Lexington, Va. The Citadel football team scored early and often en route to a 70-28 route of rival VMI in The Military Classic of the South. The Bulldogs maintained their claim to the coveted Silver Shako trophy behind 509 yards of total offense and a record for points scored at Alumni Memorial Field.

The Citadel (7-4, 4-3 Southern) ended the 2007 season with a winning record for the first time in 10 years and recorded seven wins for the first time since 1992. The Keydets ended their season with a 2-9 mark.

The 70-point mark on the scoreboard is the third-highest point total scored by the Bulldogs in school history and the second highest this season. That mark is also the most number of points scored by any team at Alumni Memorial Field, topping VMI's 69-point performance in a 69-0 rout of UCF in 1982. The Citadel scored 76 points in a 76-0 win over Webber International on Sept. 8 which is the second-highest number of points scored by the Bulldogs in program history.

The offensive records fell quickly Saturday with the Bulldogs ending the 2007 season with 434 points, the most ever scored by a Citadel team in a season. Andre Roberts became the first Bulldog receiver since 1971 to record over 1,000-yards receiving in a season while Tory Cooper, who set a new points scored record at 126 in a season, became the 11th Bulldog in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards.

That Cooper and Roberts tandem is only the second duo in school history to surpass the 1,000 mark in rushing and receiving in the same year. Jon Hall rushed for 1,230 yards while Brian Baima notched 1,230 receiving yards in the coincidental 1971 season.

The Bulldogs took a quick 7-0 lead in the game at the 14:16 mark in the first quarter as Tory Cooper took a two-yard run into the end zone. Mike Adams came on and kicked a school record 47th PAT this season. The Citadel started the drive on the 19-yard line as Taylor Cornett took a short game-opening kickoff 53 yards to the Keydet 19.

Blanchard added another touchdown to the board after running out of an empty backfield 30-yards for the score, giving the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead.

The Citadel drove down the field in eight plays early in the second quarter over the course of 2:55 to take the 21-0 lead. The 89-yard drive was capped off by a 10-yard touchdown reception by Tim Higgins as Higgins scored his fourth touchdown of the season.

Joey Robinson put VMI on the board with 11:15 left in the second quarter, running 35 yards for the score. The Keydets were given great field position on the two-play drive, getting the ball on The Citadel 38-yard line after an onside kickoff attempt did not go as planned.

Cooper scored his second rushing touchdown of the game with 7:36 remaining in the second quarter, running the ball in from eight yards out. Cooper's run ended a 10-play, 60-yard drive as the Bulldogs marched down the field in 3:39.

The Citadel took a 35-7 lead as Cooper ran for a 50-yard score with 4:44 left in the second quarter. Cooper's run was only the second play of the drive as Cooper returned the Keydet punt to The Citadel 46.

Getting the ball back on their own 26 with 4:44 remaining in the half, VMI took the ball 13 yards in six plays before Terrence Reese recorded the first interception of his career on the VMI 45-yard line.  Reese returned the ball two yards to the VMI 43 and a personal foul on the Keydets moved the ball to the VMI 28 for the Bulldogs.

Taking over with 1:29 left in the half, Blanchard engineered a 14-yard drive in 29 seconds to give the Bulldogs a 42-7 advantage with 1:00 left in the half. That drive ended with Tim Higgins catching a nine-yard reception for the score.

VMI scored quickly at the start of the second half as Tim Maypray ran back a 99-yard kickoff return to give the Keydets 14 points. The Bulldogs responded in kind with a two-play, 38-yard drive for the 49-14 advantage. That quick response ended with a 23-yard reverse by Ta'Mar Jernigan.

The Bulldogs forced VMI to go three-and-out following that score and the Bulldogs came back with another two-play drive, going 60-yards in 13 seconds as Blanchard connected to Roberts both times. The first connection was a 15-yard pass, getting another 15-yards on a Keydet unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Roberts then caught a 30-yard pass from Blanchard, giving the Bulldogs a 56-14 advantage.

The next Bulldog touchdown took more effort as Blanchard led the Dogs down the field in 10 plays, going 48 yards in 5:35 with Taylor Cornett running the ball in from six-yards out.

The final touchdown of the game came as Joshua Lawson recovered a fumble off a blown punt snap on the VMI 3-yard line. Cam Turner, who came on in relief of Blanchard, ran the ball in from three-yards out for the Bulldogs' final touchdown.

For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.