BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Dominique Allen’s 1-yard run with 2:51 left in the game proved to be the decisive blow as 15th-ranked The Citadel rallied and held on for a 31-24 win over Gardner-Webb Saturday night.

“We did what we needed to do tonight to give ourselves a chance to win, but we had too many missed assignments and missed opportunities down there late,” said head coach Carroll McCray. “We have a lot of want to and good intentions, but none of that matters if you don’t produce. Our kids are hurting. You have a physical game like that where you go up, then they take the lead and you go back up – then lose it in the end – it hurts a little more.

“The Citadel is consistent in their approach. They don’t make many mistakes and they take advantage of mistakes when you make them. It’s one of the reasons they were a second round [NCAA Playoff] team last year. They stick to the game plan and their scheme and they have play makers on both sides of the ball.”

Gardner-Webb (1-2) took a 24-21 lead with 8:10 remaining on Tyrell Maxwell’s 19-yard pass to Willie Jackson IV – capping an impressive, 15-play, 91-yard drive that chewed up 6:41 and forced The Citadel to rally late for the third week in a row.

Facing third down just inside Gardner-Webb territory at the 47, Allen slipped through the line and dashed 41 yards to the GWU six with less than four minutes on the clock. He scored three plays later and the visiting Bulldogs had a 28-24 lead.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs ran into trouble on the ensuing drive, with Maxwell sacked twice to force a punt. GWU held The Citadel to a 45-yard field goal despite the short field, but used all three timeouts before taking over with 18 seconds left. Maxwell was sacked for a third time on the game’s final play.

The Citadel ran for 419 yards on 61 carries, with Allen (108 yards, 14 carries, TD) and Reggie Williams (112 yards, 13 carries) going over 100 yards individually. The Citadel finished with 431 total yards on 73 plays, completing just 1-of-7 passes for 12 yards.

Gardner-Webb had 353 total yards on 62 plays, getting 97 yards on the ground from Khalil Lewis and 77 from Jonathan Blackmon on just six carries.

Blackmon’s 39-yard touchdown run with 11:22 to play in the first capped a quick 86-yard scoring drive for Gardner-Webb to open the game. Lewis dashed 28 yards with 4:05 left in the third quarter to put Gardner-Webb up 17-14, but Deandre Schoultz turned the tide of the game as time expired in the third – taking a punt back 81 yards for a touchdown on the quarter’s final play.

That set up the counter-punch touchdown drives for both teams in the final stages of the game.

Maxwell finished the game 10-of-20 for 134 yards and a score, but was limited to a season-low 43 yards on 13 carries – with the three late sacks effecting that yardage total. In addition to his rushing totals, Lewis caught a team-high four passes for 35 yards, with a long of 28 yards coming on Gardner-Webb’s first drive as Maxwell found him after scrambling out of trouble.

Adonus Lee had a 47-yard catch, Jackson had his 19-yard touchdown and tight end Mike Estes tied the Big South Conference receptions record for his position with a 15-yard catch in the fourth quarter to spark Gardner-Webb’s final touchdown drive.

Chad Geter and Kenyatta Dunbar each had 14 total tackles to lead the Gardner-Webb defense. Nose guard Josh Ramseur finished with a career-high eight hits and a tackle for loss.

Kailik Williams had a team-high 14 stops for The Citadel (seven solo).

Gardner-Webb turns its attention to FBS member Ohio next Saturday, as the Runnin’ Bulldogs will visit Athens, Ohio for the third time since 2007. The Bobcats (1-2) gave No. 15 Tennessee fits on the road Saturday before falling 28-19 in Knoxville.

Story courtesy of Gardner-Webb Sports Information

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel recorded a school-record 10 sacks and scored 23 unanswered points to beat Gardner-Webb, 37-14, Saturday night.

Gardner-Webb (2-3) trailed 13-7 at the half, but seized momentum and marched quickly to take a 14-13 lead just after halftime on a short touchdown pass from Lucas Beatty to Kenny Cook.

The Citadel (1-3) controlled the game from there, however, scoring touchdowns on its next two drives to take a 27-14 lead with 22 seconds left in the third quarter that it would build on in the final 15 minutes.

Gardner-Webb played the game without offensive line starters David Sutton and Ashanti McPhee, and All-Big South linebackers Tanner Burch and Chad Geter for the second week in a row. Leading rusher Juanne Blount also missed Saturday night’s game with an injury.

