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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel football team edged Mercer 21-19 on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium, sealing the Bulldogs' first 5-0 start to SoCon play in program history. The Citadel paired an explosive offensive second quarter with a suffocating second-half defense to preserve its unblemished conference record and improve to 11-0 under head coach Mike Houston when scoring at least 21 points.

The Citadel is now 8-4-1 all-time against Mercer and 2-0 during Coach Houston's tenure. The Bulldogs racked up 376 total rushing yards in the victory as three different backs totaled 97 yards or more on the ground. Sophomore Cam Jackson led all rushers with a season-high 109 yards while junior Tyler Renew added a season-high total of 107 yards and sophomore Isiaha Smith gained 97 yards.

Trailing 10-0 heading into the second quarter, The Citadel found the end zone on back-to-back possessions to regain momentum and seize a halftime lead. With 8:20 left in the second quarter, the Bulldogs engineered an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive that featured six tough runs by Renew. It culminated with a two-yard touchdown run by sophomore Reggie Williams to slice the deficit to 10-7.

On the ensuing offensive possession, The Citadel wasted no time surging in front as Smith ripped off an 83-yard touchdown scamper on the drive's third play to push the Bulldogs ahead 14-10. The rush was The Citadel's longest since 2004 and the sixth-longest run in program history. 

Following a Mercer field goal late in the third quarter that trimmed The Citadel's lead to 14-13, the Bulldog defense clamped down when it needed to. A pair of sacks by junior Joe Crotchet and senior Mitchell Jeter and a hurry by senior Mark Thomas on three consecutive plays forced a Bears punt from their own end zone with just over 11 minutes remaining. Jeter finished the day with 2.5 tackles for loss and moved into a tie for seventh on The Citadel's career tackles for loss list.

The Bulldogs pounced on the great field position after the punt, punctuating a 38-yard scoring drive with a clutch three-yard touchdown run by sophomore Dominique Allen. The third rushing score of the game handed The Citadel a 21-13 cushion. The Bulldogs now have 32 rushing touchdowns on the season and entered Saturday's contest leading the FCS in that category.

Mercer answered with a touchdown drive of its own to pull within 21-19, but the Bulldogs stifled a two-point conversion attempt and ran out the clock to cement the victory.

The Citadel is back in Johnson Hagood Stadium next Saturday as it hosts SoCon rival VMI for Homecoming and Senior Day. Kickoff on Nov. 7 is set for 2 p.m. For tickets, visit CitadelSports.com/tickets or call (843)-943-DOGS.

For more information on The Citadel football, follow @CitadelFootball or visit CitadelSports.com.