Winter Issue The Blue & White: Winter Issue Letter from Director of Athletics Jim Senter What a tremendous fall season for The Citadel athletics! Our teams experienced success in competition and in the classroom, and our fans showed the type of support that makes The Citadel special. Head football coach Mike Houston said at his introductory press conference less than two years ago that his goal was to compete for Southern Conference championships. This year’s team provided one of the best seasons in ourand 108laid yearsthe foundation of football, for finishing what we 9-4 believe overall will and be 6-1 sustained in the SoCon success to withinearn a theco-championship program. and advance to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The conference title and playoff appearance were the first of each for the Bulldogs since 1992 The crowds continued to grow as we moved through the football season, and the team responded to the support. Our Homecoming game against VMI brought nearly 15,000 fans to Johnson Hagood Stadium for the largest crowd since 2009. After that game, we played four straight games on the road and every game featured a large, vocal contingentwith our fans of Bulldogmaking muchfaithful. more We noisehad an than entire the corner home Coastalof Williams-Brice Carolina fans. Stadium filled with our fans to witness that historic victory, while our first road playoff win in program history featured a crowd that was at least 50-50, The fall season also saw changes in volleyball, cross country and soccer. Our volleyball team was much more upward rise for that program. The cross country teams led by Jody Huddleston won three races, including a competitive in head coach Craig Mosqueda’s first season, and his second promises to see a continuation of an men’s and women’s sweep of the Will Wilson Citadel Invitational, and are preparing for indoor track and field competitionfuture. starting in January. Our women’s soccer team will be under new leadership after Bob Winch’s resignation. We are finalizing our search and are confident we will have a strong leader for soccer in the very near Winter sports have been in action for a few weeks and are gearing up to hit conference play in 2016. Head coach Duggar Baucom’s basketball team leads the NCAA in scoring with an average of 94.1 points per game and has an enjoyable style of play for spectators. Wrestling, under the direction of Rob Hjerling, is 3-0 in dual meets this season.Championships We are excited here at about the Inouye our rifle Marksmanship team’s new home,Center with in March. the Southern Conference announcing earlier this month that rifle will be a SoCon championship sport in 2016-17. William Smith’s team hosts its final SEARC I hope you and your families have a fantastic holiday season. The first home event of 2016 is Jan. 2, a basketball gameeverything against we UT-Chattanooga. do at The Citadel. I’m looking forward to having the best fans in the Southern Conference cheering on our cadet-athletes. With your continued support, we will continue focusing on “Rising To The Next Level” in Go Bulldogs, Jim Senter Page 1 ........................ Page 13 ............................................................. Volleyball Signing Class .................................................... ......................................................Track & Field Signing Class ...................................................................Letter from Director of Athletics Jim Senter ................................................................ Page 102 .............................................................Football 2015 Season Review Page 14 .......................... Page 116 ............................................................... DerrickBaseball Henry Signing Feature Class Page 16 2016 Tennis Schedule Baseball Season Tickets Page 17 Rifle Newest SoCon Championship Sport - 1- The Blue & White: Winter Issue Football: 2015 Season Review The Citadel’s 2015 football season will rank among the best in the Bulldogs’ 108-year history. The Citadel, under the direction of second-year head coach Mike Houston, finished the season 9-4 overall, including a 6-1 mark in the Southern Conference that allowed the Bulldogs to claim the co-SoCon title. seventh in the conference in the coaches’ and media preseason polls, stood atop the conference standings every The Citadel won its first Southern Conference crown since 1992 and third overall. The Bulldogs, picked to finish day of the 2015 season. The Citadel defeated Western Carolina 28-10 in the SoCon’s first game of 2015 and started a streak of six consecutive conference wins that lasted until a 31-23 defeat at Chattanooga that allowed the Mocs, ranked No. 9 in FCS at the time, to tie for the conference championship. The Bulldogs rebounded in a major way from their first loss since September, traveling up to Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia the week after Chattanooga and beating South Carolina 23-22. The victory