's first win over App State in 10 years. The Bulldogs went on to finish the 2003 season 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the Southern Conference, also including wins against Furman and Georgia Southern for their first victory in Statesboro.
*NOTE: Offensive line coach Kevin Olecki was a team captain during that season, which was Ellis Johnson's last season with the Bulldogs.
Last Year Against the Mountaineers
When The Citadel and Appalachian State met up in Charleston last season, the No. 22 Mountaineers defeated the Bulldogs, 45-13. Running back Nuru Goodrum put the first points of the game on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Wide receiver Ta'Mar Jernigan scored on a 16-yard pass in the third quarter, making the score 21-13. However, the Mountaineers followed with 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to claim the victory at Johnson Hagood Stadium. App State All-American quarterback candidate Richie Williams threw a season high 259 yards and three touchdowns.
Citadel quarterback Duran Lawson completed 18-of-30 passes with two interceptions for 150 yards.
Game Statistics ASU CIT
First Downs 20 17
Total Offensive Yards 423 219
Rushing Att.-Yards 40-164 42-69
Passing Yards 259 150
Pass Att.-Comp.-Int 27-20-0 30-18-2
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-2
Punts-Avg. 3-19 5-35.6
Penalties-Yards 9-57 4-47
Time of Possession 28:10 31:50
The Citadel Tops App in Four SoCon Stats
While Appalachian State holds the top spot in a number of Southern Conference statistics, The Citadel leads the Mountaineers in four categories that could play a significant part in this weekend's match-up. The Bulldogs hold the No. 1 spot in the SoCon in time of possession, redzone offense and ties for first in penalties with Wofford. The Bulldogs, who have played eight games to App State's nine, have totaled 35 penalties for 256 yards, averaging 32.0 penalty yards a game. The Mountaineers have recorded 58 penalties for 530 yards, more than double the Bulldogs' total penalty yards. App State, averaging 58.9 yards a game, holds the No. 7 spot in the conference. In time of possession, The Citadel totals 260:01, an average of 32:30 a game, while App State totals 260:03 for an average of 28:53 a game and sixth place in the conference. The Bulldogs have scored on 24-of-28 redzone possessions for 85.7 percent and 16 touchdowns. The Mountaineers hold the No. 5 spot scoring on 32-of-41 possessions with 18 touchdowns. The Citadel and Appalachian State hold the No. 4 and 5 spots, respectively, in fourth down conversions. The Bulldogs have converted 9-of-17 attempts for 52 percent, while the Mountaineers found success on 8-of-16 attempts for 47.1 percent.
When the Bulldogs Were Last 3-2
The last time The Citadel was 3-2 was in 1998 was when The Citadel was under the leadership of Don Powers and finished the season 5-6 overall and 4-4 in Southern Conference action. Other wins for the Bulldogs that season included a 20-14 victory against Wofford in Spartanburg, a 31-29 win over East Tennessee State, and wins against Furman (25-24) and VMI (36-10) on the road.
Cooper Records Seven Touchdowns
Bulldog junior running back Tory Cooper recorded his sixth and seventh touchdowns of the season in Saturday's 24-21 win over Georgia Southern. Cooper, who led the Bulldogs in rushing and receiving yards against Western Carolina the week before, has tied Nuru Goodrum's last season team high seven touchdowns for a total of 42 points. Vandiver led the Bulldogs in scoring in 2004 with 18 points-after and eight field goals, also for 72 points on the season. Cooper needs five more touchdowns to enter The Citadel's top 10 single-season scoring list. Currently, the No. 10 spot is held by Nehemiah Broughton, Travis Jervey and Danny Miller with 12 touchdowns for 72 points.
Bulldogs' Home Win Over GSU First in 10 Years
The Citadel's 24-21 victory over Georgia Southern on Saturday marked the first win over the Eagles (3-5, 2-3 SoCon) since the 2003 season when they won in Statesboro, 28-24. It was also the first win for the Bulldogs over GSU in Charleston since a 35-20 victory in 1996.
*NOTE: The 2003 season is the only season The Citadel defeated both Georgia Southern and Appalachian State.
Bulldog Wide Receivers Have Career Performances Against Eagles
Several Bulldogs recorded career-performances against the Eagles in Saturday's 24-21 over Georgia Southern. Among the game's highlights was a five-yard reception by redshirt junior wide receiver Travis Gentry in the second quarter that marked the first of his career. Wide receiver Derek Moore recorded the longest reception of his career with a 36-yard pass from Duran Lawson in the first quarter, while redshirt senior wide receiver Gary Domanski set a personal best in receiving yards in a single season after adding 34 yards in two receptions against Georgia Southern. Domanski now totals 169 receiving yards with three games left in the regular season. He totaled 153 yards in 2004 and 47 in 2005. Saturday's performance against the Eagles also marked the first time The Citadel scored in their opening possession this season when junior running back Tory Cooper caught a 10-yard pass from Lawson for six points at 12:25 in the first. Senior wide receiver Rontreal Tyler followed with another touchdown pass at 5:50 in the first, recording his fourth touchdown of the season. The 46-yard pass was a season-long scoring play for the Bulldogs and marked a career-long reception for Tyler, who totaled a season-high of 67 yards on five catches against the Eagles...Saturday's game marked on the third time this season the Bulldogs recorded two receiving touchdowns. The first two were against Chattanooga on Sept. 30 (Andre Roberts, Tyler) and Wofford on Oct. 14 (Roberts, Cooper).
Making the Catch
Roberts continues his reception streak with a catch in every competition so far his debut season. On Saturday, Oct. 28 in the Bulldogs' 24-21 victory over Georgia Southern, Roberts recorded his 25th reception of the season and is second on the team in total receptions. Totaling 337 yards on 25 catches in eight games, Roberts averages 47.4 yards a game, the team's high in reception yards per game. He recorded 133 yards against No. 11 Furman in the Oct. 14 23-17 loss against the Paladins in Greenville. The last time The Citadel had a receiver total 100 or more yards was in 2003 against Delaware when
Scooter Johnson caught six passes for 141 yards in the Bulldogs' 41-7 loss in Newark.
