Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Limping Terriers show teeth vs. Bulldogs

The weakest Wofford team in at least eight years rolled into Johnson Hagood Stadium on Saturday and hammered The Citadel, 43-17, before a homecoming crowd of 15,155.

The Terriers, headed for their first losing season since 2001, got touchdowns from five players and improved to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the Southern Conference. The Citadel dropped to 4-5 and 2-4, and must win on the road at Chattanooga and Georgia Southern to secure a winning season.

"It's not a very good feeling," said senior lineman Dan DeHaven about a loss in the final home game and an 0-4 record against Wofford for Citadel seniors.

The quarterback magic that had carried The Citadel to victories against Furman and Wofford was missing Saturday.

Gimpy starter Bart Blanchard, playing for the first time in three weeks and hobbled by a sprained big toe, was sacked three times and fumbled twice, which led to nine Wofford points.

He and running back Van Dyke Jones also missed on a handoff, resulting in another fumble and another Wofford touchdown.

With the score 36-10 in the third quarter, Citadel coach Kevin Higgins turned to freshman walk-on Tommy Edwards, hero of last week's victory against Samford. He promptly threw an interception that led to the Terriers' final touchdown.

Late in the game, Higgins went to backup QB Miguel Starks, star of the victory against Furman. Starks hit 5 of 7 passes for 61 yards and a 9-yard touchdown to Cam Turner against Wofford's defensive backups.

Blanchard finished 15 of 23 for 91 yards and a 6-yard touchdown to tight end Alex Sellars, as The Citadel totaled 274 yards to 450 for Wofford.

"I've got to find a way to get it done," Blanchard said afterward, while wearing a walking boot on his left foot. "If coach is going to have the confidence to start me, I've got to get it done."

Higgins said that the experience of redshirt junior Blanchard gave him the edge over redshirt freshman Starks in getting the start, and was the main reason he stayed with Blanchard so long.

"We were still in the game in the first half," Higgins said. "And it turned out to be correct that the other guys couldn't do that much more to warrant getting them in. Miguel was banged up, and Tommy doesn't have much experience at all."

Starks, coming off an ankle injury against Samford, said he was at about "80 or 85 percent" against Wofford.

Down 17-3 in the second quarter, Blanchard got the Bulldogs to within 17-10 with his touchdown pass to Sellars, and The Citadel forced a punt and took over at its own 6 with 1:01 left.

But Blanchard, locked in on Andre Roberts, never saw Wofford linebacker Gary Blount blitzing from his front side. Tackle Lincoln Kling recovered the fumble, but the safety gave Wofford a 19-10 lead and forced a free kick. Wofford's Mike Rucker took that back 37 yards, and Christian Reed's 32-yard field goal gave the Terriers five points in 51 seconds and a 22-10 halftime lead.

Wofford, led by 96 rushing yards from backup QB Stev Davitte, took the second-half kickoff and went 69 yards for a 29-10 on a 13-yard pass from Mitch Allen to Brenton Bersin. After a Wofford fumble, Blanchard and Jones botched a handoff, and Terriers linebacker Jonathan Sharpe recovered at his 36. That set up Davitte's 25-yard scoring scamper for a 36-10 lead.

Three Citadel turnovers led to 19 Wofford points.

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