VMI Football Moves to 2-0 In Big South With 34-12 Win Over CSU

Football VMIKeydets.com

VMI Football Moves to 2-0 In Big South With 34-12 Win Over CSU

LEXINGTON, Va.- Freshman back Brian Royster (Virginia Beach, Va.) rushed for a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore back Nat Jackson (Fredericksburg, Va.) added a career-high 96 yards and two touchdowns to lead VMI to a 34-12 Big South Conference win over Charleston Southern Saturday afternoon before 6,844 Parents Weekend spectators at Alumni Memorial Field.

With the victory, the Keydets won their second straight game and moved to 2-0 in Big South Conference action and also evened their overall mark to 3-3. Charleston Southern dropped its second straight and fell to 2-4, 0-1 BSC.

VMI rolled up 429 yards total offense including 285 on the ground for its highest rushing output in 27 games.

The Keydet defense also forced four CSU turnovers, blocked a field goal, and converted a pivotal defensive two-point return to turn aside Buccaneer hopes for a second-half comeback.

VMI, which never trailed on the day, opened the scoring with a nine-play, 76-yard drive on its first drive. Jackson found the end zone on a four-yard toss-sweep with 11:34 left in the first quarter, but Barrett Way missed the extra point on a wet, sloppy playing surface that had been drenched by rain the previous two days. Jackson rushed four times for 40 yards on the drive and VMI quarterback Jonathan Wilson completed three passes for 29 yards. It marked the third straight game that VMI had scored on its opening offensive possession.

The Keydets upped the lead to 8-0 on the first play of the second quarter when tackles Vic Rosen and Vicheal Foxx trapped CSU running back Andre Copeland in the end zone for a safety. The play had been sent up by an Adam Peters punt that had pinned the Buccaneers back at its on one-yard line.

Jackson scored his second touchdown on the ensuing possession on an 18-yard cutback run with 10:27 left in the second quarter to push the lead to 15-0. Royster (26 yards) and Jackson (29 yards) split the ground duties on the drive, each rushing four times. A Wilson pass to Gary Price to the CSU 29 keyed the drive.

The VMI defense held the upper hand in the first 30 minutes, squelching CSU drives on a blocked field goal, fumble recovery, safety, an interception, and two drives ending on downs.

CSU missed a golden opportunity to cut into the VMI early in the second half when the Buc offense stalled after Tavares Shorter returned the opening second half kickoff 74 yards to the VMI 22. Wideout Bryant Burch fumbled at the VMI 6 after taking a hit by Keydet safety Robert Mason, and linebacker Justin Huggard recovered the ball at the spot to halt the drive.

The Bucs had their next drive end on downs at the VMI 32 when Copeleand was stopped for a one-yard gain on a fourth and six situation.

VMI made it 22-0 when Royster scored a one-yard TD, his first as a Keydet, with 6:35 left in the third quarter. Royster rushed 47 yards on six carries on the drive including a season-long 29-yarder to the CSU 15.

The Buccaneers got on the board and converted an 11-play, 67-yard drive that consumed five minutes and was capped by Collin Drafts three-yard TD scramble. The extra point was missed and the score remained 22-6 with 1:36 to play in the third quarter.

Royster followed with his second TD of the day on a three-yard run that topped VMI's longest drive of the afternoon, a 13-play, 74 yard possession that consumed 7:22 off the fourth quarter clock. The drive was set up by a Todd Baldwin interception that halted a CSU surge to the VMI 20-yard line.

The Bucs cut the margin to 29-12 with 6:22 left in the game when Drafts and freshman receiver Marcus Murry connected on an 8-yard scoring pass play, but CSU's attempt to make it a two-possession game was derailed when Grant Harris stepped in front of Drafts' two-point pass at the goal line and returned it the length of the field down the right sideline for a crucial two-point swing that made it 31-12, Keydets.

Way's 35-yard field goal with 2:49 left in the game provided the final margin.

Baldwin led VMI tacklers with 16 stops including a tackle for loss, and fumble recovery and an interception. Huggard added 11 tackles and a fumble recovery and Mason finished with eight tackles and an interception.

Buccaneer linebacker Jada Ross lead all tacklers with 17 tackles including one for loss.

The Keydets return to action next Saturday at Wofford for a 1:30 kick in Spartanburg, S.C. Charleston Southern faces West Virginia Wesleyan next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in N. Charleston, S.C.


VMI Head Coach Cal McCombs ? “It was a good win for us. I thought our first drive was really a good drive mixing in some running and some passing and executing well. I think Jonathan Wilson did a great job not only with his arm but also with his legs. He got some key plays rushing the football. They were playing a lot of man-free coverage, and anytime you break the line of scrimmage as a quarterback, everybody's chasing guys downfield so it gives you a chance to get some rushing yards out of your quarterback. Our offense didn't turn the ball over today, we had one fumble and that was on a kickoff return. On special teams we just have to work harder on kickoff returns. Every game we have given up too much yardage on kickoff returns. It's going to bite you if you don't watch yourself. Our defense did a good job, Charlie (Liesfeld) knocked a couple of balls down. We had some turnovers. Robert Mason goes up and makes a great play on top of a two-deep coverage for an interception. We were more active on defense. We were ahead by 15 at halftime, but I wasn't sure that was going to be enough with this bunch because I remembered what happened last year. We were ahead 21 points down there in the second half and they came back. I felt good about the way our team handled the second half. We're 2-0 in the league and it got us back to 3-3 overall. With five more games, you still have chance at a conference championship and winning season. When you win a couple like we did the last two weeks, you hope it gives you momentum to win some more of these games that we have left.”

VMI NOTES

--The 285 yards rushing by VMI was the most since a 367-yard output against Davidson in 2003. It was the most rushing yards by a Keydet offense in 27 games.

--Bryan Royster became the second VMI back to produce a 100-yard rushing game this year. Senior Sean Mizzer gained 129 yards in the 33-0 season opening win against Davidson.

--Bryan Royster and Nat Jackson each scored two touchdowns. The last time VMI had two backs each score two touchdowns in a game was October 19, 2002 when Sean Mizzer and Joey Gibson each found the end zone twice in the 35-31 win at Chattanooga.

--The last time VMI was 3-3 was the 2003 season. Before that, the Keydets were 3-3 in 1991.

--VMI has won four of its last five Parent's Weekend games. The only blemish was a 21-14 loss to Coastal Carolina last year.

--With three catches for 22 yards, senior Zohn Burden now has 122 Big South career receptions, moving him into second place on the conference list.

--Burden (three catches, 22 yards) and Gary Price (one catch, 14 yards) both extended consecutive games with a reception streak to 29.

--VMI's +3 turnover margin on the day moved the Keydets to +7 on the season.

--Grant Harris' defensive two-point return was the fourth in school history and the first since Robert Mason's return against The Citadel on November 15, 2003.

--the safety scored by VMI was the first since Tripp Smith's safety against Wofford on November 19, 2004.
Print Friendly Version