The Citadel
4-6 , 2-3
Furman
2-8 , 1-4
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furman | 21 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| The Citadel | 13 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
Bulldogs Outlast Furman in Homecoming Thriller
11/8/2014 5:20:00 PM | Football
The Citadel (4-6, 2-3 Southern Conference) took advantage of three Furman miscues in the fourth quarter that could have iced the game for the Paladins (2-8, 1-4) and eventually tied it at 35 when Tyler Renew went in from six yards out with 1:34 remaining in regulation.
Miller kept the ball for all but one of The Citadel's seven plays in overtime, starting the drive with a 13-yard run and then converting a fourth down to the Paladin two. After the Bulldogs went in front, PJ Blazejowski rushed for one yard and then misfired on three straight passes to seal the Bulldog victory.
Renew led The Citadel with 103 rushing yards, the second 100-yard game of his career. He was followed in a well-balanced Bulldog ground game by Miller with 91 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 20 in his career, Jake Stenson with 80 and a score and Vinny Miller with 43 yards.
The Bulldogs finished with 407 rushing yards, their third game this season with more than 400, after entering the game ranked second in the nation with an average of 333.7 per game. The Bulldogs played without slot back Cam Jackson, who broke his hand last week at Mercer and is out for the season.
Stenson and Miller also caught touchdown passes from Aaron Miller, who completed 8 of 13 passes for 142 yards. The Citadel finished with 549 yards of total offense to 457 for Furman.
Blazejowski hit on 20 of 29 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns and also led Furman with 75 rushing yards and a score. Issac Garcia contributed 63 yards and scored once but also had perhaps the most damaging run of the game for the Paladins.
With Furman leading 35-28 and driving for another potential score, Garcia appeared to be heading into the end zone when he was stripped by Julian Baxter at The Citadel two, with the ball rolling out of the end zone for a touchback at the 9:23 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Paladins got the ball back after a Renew fumble near midfield and again were struck by misfortune. A four-yard touchdown run by Garcia was called back by a holding penalty, and Jon Croft Hollingsworth pushed a 30-yard field goal wide right to keep it just a one-score game with 3:57 left.
The Bulldogs then mounted an 80-yard drive highlighted by a 45-yard pass to Jonathan Dorogy to the Furman eight, setting up the Renew game-tying touchdown.
A wild first half ended with The Citadel scoring 15 unanswered points to tie the game at 28. The Paladins regained the lead early in the fourth quarter when Tanner Skogen took a short pass from Blazejowski, split two Bulldog defenders and raced down the Furman sideline for a 65-yard touchdown that put Furman in front 35-28 two minutes into the final quarter.
The teams traded touchdowns on each of their first two possessions. Furman struck quickly when it recovered a Brandon Eakins fumble on the opening kickoff and scored on a 24-yard pass to Jordan Snellings, who finished with game highs of eight catches and 102 yards.
Blazejowski also hit Chad Scott on a 27-yard scoring aerial, while Stenson (15 yards) and Aaron Miller (32) answered with rushing touchdowns for the Bulldogs. A 40-yard gallop by Blazejowski set up a three-yard scoring run by Garcia that had the Paladins ahead 21-13 after the first quarter.
Furman got the ball in great field position after a 13-yard punt by Will Vanvick, and the Paladins covered the distance in only four plays, with Blazejowski scoring from the 12 to make it 28-13 midway through the third quarter.
Stenson and Vinny Miller caught their touchdown passes on the next two Bulldog possessions, with Aaron Miller running in a two-point conversion on the latter score to tie the game at 28 with just 15 seconds left in the half.
The Citadel wraps up its home schedule next Saturday against Samford at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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Team Stats
FUR 7, CIT 0
FUR - J. Snellings 24 yd pass from PJ Blazejowski (Hollingsworth kick) 2 plays, 32 yards, TOP 0:37
FUR 7, CIT 6
CIT - Jake Stenson 15 yd run (Eric Goins passfailed), 14 plays, 70 yards, TOP 5:55
FUR 14, CIT 6
FUR - Chad Scott 27 yd pass from PJ Blazejowski (Hollingsworth kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:24
FUR 14, CIT 13
CIT - Aaron Miller 32 yd run (Eric Goins kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:29
FUR 21, CIT 13
FUR - Issac Garcia 3 yd run (Hollingsworth kick), 6 plays, 68 yards, TOP 2:54
FUR 28, CIT 13
FUR - PJ Blazejowski 12 yd run (Hollingsworth kick), 4 plays, 29 yards, TOP 2:13
FUR 28, CIT 20
CIT - Jake Stenson 7 yd pass from Aaron Miller (Eric Goins kick) 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:14
FUR 28, CIT 28
CIT - Vinny Miller 10 yd pass from Aaron Miller (Aaron Miller rush) 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:20
FUR 35, CIT 28
FUR - Tanner Skogen 65 yd pass from PJ Blazejowski (Hollingsworth kick) 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:20
FUR 35, CIT 35
CIT - Tyler Renew 6 yd run (Eric Goins kick), 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:23
FUR 35, CIT 42
CIT - Aaron Miller 2 yd run (Eric Goins kick), 7 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00
