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The Virginia Military Institute football team overcame The Citadel 17-13 in the annual “Military Classic of the South” on Saturday afternoon, reclaiming the Silver Shako for the first time in three years.
The win not only moves the Keydets to 3-3 and 2-1 in the Southern Conference, but also snaps a two-game losing streak in the series. The Citadel fell to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the SoCon.
“It means an awful lot, this was a great atmosphere, and it was obvious how important it was to a lot of people,” said first-year VMI head coach Danny Rocco. “Our alumni, our cadets, our [communications] staff, [Superintendent] Major General Wins, our athletic department and obviously my staff and our football team.”
Junior running back Hunter Rice led the Keydets with 111 yards and two touchdowns, marking his third career multi-touchdown game and second this season.
VMI senior wide receiver Chance Knox had a season-high 98 yards on nine receptions.
Defensively, VMI red shirt junior defensive back Tahj Summey registered his second career interception, and senior defensive back Josh Knapp led the Keydets with nine tackles, while teammate Evan Eller registered eight.
VMI redshirt sophomore kicker Caden Beck set a new career high by making a 50-yard field goal in the second quarter.
The Keydets ultimately earned the win in the fourth quarter by going on a 12-play, 86-yard drive in the middle of the period that took up 6:13 of valuable possession time. The winning drive was capped by a 19-yard touchdown scamper by Rice around the corner with just 4:42 to play as the junior extended his arms out to hit the pylon and cross the plane of the end zone for the winning score.
Going over the win, Rocco said, “The seniors played really hard and I saw how much it meant to them. At the end of the day, it was a team win. We made some plays in the kicking game.”
The Keydets will continue SoCon action when they play host to Samford on Saturday at Foster Stadium in Lexington, and they’ll play host to SoCon rival Chattanooga on Saturday, Oct. 28. Both games are scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
“We’re excited to get home and build on this one and be home for the next two games,” said Rocco.
For the Keydets’ schedule and updates, visit www.vmikeydets.com.