The Citadel went to the air early and found success, with quarterback Aaron Miller connecting on a pair of passes to get into the red zone on the game’s initial drive. Miller plunged in from one-yard away for a 7-0 lead with 13:25 to play in the first quarter.

Gardner-Webb drove deep into The Citadel territory, but had to settle for a 42-yard field goal on its first drive – with that kick sailing wide. The Citadel added two field goals in the second quarter for a 13-0 lead, but the Runnin’ Bulldogs mounted a late rally with less than a minute to play.

Beatty drove GWU 59 yards on 10 plays, scrambling in from four yards away for a touchdown with 22 seconds left. Gardner-Webb had another chance to pull closer, with a squib kick ricocheting off a Citadel return man near midfield.

Gardner-Webb recovered, and Beatty got his team within field goal range – but Paul Schumacher’s 34-yard attempt sailed wide right at the horn.

Beatty heated up on the first drive of the second half to put Gardner-Webb in front. He marched the ‘Dogs 75 yards, hitting Kenny Cook on a 24-yard gain, then hitting him again for a one-yard touchdown with 11:36 left in the third.

The Citadel drove for a score on the ensuing drive, with a 32-yard completion over the middle from Miller to Alex Glover setting up a short dive over the goal line from Jake Stenson. The extra point missed, leaving the host Bulldogs up 19-14 with 6:11 to play in the third.

Gardner-Webb again drove to midfield, but a sack – The Citadel’s sixth of the night – caused Beatty to fumble, and the triple option was in business again. It was the first turnover gained by The Citadel’s defense all season.

Two plays later, The Citadel was inside Gardner-Webb’s 30-yard line. A targeting foul on an incomplete pass set the Bulldogs up inside the GWU 10 and Miller snuck in from a yard away on fourth-and-goal for a 25-14 edge with 28 seconds remaining in the quarter. Miller walked in for an easy two-point conversion for a 27-14 lead.

The Citadel recorded three consecutive sacks to force another punt, with those losses pushing Gardner-Webb’s rushing total to zero net yards with 13:21 left in the football game.

A 43-yard run by Jake Stenson on an option pitch wide gave The Citadel first-and-goal at the GWU seven-yard line and the host Bulldogs looked to be in business again. Kenyatta Dunbar caught Cam Jackson behind the line for a 10-yard loss to push The Citadel back, however, and Eric Goins chipped in a 24-yard field goal for a 30-14 lead with 9:44 left in the game.

The Citadel recorded its 10th sack on third down to force another Gardner-Webb punt, and returned the ensuing kick inside the 15. A holding call brought the ball back near midfield, but The Citadel drove in for another score.

Miller finished it off with a nine-yard run with 5:18 to play, giving The Citadel a 37-14 edge and the final margin.

Gardner-Webb was held to a net of minus-2 yards rushing, its lowest total gained since joining NCAA Division I in 2000. The 10 sacks were the most allowed by a GWU team in a single game in that same span.

Beatty was efficient and effective with the pass, despite the pressure. He completed 29-of-35 passes for a season-high 280 yards and a score.

Cook was his favorite target, picking up 103 yards and a touchdown on nine catches. Seth Cranfill finished with seven catches for 65 yards – establishing a new Big South Conference career mark for tight end receptions in the process.

Deonte Swinton had six catches for 61 yards and Mike Estes caught four passes for 36 yards. JJ Hubbard started at running back and finished with seven carries for 20 yards.

Aaron Cook led the GWU defense with nine stops. Azziz Higgins and Tyler Hough-Jenkins each had eight. Freshman Jeffrey Pegues had a career-high seven stops and returned a fumble 31 yards in the second quarter.

The Citadel racked up 509 yards of total offense, going for 323 yards and 58 yards on the ground 186 through the air.

Miller was the star, rushing for 91 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and completing eight passes for 186 yards without a turnover. Stenson added 77 yards on just six carries and Smith had 58 yards on 15 attempts. Jackson added 57 yards on eight carries. Rudder Brown led the receiving corps with 67 yards on two catches – with his 47-yard play setting up the first touchdown of the game.

The Citadel got a team-high nine tackles from Malik Diggs and had four different players collect at least two sacks in the game. Six players combined for the 10 sacks.

Gardner-Webb returns home on Saturday to host Charlotte (3-2) at 1:30 pm in Ernest W. Spangler Stadium. The game will air live on ESPN3 (WatchESPN.com), with Mike Hogewood and Nate Ross providing the call.

Courtesy of Gardner-Webb Sports Information