CHARLESTON, S.C. – One of the winningest senior classes in Citadel football history will try to make their final appearance at Johnson Hagood Stadium a memorable one on Saturday as the Bulldogs host Western Carolina in their regular season home finale. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
The Citadel (5-3, 3-3 SoCon) and Western Carolina (6-3, 4-2) meet in a key SoCon matchup as the regular season enters November. The Bulldogs are trying to clinch a third consecutive winning season and, for the senior class, their trying to win their 30
th game over a four-year span, which would match the most ever by a Bulldog senior class.
"It's a special class, for sure," Citadel head coach
Brent Thompson said on Thursday. "They have been a part of some big wins and special moments for this program. Senior day is always special and pregame will be a moment to soak in for them, but I know they're hungry to finish this season strong with a lot of football left."
The Bulldogs' top-ranked defense will have to solve the Catamounts' explosive offense as SoCon's top defense and top offense collide. The Citadel defense ranks among the Top 20 nationally in key categories including Total Defense (10th), Rushing Defense (19th), and Scoring Defense (14th). The Bulldogs lead the SoCon in all three categories.
WCU has one of the league's most balanced offenses, leading the league averaging 454 yards per game. The Catamounts are third in the league in rushing offense at just under 250 yards per game behind the option attacks of The Citadel and Wofford. Quarterback
Tyrie Adams is fourth in the league in rushing yards and passing yards per game.
The Bulldogs are coming off an impressive defensive effort against VMI, holding the Keydets to a lone field goal on the opening drive. The three points allowed are the fewest in a game under
Brent Thompson and the lowest total surrendered in SoCon play since a 21-0 shutout of Elon in 2005.
"It's definitely strength against strength," Thompson said of the matchup. "Our job will be to contain their offense, then control the ball and the clock with our offense. It sounds a little obvious, but finishing drives and scoring points when we reach the red zone has been our focus this week."
Thompson is pointing to his team's 812 rushing yards but only 41 total points the last two weeks. Six missed field goals – and settling for eight field goals – has hampered an offense that is moving the ball the best it has this season.
The Bulldogs rushed for 407 yards in the win over VMI, a SoCon season high. Running back
Brandon Rainey had 125 yards rushing on 16 carries, a career high in yardage.
Lorenzo Ward added a 45-yard touchdown run to seal the win in the fourth quarter. Seniors Dom Allen and
Cam Jackson both continue to climb the career rushing ladder. Allen surpassed 2,000 for his career in last week's win to climb to 12th all-time with 2,063 yards. Jackson has 2,365 career yards and is 8th on the career list.
Senior Day: The 20 seniors who will be recognized prior to the game on Saturday are
Shy Phillips, Myles Pierce, Kailik Williams, Israel Battle, Ben Roberts, Jalen Lampkin, Cam Jackson, Dominique Allen, Tyus Carter, Carl Cunningham, Jr., Cody Floyd, Sam Parker, Tristan Harkleroad, Tra'Von White, Jonathan King, Michael Rentz, Peter Kennedy, DaSean Daniels, Josh Massey, and Isaiah Smith.
-CitadelSports-
