Lawson completed 14 of his 18 passes and rushed for 71 yards as the Bulldogs (5-6 overall, 4-3 SoCon) piled up 450 yards of total offense to 326 for the Phoenix (5-6, 2-5). The Citadel won four of its last five contests en route to a fourth-place finish in the Southern Conference and its first winning record in the league since claiming the 1992 championship.
“I’m just thankful our players came out and played hard and didn’t have any turnovers,” The Citadel coach Kevin Higgins said. “I was glad that we were able to pressure because Wes (Pope) is a great quarterback and they have some great receivers. Our kids were really excited about this game. It was a road game against a really good football team. Terrell (Hudgins) is a very good receiver. I think he’s got a bright future.”
Blake Vandiver put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first, kicking a 23-yard field goal with 10:52 to play in the first quarter. Vandiver’s kick capped a 10-play, 54-yard drive that consumed 3:58.
The Phoenix began a drive late in the first quarter, marching to The Citadel 24-yard line. Elon covered 43 yards in nine plays before James Wilson intercepted a Pope pass on the Bulldogs’ 20-yard line and returned 49 yards to the Phoenix 31-yard line. For Wilson, the interception marked the first in his four-year career at The Citadel.
The Bulldogs promptly marched 31 yards on five plays in 1:30 to score on a 10-yard run by Goodrum as time expired in the first quarter. Blake Vandiver missed his PAT attempt – for the first time since Sept. 23 at Pittsburgh – as The Citadel settled for a 9-0 advantage.
On the first play of The Citadel’s next possession, Andre Roberts turned a pass from Lawson into an 80-yard touchdown play – a career-long reception by Roberts and a season-long pass play for the Bulldogs. The touchdown fattened the Bulldogs’ edge to 16-0 with 12:01 to play in the second stanza.
Derek Moore scored the first touchdown of his career on a seven-yard pass from Lawson to stretch The Citadel lead to 23-0 – the eventual halftime margin – with 5:25 remaining before the break. Goodrum punched in a pair of one-yard touchdown scores in the third period – one with 7:57 left and one with 2:31 to go – to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 37-0.
Hudgins put the Phoenix on the board when he hauled in a 14-yard touchdown toss from Pope with 14:02 remaining, capping a seven-play, 83-yard drive. Concluding a 12-play, 85-yard drive that ate 6:16, Montrell Lee scored on a five-yard run with 7:36 remaining to determine the final score.
Pope completed 28 of a career-high 50 passes for 279 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown. His 28 completions fell two shy of his own single-game program record of 30 against Wofford last month while his 50 attempts fell five shy of Heath Hewitt’s single-game school milestone of 55 versus Catawba in 1990.
Hudgins reeled in a game-high and career-high 14 receptions for 159 yards and a score, narrowly missing Richard McGeorge’s single-game team record of 15 catches against Western Carolina in 1968.
Michael Mayers hauled in a career-high 10 receptions for 107 yards. He finished the season with a team-leading 73 receptions, eclipsing McGeorge’s total of 65 catches in 1968 for a new single-season program plateau.
It marked the first time that The Citadel surrendered 100+ receiving yards to more than one player in the same game since its contest at Florida State last season when three Seminoles – Chris Davis, De’Cody Fagg and Greg Carr – each received 100+ yards.
The Bulldogs’ Tory Cooper rushed for 109 yards on 15 carries to lead all receivers while Elon’s Corey Weaver led all defenders with 11 tackles.
Despite the loss, the Phoenix posted the program’s highest victory total in six seasons and spent the fall ranked high among NCAA-IAA leaders in several team and individual statistical categories.
“It’s a tough end to an exciting year,” Elon coach Pete Lembo said. “As much as I think they (The Citadel) played extremely well, I felt like we were very sluggish at the start. I guess our guys were just too hyped up. We missed some tackles and dropped some passes. Every time we stepped up and executed, they stepped up and executed. We can’t lose sight of everything we’ve accomplished this year. We’ll use the momentum and carry it through to next year.”
Elon’s 2006 wins included a victory at nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina, a pair of shutout triumphs over Presbyterian and North Carolina A&T, a SoCon road win at Chattanooga and a first-ever SoCon victory over Western Carolina.
– ELON – Game Box Score
