Chapel Hill, N.C. - The Citadel Football opened the 2009 season with a 40-6 loss to the University of North Carolina before a crowd of 58,500 on Saturday at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Redshirt freshman transfer Joseph Boateng led the Bulldog defensive effort with seven tackles and two interceptions.
The Citadel won the toss and received the ball first to open the 2009 season. With Blanchard starting at quarterback, the first play of the game was a pass to All-America wide receiver Andre Roberts for a gain of three yards for second-and-seven on the 34-yard line. However, a false start on the next play by offensive lineman Thomas Suggs pushed The Citadel back five yards for second-and-12. Redshirt freshman quarterback Miguel Starks entered the game for the first time of his collegiate career and rushed for a loss of one yard for third-and-13. A pass for a loss of one yard from Blanchard to freshman walkon running back Bucky Kennedy brought out Bulldog punter Cass Couey with 12:26 on the clock.
Couey kicked a career-long 55-yarder as North Carolina received a flag for an illegal block starting their first drive of the game on the 11-yard line. After five plays that ended with a sack by defensive lineman Dewitt Jones, the Bulldogs forced the Tar Heels to punt to end their first possession. The Citadel received the ball on their own 33-yard line after a fair catch by Roberts to start their second possession of the game. After gaining one yard on a quarterback keeper by Blanchard, he completed two consecutive passes to Roberts for six and five yards, respectively, to earn the first Bulldog first down of the game on their own 45-yard line. However, another flag, this time a holding by offensive lineman Dan DeHaven, pushed The Citadel back 10 yards for second-and-20. Unable to makeup the yards, the drive ended with a Blanchard interception by Deunta Williams at UNC's 45-yard line with 7:26 on the clock.
The Citadel kept the Tar Heels scoreless until early in the second quarter when UNC's Casey Barth connected on a 22-yard field goal to put North Carolina up, 3-0, with 14:15 on the clock. The Tar Heels scored on three more occasions in the second quarter as the Bulldog defense began to weaken. The second score was at 8:10 on an 18-yard pass from T.J. Yates to Johnny White, putting UNC up, 10-0, followed by a 5-yard touchdown run by Ryan Houston to increase the Tar Heel lead to 16-0. The extra point attempt on the second touchdown failed as the ball hit the right upright after a bad snap. North Carolina scored again after a challenged Blanchard sack and fumble turned the ball over to the Tar Heels on the Bulldog 26-yard line. North Carolina scored with 1:55 left in the first half when Yates connectd with Greg Little for a 21-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good and the Tar Heels went up, 23-0.
The Bulldog offense got another chance to score before the half, but a Blanchard pass was intercepted on the 2-yard line and the Tar Heels took over with 1:03 left on the clock. The Citadel defense, however, did not give up as Joseph Boateng, who came in for an injured Rod Harland, intercepted the ball on the North Carolina 21-yard line and returned it for 18 yards to the Tar Heel 3-yard line. A defensive pass interference call on a Blanchard pass to Roberts in the back of the end zone gave the Bulldogs a first down on the UNC 2-yard line. However another pass attempt on second-and-goal was intercepted in the end zone by Williams for a touchback with 26 seconds left on the clock. The Tar Heels went into the half with a 23-0 lead.
In the first half, Blanchard completed 10-of-16 attempts with three interceptions for 51 yards. Starks completed 1-of-2 for six yards and rushed three times for a net gain of 12 yards. Couey punted four times for 173 yards, one within the 20, and an average of 43.2 yards. On defense, Boateng totaled four solo and one assisted tackles and recorded one interception to lead the Bulldogs.
Opening the second half, the Tar Heels received the ball but was not able to convert the drive into a score, punting after four plays, 18 yards and taking 1:09 off the clock. The Bulldogs' first possession of the half started with a Blanchard pass to Kevin Hardy for 25 yards (the longest play of the game for the Bulldogs) to give them another first down on their own 45-yard line. The Citadel was not able to score on the drive and punted with 9:47 on the clock.
On the next possession, North Carolina scored again after driving the ball 88 yards in 13 plays and taking 6:34 off the clock with a Houston 3-yard touchdown run to put the Tar Heels up, 30-0, with 3:13 left in the third quarter. The Tar Heels scored again after a Couey punt on the next possession was returned 77 yards for a touchdown at 14:45 in the fourth quarter.
The Citadel's Tyler Starnes recovered a fumble on a Tar Heel punt return and took over on the UNC 25-yard line. Five plays later, Sam Keeler put the first Bulldog points on the board at 7:43 in the fourth quarter when he kicked a career-long 42-yard field goal.
North Carolina answered with a 40-yard field goal of their own to put them up, 40-3, with 4:31 left in the game. However, the Bulldogs did not give up as DeAndre Smith recovered another UNC punt return fumble and returned it to the North Carolina 29-yard line with 1:51 on the clock. The Citadel, unable to convert the drive into a touchdown, connected on a Keeler 28-yard field goal to make the final score 40-6 with 28 second left in the game.
The Citadel recorded eight first downs with 153 yards of total offense. Blanchard finished the game completing 21-of-37 passes for 117 yards. Freshman walkon running back Remi Biakabutuka led the Bulldog running game with seven carries for 30 yards. Boateng and Jeremy Buncum both finished with seven total tackles, while Boateng added two interceptions. Hardy recorded six kickoff returns for 146 yards.
The Bulldogs start off the season 0-1 overall and 0-0 in the Southern Conference. The Citadel will take off next week off before heading to Princeton, N.J. to take on the Princeton Tigers on Sept. 19. For more information on Bulldog Football, go to the official website of The Citadel Atheltics, www.CitadelSports.com.
