Tucson, Ariz. - The Citadel football competed against their first Pac-10 opponent in the home-opener for the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night. The Bulldogs fell to the Wildcats, 52-6, in front of a crowd of 54,844. Senior kicker Sam Keeler recorded the only points for the Bulldogs, marking the first offensive points of the season scored against the Wildcats.
The Citadel won the toss and chose to receive the ball first; however the Arizona offense dominated the first half, sending the Bulldogs into halftime with a 24-0 deficit.
Once again, the defense came out strong to start the game for the Bulldogs. Defensive end Erik Clanton sacked Wildcat junior quarterback Nick Foles on third-and-eight for a loss of two yards to force Arizona to punt on their first possession of the game. However, the Wildcats would take control on the next possession, driving the ball 60 yards, highlighted by a 44-yard pass from Foles to Juron Criner, The drive was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by Nic Grigsby to send the Wildcats up, 7-0, and kick off the Arizona scoring rally.
The Bulldog defense held Arizona to the one score to end the first quarter, but the Wildcats quickly added another TD to the tally early in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead when Foles found William Wright in the back of the end zone for the 4-yard touchdown pass with 12:58 on the clock. Arizona added two more scores to the board later in the second quarter with the first a 41-yard field goal by Alex Zendejas. The next score came after Thompson fumbled on the Bulldog 22-yard line. The Wildcats recovered the ball and Grigsby recorded his second TD of the game two plays later on a 1-yard touchdown run.
Down 24-0 with five minutes left in the half, The Citadel had possession of the ball for the seventh time in the game, but went three-and-out, forced to punt on fourth-and-one on the Bulldog 34-yard line. Junior linebacker Tolu Akindele earned the first pick of his career regaining possession for the Bulldogs late in the second quarter, but The Citadel was unable to convert the drive into a score, ending the first half.
After the Wildcats started off the second half scoring twice in the first 2:30 of the quarter, extending their lead to 38-0, the Bulldogs brought in redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Martin who led the Bulldogs in their first scoring drive of the game. Highlighted by a career long 30-yard run by Terrell Dallas, the Bulldogs drove the ball 48 yards in 5:30, capped off with a 39-yard Sam Keeler field goal to make the score, 38-3, avoiding a shutout. The field goal was the first offensive points against Arizona this season.
Arizona would score again when running back Greg Nwoko found the end zone at the end of a three-yard run. However, the Bulldogs would not stop there, adding another Sam Keeler field goal, this time for 29 yards with 9:08 left in the game to make the score 45-6. Wildcat backup quarterback Bryson Beirne found Jack Baucus for a 6-yard score to cap the scoring at 52-6.
The Citadel totaled 171 yards of total offense. Jeremy Buncum led the Bulldog defense with 10 total tackles, while Dallas was the leading rusher with 11 carries for 54 total yards. Arizona's offense totaled 22 first downs with 489 total yards of offense. Grigsby finished the game with 107 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs return home to face the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Sept. 18 in a 7 p.m. kickoff. For more information on Bulldog Football, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
