Bulldogs Fall to Rival Furman, 16-6, in SoCon-Opener

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

full gallery

Game Notes
Game Quotes

Charleston, S.C. – The Citadel suffered a 16-6 loss against rival Furman before a crowd of 13,414 at Johnson Hagood Stadium on Saturday. The Bulldog offense recorded their first 100-yard passing game since throwing for 106 against Western Carolina on Oct. 2, 2010 as Dupree went 9-of-15 with one interception, unable to get The Citadel in the end zone.

Furman (1-1, 1-0), who took an early lead, never trailed as the Bulldogs' rally fell short. The Paladins totaled 271 yards of offense with 215 on the ground. Jerodis Williams recorded his second-consecutive 100-yard running game with 120 yards on 27 carries.

After winning the toss and electing to receive first, the Paladin defense forced the Bulldogs to punt on the opening drive. The Furman offense followed with an impressive first possession led by Williams, who rushed for 42 yard on seven carries. However, the Bulldog defense came up with a huge stop at The Citadel 4-yard line, forcing the Paladins to attempt a field goal with 9:11 on the clock. The 20-yard kick was good and Furman took the first lead of the game, 3-0.

The Paladins followed with another impressive drive on their second possession, advancing to the 10-yard line but were again forced to kick a field goal, a 27-yarder to put Furman up, 6-0, with 1:17 left in the first quarter.

The Citadel (1-1, 0-1) responded on the next drive, going strong for 74 yards in 8:59. A total of six Bulldogs carried the ball 13 times, advancing to the Furman 3-yard line. However, the Bulldogs were unable to get into the end zone, forcing kicker Ryan Sellers to connect on a 20-yard field goal.

Jeremy Buncum followed with a forced fumble on the second play of the next Furman drive that was recovered by Davis Boyle on the Paladin 35-yard line. The Bulldogs converted the turnover into a 35-yard field goal by Sellers, tying the score at 6-6 with 3:13 left in the first half. However, that would be the final score for the Bulldogs.

Furman took the next 2:42 off the clock by driving the ball 71 yards in 10 plays. They capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Chris Forcier to Sederrick Cunningham allowing Furman to take a 13-6 lead into halftime.

Both teams remained scoreless in the third quarter, while Furman added another field goal with 2:58 left in the game to extend the final score, 16-6.

Linebacker Tolu Akindele led the Bulldogs' defensive effort with 13 tackles, while safety Davis Boyle recorded two fumble recoveries. The Paladin defense was led by Mitch McGrath who totaled 10 tackles, 2.0 for a loss of five yards.

The Bulldogs will be on a bye next week and then will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 24 on the road at Elon. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. For more information on Bulldog Football, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com or follow the Dogs on Facebook and Twitter at facebook.com/citadelsports and twitter.com/citadelfootball.