GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Despite back-to-back
Quentin Hayes-to-
Jihad Marks touchdown passes pacing a second-half offensive surge, The Citadel (3-5, 2-3 SoCon) stumbled down the stretch on the road at long-time adversary Furman (5-3, 3-2 SoCon), falling to the host Paladins via a 24-14 margin Saturday afternoon at Paladins Stadium in the 105th meeting between the long-time Southern Conference rivals.
"They played faster than us early on, especially on the interior of the offensive line," head coach
Maurice Drayton said. "We didn't get much movement early on. We left the defense out on the field early on in the first half."
KEY NOTES
-- Offensively, the team generated 337 total yards off 53 plays, averaging a solid 6.4 yards per play and converting for 15 first downs
-- On the ground, the Bulldogs only managed to rack up 133 yards on 35 attempts with no scores; Hayes led the effort with 39 yards on 13 carries while
Corey Ibrahim,
Cobey Thompkins and
Beau Herrington each notched 20-plus yard outings via a combined 16 rushes
-- Through the air, the Hayes-to-Marks connection proved near-fatal for Furman early in the third quarter, as The Citadel jumped out to their first-and-only lead of the game -- a 14-9 edge -- courtesy of back-to-back 46-yard touchdown tosses from the Air Force transfer; for Marks, he pulled down three catches on the day for 108 yards -- just the second 100-plus yard showing for a Bulldogs receiver this season -- with the pair of end zone visits;
Javonte Graves-Billips grabbed five receptions of his own for 38 yards while
Garrison Johnson Sr. collected two catches for 33 total yards
-- Defensively,
Je'Mazin Roberts,
Bradlee Jones and
Tyrik McDaniels registered the team-highs with seven tackles apiece;
Jeremiah Holmes posted six of his own as well, including two tackles-for-loss with one logged as a sack
--
James Platte returned to his usual form with five total punts for the game, averaging an impressive 50.2 yards per kick
-- For the first time this season, the Bulldogs surrendered the advantage on penalties, picking up a season-high 10 flags -- topped the previous mark of four on four separate occasions -- for a total 84 yards
-- #FireThoseCannons --
