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Citadel holds off Western in league defensive battle
Maybe it was the effect of an unexpected week off when Western Carolina’s game at Nicholls State was cancelled due to Hurricane Rita.
Or maybe it was another example of the Catamounts (1-1, 2-2) following an impressive win with a lackluster performance.
Whatever the reason, Citadel left Cullowhee with a 17-7 Southern Conference football victory Saturday before a disappointing crowd of 10,067 fans at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field.
Western Carolina’s James Conklin makes one of his seven tackles in Saturday’s 17-7 loss to Citadel. – WCU photo by Mark Haskett
The Cats failed to score an offensive touchdown and were limited to 14 rushing yards. More than half of their 166 total yards came on a drive that yielded no points late in the game.
The Bulldogs were led by Montrell Lee, who gained 87 yards in 13 carries.
Duran Lawson completed nine of 15 passes for 60 yards. Ta’Mar Jernigan had five receptions totaling 45 yards.
Lamont Reid was WCU’s leading rusher with 12 carries for 39 yards.
Justin Clark completed 14 of 32 passes for 153 yards.
The game’s initial possession ended when Joshua Lawson intercepted Clark’s pass and had an 11-yard return to the Bulldog 28 setting the stage for a defensive struggle as the teams combined to punt on their next 10 possessions.
Citadel finally broke the streak in just two plays after starting from its 20. Lee ripped off a 49-yard run, and Kinta Palmer hit Jernigan on a 31-yard end around touchdown pass. Blake Vandiver’s PAT made it 7-0 with 3:37 remaining in the half.
Following an exchange of punts, Deon Douglas sacked Clark forcing a fumble that Fred Townsend recovered at the WCU 23. Lawson’s TD pass to Palmer on the next play along with Vandiver point after gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 advantage with six seconds on the clock.
Western reached the Citadel 25 late in the third quarter, but reserve quarterback Michael McQueeney was sacked on consecutive plays giving the Bulldogs possession on downs at their 42.
They reached the WCU 20, but Vandiver missed a 37-yard field goal.
He connected from 38 yards a few minutes later extending the margin to 17-0 with five minutes left in the game.
The Cats got on the board as Nick Miller took a lateral from J.C. Brown on the kickoff and returned it 92 yards. Former Smoky Mountain kicker Stephen Brown added the PAT cutting the gap to 17-7 at the 4:46 mark.
Western’s offense finally showed some life after starting from its 16 with 3:43 on the clock. Clark completed passes of 36 and 21 yards to Brown and hit Michael Hines for 20 yards to the 3 before the drive stalled.
Citadel’s Porter Johnson was the game’s top tackler with 11, including 10 solos.
Lamar Brown and James Conklin led WCU with seven tackles apiece.
Citadel WCU
8 First Downs 11
37-146 Rushes-Yds. 33-14
10-16-0 Passing 15-37-1
91 Passing Yds. 152
10-43.4 Punts-Avg. 9-45.3
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-1
4-49 Penalties-Yds. 8-57
Citadel 0 14 0 3 17
WCU 0 0 0 7 7
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