Up 24-3 midway through 3rd quarter, The Citadel holds off VMI rally for 27-24 victory
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Derek Douglas returned a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown to give The Citadel a 21-point lead in the third quarter, and the Bulldogs held on to beat Virginia Military Institute 27-24 Saturday.
The Citadel (6-4, 5-3 Southern Conference), which outgained the Keydets 248-86 in rushing yardage, needed Douglas' fumble return midway through the third quarter and Thomas Warren's two field goals to stave edge VMI (2-8, 1-5 Big South).
Ben Dupree's 10-yard touchdown run opened the scoring. VMI's Jeff Sexton kicked a field goal, but the Bulldogs scored 17 unanswered points and seemed comfortably ahead after Douglas' TD return.
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But short scoring runs by Deon Watts and Cody Shirley trimmed The Citadel's lead to 24-17. Warren's second field goal, a 35-yarder, made it 27-17 with 4:56 left.
Eric Kordenbrock brought VMI within 27-24 with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mario Thompson with 3:03 left, but it got no closer.