JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Citadel Bulldogs scored 21 unanswered points on their first three drives of the second half to rally past ETSU for a 31-25 win in their Southern Conference opener on Saturday at William B. Greene Stadium.

The Citadel (3-0, 1-0 SoCon) trailed 17-7 after ETSU (1-2, 0-1) added a field goal to its halftime leadto open the second half. The Bulldogs would score touchdowns on their ensuing three possessions to take a 28-17 lead. The Buccaneers cut the lead to three with a touchdown and a conversion, but a stop by The Citadel defense on 4^th-and-2 with just over two minutes remaining sealed the win.

The Bulldogs were displaced earlier this week by Hurricane Irma, had a home game moved last weekend, and lost a recent teammate in a car accident. The week was among the toughest in the career of Head Coach Brent Thompson, but his team persevered.

"They found a way to win no matter what it looked like," Thompson said following the win. "We had a tough week, we had a trying week, we stuck together and found a way to get out of here with a win."



The Bulldogs overcame a couple of miscues on special teams including a botched snap and a shanked field goal to rally from a 10-point deficit. The defense held ETSU to eight yards on two possessions after a field goal by the Buccaneers opened the second half. In the meantime, The Citadel offense reeled off touchdown drive of 75, 66, and 43 yards to completely change the game.

"The difference was coming out on defense and holding them in the second half," Thompson added. "We had a couple of mistakes on special teams that were costly, but the second half was all about the adjustments. I thought our coordinators did a good job of making adjustments and setting the tone in the third quarter."

Running back Grant Drakeford rushed for 93 yards on nine carries and wide out Raleigh Webb had touchdowns on his only two touches of the game – one run and one pass. The Bulldogs held ETSU to 26 yards rushing and had four sacks in the win.

ETSU struck first after the Bulldogs turned it over on their first possession, when a snap on the punt hit the up man and the Buccaneers took over at The Citadel 22. Austin Herink found Vincent Lowe on the next play for 22 yards and the game's first score to give ETSU a 7-0 lead.

The Bulldogs answered right back with an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by Brandon Rainey. All 75 yards came on the ground as the Bulldogs tied the game at 7-7.

ETSU capitalized on a short field just before half as Henrik found Drake Powell on a slant from eight yards out to put the Bulldogs down 14-7 at the break, despite outgaining ETSU 221-81 in the opening half.

ETSU opened the second half with a 7-play, 45-yard drive to take a 17-7 lead on a 47-yard field goal by J.J. Jerman. Jajuan Stinson's 18-yard run sparked the drive, moving the Bucs into Citadel territory quickly.

The Bulldogs controlled the next 20 minutes, seizing control of the game.

Dom Allen's 1-yard touchdown run capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive on The Citadel's first possession of the second half. Brandon Berry, in his first action of the season, gave the Bulldogs a burst with 23 punishing yards on six carries on the drive.

A sack by Ja'Lon Williams and Russell Hubbs set up the next Citadel drive. Drakeford's 11-yard run set up the Bulldogs inside the ETSU 20. A perfectly executed reverse to Raleigh Webb for a 7-yard touchdown run early in the fourth gave The Citadel a 21-17 lead.

Allen found Webb for a 28-yard touchdown on the Bulldogs' next possession to add to the lead. Webb broke free up the seam and reeled in a perfect one-hand catch to make it 28-17, The Citadel.
ETSU would not go away, Stinson scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 5:15 to play as the Buccaneers pieced together an impressive answer at 28-25.

Allen would find Josh LeBlanc for 44 yards on third-and-long on the Bulldogs next possession to set up a 46-yard field goal by Jacob Godek, a career long, as The Citadel pushed the game to its final margin.

The Citadel finished with 435 yards of total offense and held ETSU to only 208 and 2-of-12 on third-down conversions. The Bulldogs held the ball for 37 minutes and were 9-of-17 on third downs.  

The Bulldogs have a week off before traveling to Samford on Sept. 30.

NOTES: The win was the 500^th in program history for The Citadel…The Bulldogs played the game during the funeral of Mitchell Jeter, a former Bulldog who was the 2015 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year. Jeter was killed in a car wreck last Saturday night…The Citadel has won nine consecutive SoCon regular season contests…Brent Thompson coached teams are now 9-1 when rushing for over 300 yards (331 vs. ETSU).

-CitadelSports-