Former Richmond Hill High School standout Dominique Allen shined in his first game as The Citadel’s starting quarterback.
Allen rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and completed all five of his pass attempts for 67 yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs crushed Davidson 69-0 Saturday in Charleston.
“There were definitely some nerves,” Allen said, “but in my head I just went out there and told myself, ‘You’ve done this before. You’ve played football all your life, go out there and have fun and everything will take care of itself.’”
Allen, a sophomore, scored the first rushing touchdown of his collegiate career on The Citadel’s opening possession. His 4-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 started the Bulldogs on their way to a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
The margin grew to 28-0 on Allen’s 17-yard pass to Jorian Jordan in the second quarter. It was the second touchdown toss of Allen’s career, with the first coming in the closing seconds of last season’s 37-12 loss to defending national champion Florida State.
A
llen added a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to make the score 49-0. With the game well in hand, he sat out the fourth quarter.
“I thought he played good from a standpoint of recognizing the defense and the coverage from where the snap was,” Citadel head coach Mike Houston said of Allen.
The Bulldogs piled up 602 yards of total offense against Davidson, the fifth-highest single-game total in program history. The 69 points were the third-most ever in a game for The Citadel.
Allen credited his experienced teammates on offense.
“When you have a veteran offensive line and all five returners coming back, it’s great,” he said. “That’s something a first-year QB like myself dreams for. It helps all around — all our running backs are back, our B-backs have played before, all of our receivers have game experience. I was the only new piece to the puzzle, so they just help me out and support me when I’m out there.”
The Citadel will host Western Carolina on Saturday. The following week, Sept. 19, the Bulldogs will be just down the road in Statesboro with a game at Georgia Southern.
Fitzgerald takes the field
RHHS alumnus Nick Fitzgerald saw his first game action for Mississippi State in the Bulldogs’ 34-16 win over Southern Miss on Saturday.
The redshirt-freshman quarterback ran for 36 yards on two carries on the final series of the game. Fitzgerald picked up 21 yards on his first collegiate carry and followed it with a 15-yard run three plays later.
Fitzgerald is the backup to Dak Prescott, who last season was named first-team all-SEC and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Mississippi State (1-0) will host LSU Saturday night. It will be the season opener for LSU after its game against McNeese State was canceled by rain and lightning.