Saturday, September 20
Charleston, S.C.
2:00 PM
The Citadel
1-3 , 1-1
0
vs
38
Mercer
2-1 , 2-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
| The Citadel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Photo by: Hunter Gatling / The Citadel Athletics
Football Falters Saturday Against Mercer, Suffers 38-0 Shutout
9/20/2025 6:07:00 PM | Football
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Citadel (1-3, 1-1 SoCon) struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the program's Southern Conference home opener against RV/#25 Mercer (2-1, 2-0 SoCon), falling to the defending league champion Bears via a decisive 38-0 margin Saturday afternoon at Sansom Field at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
"What I was disappointed most in was our fight," head coach Maurice Drayton said. "We didn't win one-on-one battles when we had the opportunities. They are going to win some because they are on scholarship too. When we have those one-on-one opportunities, we need to win more of those battles."
KEY NOTES
-- Under center, Quentin Hayes took the majority of the snaps following an early injury to starter Cobey Thompkins, closing out his day 7-of-12 for 60 yards with one interception; the Air Force transfer added 38 yards on the ground off 13 carries
-- In the backfield, Garrison Johnson Sr. paced the running back corps behind a 53-yard, seven-carry outing, notably tearing off a 37-yard gash on the initial drive of the contest; Sebastien Boyle tallied eight carries as well for 15 yards
-- At wide receiver, Javonte Graves-Billips pulled down a team-best four catches for 26 yards; JJ Hudson contributed a pair of receptions for 14 yards as well while Jihad Marks notably grabbed his first catch of the year, good for 18 yards
-- Defensively, Cale Williams led the group with six tackles; Tyrik McDaniel, Nolan Jones and Sayre Smothers racked up five tackles apiece as well, including a combined 1.5 tackles-for-loss
-- Per the usual, James Platte impressed with his big leg, averaging 48.0 yards per punt on five attempts; notably, the grad student pinned Mercer inside their own 20-yard line on three occasions while dropping a 70-yard bomb to kick off the fourth quarter, good for a new career-best
"What I was disappointed most in was our fight," head coach Maurice Drayton said. "We didn't win one-on-one battles when we had the opportunities. They are going to win some because they are on scholarship too. When we have those one-on-one opportunities, we need to win more of those battles."
KEY NOTES
-- Under center, Quentin Hayes took the majority of the snaps following an early injury to starter Cobey Thompkins, closing out his day 7-of-12 for 60 yards with one interception; the Air Force transfer added 38 yards on the ground off 13 carries
-- In the backfield, Garrison Johnson Sr. paced the running back corps behind a 53-yard, seven-carry outing, notably tearing off a 37-yard gash on the initial drive of the contest; Sebastien Boyle tallied eight carries as well for 15 yards
-- At wide receiver, Javonte Graves-Billips pulled down a team-best four catches for 26 yards; JJ Hudson contributed a pair of receptions for 14 yards as well while Jihad Marks notably grabbed his first catch of the year, good for 18 yards
-- Defensively, Cale Williams led the group with six tackles; Tyrik McDaniel, Nolan Jones and Sayre Smothers racked up five tackles apiece as well, including a combined 1.5 tackles-for-loss
-- Per the usual, James Platte impressed with his big leg, averaging 48.0 yards per punt on five attempts; notably, the grad student pinned Mercer inside their own 20-yard line on three occasions while dropping a 70-yard bomb to kick off the fourth quarter, good for a new career-best
-- #FireThoseCannons --
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
P
/ Football
DB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DB
/ FootballTeam Stats
MER
CIT
Total Yards
457
194
Pass Yards
305
76
Rushing Yards
152
118
Penalty Yards
45
40
1st Downs
24
10
3rd Downs
5
3
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
31:33
28:27
1st Quarter
MER 7, CIT 0
MER - Dabbs,Adjatay 18 yd pass from Atkinson,Braden (Griffith,Reice kick) 3 plays, 71 yards, TOP 01:17
MER 10, CIT 0
MER - Griffith,Reice 51 yd field goal 12 plays, 58 yards, TOP 05:43
2nd Quarter
MER 17, CIT 0
MER - Dabbs,Adjatay 29 yd pass from Atkinson,Braden (Griffith,Reice kick) 11 plays, 82 yards, TOP 06:14
3rd Quarter
MER 24, CIT 0
MER - McDaniel,Adonis 12 yd pass from Atkinson,Braden (Griffith,Reice kick) 8 plays, 44 yards, TOP 03:08
4th Quarter
MER 31, CIT 0
MER - Miller,CJ 79 yd run (Griffith,Reice kick), 3 plays, 94 yards, TOP 01:14
MER 38, CIT 0
MER - Harris,Kendall 8 yd pass from Atkinson,Braden (Griffith,Reice kick) 8 plays, 51 yards, TOP 03:55
Game Leaders
CMP
7
TD
0
YDS
60
INT
1
CMP
3
TD
0
YDS
16
INT
0
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