Game review, 2013: Appalachian State

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Sandlapper Spike

Links of interest:

Game story in The Post and Courier

Game story in the Watauga Democrat

Game story in the Winston-Salem Journal

School release

Box score

WCIV-TV report (video)

Postgame video: Kevin Higgins, Ben Dupree, Thomas Warren

Kevin Higgins’ locker room speech (don’t miss the end of this clip)

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Ben Dupree called it a “relief” to get the win, which I think sums it up. The Bulldogs badly needed that victory.

It wasn’t a perfect performance by any stretch, but good enough. It was a spirited effort on a warm afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium, before a largely appreciative Parents’ Day crowd.

I’ll write more about this game when I preview the Georgia Southern contest later in the week. Just a few quick thoughts:

– It was hot. Hot, hot, hot.

It was hot enough it that occurred to me The Citadel might be better off wearing white jerseys for the game (thus forcing Appalachian State to wear black jerseys). However, I am sure the SoCon officials would not have allowed that, as they clearly enjoy harassing The Citadel about uniform choices.

– Marcus Cox was very impressive for the Mountaineers. He is a very effective runner, and maybe even a better pass-catcher out of the backfield. I won’t mind him playing in the Sun Belt next season instead of the SoCon.

– Both teams weren’t afraid to deliver some big hits throughout the game. Appalachian State’s Tony Washington should get credit for hanging on to the football (for a thirty-yard completion) after getting popped by Brandon McCladdie. Another Bulldog getting his money’s worth was Jake Stenson, who had a major league block on Dupree’s 53-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

– On which play was the ball highest in the air at its uppermost point — Mitchell Jeter’s critical interception in overtime, or Thomas Warren’s game-winning field goal? I think my vote would go to the interception.

– Saturday’s contest marked the first time The Citadel had ever ended an overtime game by converting a game-winning field goal. The program’s only other OT triumph decided by a field goal came at Chattanooga on November 3, 2001. In that game, the kick was made in the first overtime session; the Bulldogs then intercepted a pass while on defense to clinch the win, basically the reverse of what happened against Appalachian State.

The Citadel’s other OT victories all ended with touchdown runs. The two previous OT wins for the Bulldogs at Johnson Hagood Stadium (Western Carolina in 2006 and the crazy Furman game in 2007) were both finished off by Tory Cooper TD runs.

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Below are some of the pictures I took on Saturday. There are a lot of them this week. Most of them are mediocre at best, although there are a few that are actually decent (I took those by accident).

Included are a selection of photos from the Parents’ Day festivities. I had never actually been in one of the “new” barracks until Saturday. I took a few pictures of the interior of the first battalion, historically where the most elite of The Citadel’s cadets reside during the school year.

I also had the chance to talk to a few cadets from Alpha Company, traditionally the most outstanding of the companies within the corps of cadets. As usual, all of them were pleasant and intelligent, and patient enough to put up with an ancient alumnus like me.

There are a few photos of the parade, and a few other odds and ends. Most of the pictures, though, are of the game itself. I tried to annotate as many of them as possible, so as to give proper context.