Charleston, S.C. The Citadel Football will celebrate its 55th Homecoming when they take on Appalachian State on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The two teams will kick-off at 2 p.m. and fans can listen and view the game live online at www.CitadelSports.com through Bulldog Insider and on ESPN/WTMZ 910 with Robby Robinson, the voice of the Bulldogs.
Saturday's match-up will be the 36th meeting between Appalachian State and The Citadel. The two-time national defending champions lead the series 24-11 having won the last three games against the Bulldogs. The Citadel's most recent win was in 2003 when they defeated the Mountaineers 24-21 in Charleston. When playing in Charleston, Appalachian State leads the series by one game with a record of 9-8. Currently, the Bulldogs are ahead of the Mountaineers in conference standings by one game. The Citadel is 3-2 in conference action recording losses to only Wofford and Georgia Southern. Appalachian State has also recorded losses to the same two teams but has played one less game and is 2-2 in the SoCon.
The Bulldogs, however, will have to take on the Mountaineers without their starting quarterback Duran Lawson. Lawson suffered a knee injury early in the fourth quarter of The Citadel's 21-17 loss at Georgia Southern last week. He was diagnosed with a torn medial meniscus and underwent surgery on Thursday. Starting in his spot will be redshirt freshman Bart Blanchard. Blanchard has played in four games this season, completing 4-of-8 passes for a total of 36 yards. His longest completion was 11 yards against Webber International. The Rock Hill, S.C. native was a Charlotte Observer Pre-season all-area quarterback and received All-Upper State honors his junior year at Northwestern High School. Blanchard was named a Top-100 Senior Prospect by High School Sports Report and was listed in Tom Lemming's 2005 Prep Football Report.
The Citadel holds a 34-20 record in previous homecoming games. The Bulldogs have won three consecutive homecoming celebrations with their most recent on Nov. 10, 2007 with a 48-21 victory in the “Military Classic of the South”. This year's game will be only the second time The Citadel has played Appalachian State for Homecoming. The first time was in 1987 when the Mountaineers defeated the Bulldogs, 27-17 on Nov. 14.
“This is a big weekend for The Citadel. Homecoming offers a great atmosphere with everyone excited for the game. Our guys are ready to get out there and play before a big Bulldog crowd. This is a team (ASU) that everyone respects and it would be huge to knock them off,” said Bulldog Head Coach Kevin Higgins.”
Statistics and a game report, as well as additional information on Bulldog Football and The Citadel Athletics, will be available following Saturday's game against ASU on CitadelSports.com. The Bulldogs will close out their home schedule next week when they host Elon at Johnson Hagood Stadium for a 1 p.m. kick-off.
