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Gavin Garcia rushes for 3 TDs to lead The Citadel past Charlotte 43-41 in 3OT
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- Gavin Garcia rushes for 3 TDs to lead The Citadel past Charlotte 43-41 in 3OT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Gavin Garcia rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns as The Citadel beat Charlotte 43-41 in triple overtime on Saturday in the 49ers' season opener, following a 1-hour and 15-minute delay due to severe weather.
Garcia scored on runs of 2 and 1 yards in regulation before breaking a 25-yard touchdown run on the Bulldogs ' first overtime possession.
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Nick Billoups added 38 yards and two touchdowns, and Sebastien Boyle had 70 yards and a score as the Bulldogs rushed for 268 yards and six touchdowns combined.
Charlotte tied the game at 28 with 24 seconds remaining after Cole Gonzales found Jaylen Hampton for a 6-yard touchdown.
Each team scored a touchdown in the first two overtimes, with Nick Billoups' 2-yard run pulling The Citadel even at 41 in the second. Both teams failed on their respective conversion attempts.
The Bulldogs converted their two-point attempt to open the third overtime, before Gonzales' pass on Charlotte's try fell incomplete.
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Gonzales threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns and was intercepted twice. Hampton caught eight passes for 117 yards and two scores. Khamani Alexander rushed for 138 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown on his first carry since transferring from Appalachian State.
The Citadel won the schools' only previous meeting, 63-56 in double overtime in 2014.
Up next
49ers: Visit No. 9 Ole Miss next Saturday.
Bulldogs: Host Charleston Southern on Saturday. ___
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