was the third win for a Southern Conference team over an SEC foe and the second SEC victory for The Citadel, which won 10-3 at Arkansas in the Razorbacks’ SEC debut in 1992. The Citadel jumped on the Gamecocks early and held a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game after a three-and-out by the defense after the opening kickoff and a 59-yard touchdown run by Cam Jackson on the second offensive snap of the day. The Bulldogs held their lead throughout the first half, entering the locker room with a 14-9 halftime lead, and did not face their first deficit until 28:38 into the game. Entering the fourth quarter trailing 16-14, The Citadel began a four-minute, back-and-forth swing by nudging ahead 17-16 on Eric Goins’ 48-yard field goal. After South Carolina scored on a 41-yard touchdown and failed on the two-point conversion, Tyler Renew capped the best game of his career with a 56-yard touchdown run for the final score in the game. Overall, the Bulldogs trailed for just 13:29 and never by more than five points. They held the lead for 33:56, and their biggest lead of the game was 11 points. The victory snapped South Carolina’s 22-game home unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents as The Citadel was the first non-conference road team to win in Williams-Brice Stadium since Clemson in 2007. Tyler Renew led the Bulldogs on offense with a career-high 174 rushing yards and a career-high two touchdowns. His rushing total was the most allowed in Williams-Brice Stadium by the Gamecocks since 2006, when Arkansas’ Darren McFadden, the Doak Walker Award winner that season, rushed for 219 yards, and was more than South Carolina allowed to five different teams in 2015. - 2- The Blue & White: Winter Issue the citadel records broken in 2015 Largest Margin of Victory vs. FCS: 69 (69-0 vs. Davidson) Most Southern Conference Wins: 6 (tie) Previous: 54 (64-10 vs. Charleston Southern, 2003) Previous: 6 (1992) Most Touchdowns: 10 vs. Davidson (tie) Most 100-Yard Rushing Performances: 14 Previous: 10 (vs. VMI, 2007 and vs. Webber Int’l, 2007) Previous: 13 (2014, 1994) Most Rushing Touchdowns vs. FCS: 8 vs. Davidson Most All-Purpose Yards: 6,860 Previous: 7 (4x, most recent vs. Chas. Southern, 2012) Previous: 6,669 (1971) Most 100-Yard Rushers: 4 at Coastal Carolina Most Total Offense Yards: 5,474 Previous: 3 (at Appalachian State, 2012; at VMI, 1998) Previous: 5,323 (1992) Most Field Goals Made: 5 vs. VMI Most Rushing Yards: 4,510 Previous: 4 (vs. Marshall, 1996) Previous: 4,348 (1992) Most Field Goals Made: 5, Eric Goins vs. VMI Most Interception Return Yards: 515 Previous: 4 (Justin Skinner vs. Marshall, 1996) Previous: 396 (1997) Most Kicking Points: 17, Eric Goins vs. VMI Most Field Goals Made: 16 Previous: 16 (Mike Adams vs. Webber Int’l, 2007) Previous: 14 (1996, 2002) Most Field Goals Made: 16, Eric Goins Previous: 14 (Justin Skinner, 1996; Travis Zobel, 2002) gatheredWith the winto watch at South as a Carolina, group, they The learned Citadel they was wereconfident in and it wouldheading return to Coastal to the Carolina NCAA FCS only Playoffs two hours for the up firstthe time since 1992 but that was not official until the Selection Show aired Sunday morning on ESPNU. With the team make the playoffs, but the celebration quickly turned to preparation. The group of men inside Seignious Hall might coast and a rematch of the 2014 season opener, Coach Houston’s debut at The Citadel. The Bulldogs were estatic to have been the most confident team in America heading into the playoffs, and they would make their playoff debut within driving distance for fans, who traveled in droves to make the crowd Brooks Stadium at least 50-50. The first-round game was the highest-scoring contest of the season with both offenses responding to each score. The Bulldogs again took an early lead less than three minutes into the game when Cam Jackson scored three plays into a drive set up by Kailik Williams’ interception. The teams traded touchdowns throughout the first half, and the Chanticleers led 21-14 as the teams went into the locker rooms. The Bulldogs continued to respond and opened up a game-high, 10-point lead in the fourth quarter when Shy Phillips returned an interception 32 yards for a 38-28 lead. Coastal Carolina mounted a comeback and tied the game with 5:38 remaining. The Citadel drove into position for a Goins field goal but it was blocked, and the Chanticleers took over needing only a field goal to advance to the second round. As Coastal Carolina neared midfield, Tevin Floyd burst through on a delayed blitz and forced a winfumble in program on a third-down history. sack that was recovered by Mitchell Jeter. Given another opportunity, Goins blasted a 43- yard field goal through the middle of the uprights as time expired and The Citadel had earned its first road playoff The ground game again paced the Bulldogs, who produced four 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time in school history on their way to 524 total rushing yards.