CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern made The Citadel's first trip to Buccaneer Field a memorable one. In front of a record crowd of 7,954 fans, CSU topped The Citadel, 20-18, improving to 4-0 for a second consecutive season and the third time in the 24-year history of the program.

The Bucs' second straight win over The Citadel came on the strength of big plays in the second half. Darius Hammond's 74-yard punt return for a touchdown gave CSU a 17-3 third quarter lead, and the defense forced two timely turnovers to make it stand up. The second, a Zac Johnston fumble recovery with 1:26 remaining, sealed the victory for CSU. The return was the longest punt return in CSU history. 

A year after rallying for a road win over The Citadel in Jamey Chadwell's debut as head coach, the Bucs built an early lead and persevered. CSU is now 14-3 under Chadwell. Chadwell remarked on the significance of a second consecutive win over the crosstown rival Bulldogs. The fact that the triumph came in front of a crowd of nearly 8,000 – nearly 2,000 more than the previous record crowd of 6,135 last year against Coastal Carolina – made it extra special.

"These aren't upsets anymore is the mentality we are trying to take," Chadwell said. "I know that in this rivalry we will always be the "little brother." You win one, and it is a fluke. You win two in a row and now you know something is going on. Beating them is the only way to improve the way people look at you and think about you as a program. We've done that now."

"We are trying to build a program where people think differently about us, stop being the underdog, stop asking "why are you going to their place?," Chadwell continued. "It should be a home and home series ever year with us. We feel like we are on that level. Wins like tonight go into changing what people say about us."

Hammond's electrifying punt return allowed CSU to seize momentum early in the second half. Following a Citadel three-and-out, Hammond took Kyle Vanvick's punt from the right hash mark at the 26-yard line. The rest was mostly Hammond, as the sophomore broke several tackles on his way to the end zone, putting the Bucs ahead 17-3 at the 10:49 mark of the third quarter.

The Citadel responded with a 12-play, 67-yard drive behind senior quarterback Aaron Miller. Miller scampered for ten yards on a fourth down to set up Jake Stenson's four-yard touchdown run, cutting the CSU lead to 17-10.

The Citadel had a chance to mount another drive following a defensive stop but CSU's defense responded with its first of two turnovers. Senior safety Demaris Freeman jarred the football free from Citadel fullback Tyler Renew and D.J. Curl recovered at the Citadel 42-yard line. Redshirt freshman receiver Jared Scotland made the big play of the ensuing drive with a lunging 23-yard catch to set up a 32-yard David Kennedy field goal for a 20-10 Bucs' advantage.

Citadel was able to answer back with another methodical drive, as freshman Isiaha Smith plunged across the goal line for a one-yard touchdown. The Bulldogs converted a two-point conversion as well to whittle the deficit to 20-18, before the Bucs' defense came up with the decisive play on the Johnston fumble recovery with 1:26 left.

Johnston was part of a spirited effort from CSU's linebacker corps. Junior Aaron Brown led the way with 12 tackles, while senior Gabe Middlebrook was a presence throughout the night, adding 11 stops.

"It is a big win for us because we are still in our building stage," Chadwell said. "Whenever you can beat a program with their type of prestige and history, it makes people take notice. It is still just one win, but we are trying to make this a rivalry and make this game mean something. You saw how our guys responded. They feel like they get looked down upon all the time because of where we're at and who we represent. For them to come out and get the win really validates their idea that we are on equal footing."

CSU churned out two long drives in the first half to compile a 10-0 lead. The Bucs' enjoyed an over ten-minute advantage in time of possession at one point late in the first half, and had run 33 plays to The Citadel's 13 at that juncture.

The Bucs exploited The Citadel secondary behind Brown's throwing arm. Brown hit on 8-of-12 passes for 96 yards in the opening half, while Danny Croghan was a perfect 3-for-3 for 23 yards. Sophomore wide out Colton Korn was the primary target, hauling in four passes for 63 yards by halftime.

Brown hit Korn for 19 yards to convert a third-and-14 on the key play of the Bucs' first scoring drive. He added completions to Christian Reyes and Ray Rowe to set up Kennedy's 23-yard field goal and a 3-0 CSU lead.

Korn delivered again on third down to highlight a 13-play, 68-yard touchdown march that chewed up 7:04 of the second quarter clock. Brown rifled a pass to Korn for 17 yards on third-and-17 at The Citadel 21 to help cap off a drive engineered mostly by Croghan. Brown added a four-yard touchdown run on the next snap, reaching the ball inside the left pylon on an option keeper.

"I think the key in the first half was scoring on those limited possessions," Chadwell said. "We both only had a few drives, but we came away with ten points and they were only able to manage three. In the second half, it was all about special teams. The punt return was huge and the kick-off return (39-yard return by Hammond) really set up us up to have success because of field positioning. The turnovers were really important too. We didn't turn it over at all and we recovered two. When you've got two teams with similar offenses, the team that turns it over less will have more success."

Charleston Southern hits the road for the first time next Saturday, as the Bucs travel to take on Charlotte in a noon kickoff at Jerry Richardson Stadium.

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