Citadel Rams 41, Apex Vipers 38
Week 2 · Regular season · round 19 · Thursday 8 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTD Citadel Rams | 0 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 41 |
| APX Apex Vipers | 21 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 38 |
Game recap
The Citadel Rams beat the Apex Vipers 41-38 in round 19 of Week 2, and they needed every second to do it. The decisive score was a 6-yard touchdown pass from Augustin Mercer-Hale to Desmond Ashcroft with 0:13 left in the fourth quarter.
The Vipers opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run by Luther Banks with 1:28 left in the first quarter. The Vipers led 31-10 at halftime. In the fourth quarter: a 31-yard field goal by Adrien Garrow for the Rams (1:54 left, 38-27); a 25-yard touchdown pass from Augustin Mercer-Hale to Ivo Yardley for the Rams (1:18 left, 38-34); a 6-yard touchdown pass from Augustin Mercer-Hale to Desmond Ashcroft for the Rams (0:13 left, 41-38).
The play that tilted the game came with 0:13 left in the fourth quarter: a 6-yard touchdown pass from Augustin Mercer-Hale to Desmond Ashcroft. It moved the Rams' chance of winning from 52% to 87%.
Top performer: Orson Ashford (WR, Rams), with 10 catches for 126 yards and 1 TD. Elsewhere, Mason Okafor-Reid (Vipers) had 19 of 29 passing for 220 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT; 2 carries for 19 yards; Luther Banks (Vipers) had 22 carries for 150 yards and 2 TD; 4 catches for 33 yards and 1 TD; Pavel Garrow (Vipers) had 3 catches for 60 yards; Augustin Mercer-Hale (Rams) had 28 of 41 passing for 328 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT.
Before kickoff, the Vipers' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Wendell Garrow; on defense: bracket Desmond Ashcroft (Wendell Garrow finished with 3 catches for 51 yards). Meanwhile, the Rams' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, target Orson Ashford; on defense: bracket Wendell Garrow (Orson Ashford finished with 10 catches for 126 yards and 1 TD).
The Vipers move to 4-14-1 and the Rams to 13-4-2 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | CTD-APX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 1:28 | Vipers | A 2-yard touchdown run by Luther Banks | 0-7 |
| Q1 0:46 | Vipers | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Mason Okafor-Reid to Emeric Castellan | 0-14 |
| Q1 0:23 | Vipers | A 3-yard touchdown run by Luther Banks | 0-21 |
| Q2 2:30 | Rams | A 36-yard field goal by Adrien Garrow | 3-21 |
| Q2 1:48 | Vipers | An 8-yard touchdown pass from Mason Okafor-Reid to Luther Banks | 3-28 |
| Q2 0:31 | Rams | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Augustin Mercer-Hale to Orson Ashford | 10-28 |
| Q2 0:00 | Vipers | A 54-yard field goal by Kasimir Eriksen | 10-31 |
| Q3 2:30 | Rams | A 6-yard touchdown run by Ulric Draven | 17-31 |
| Q3 1:37 | Vipers | A 9-yard touchdown pass from Mason Okafor-Reid to Ravi Castellano | 17-38 |
| Q3 0:47 | Rams | A 3-yard touchdown run by Ulric Draven | 24-38 |
| Q4 1:54 | Rams | A 31-yard field goal by Adrien Garrow | 27-38 |
| Q4 1:18 | Rams | A 25-yard touchdown pass from Augustin Mercer-Hale to Ivo Yardley | 34-38 |
| Q4 0:13 | Rams | A 6-yard touchdown pass from Augustin Mercer-Hale to Desmond Ashcroft | 41-38 |
Team stats
| CTD | APX | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 417 | 467 |
| Passing yards | 328 | 220 |
| Rushing yards | 89 | 247 |
| Completions | 28 of 41 | 19 of 29 |
| Offensive plays | 59 | 67 |
| Third downs | 5 of 10 | 5 of 8 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 1 | 0 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 5:58 | 6:02 |
Citadel Rams box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augustin Mercer-Hale | 28/41 | 328 | 3 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calvin Booker | 8 | 40 | 0 | 9 |
| Ulric Draven | 7 | 37 | 2 | 10 |
| Zane Delacroix | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Ashford | 10 | 126 | 1 | 15 |
| Ivo Yardley | 7 | 107 | 1 | 10 |
| Desmond Ashcroft | 8 | 81 | 1 | 10 |
| Zane Delacroix | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Ingram | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bram Brennan | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Orson Sandoval | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gideon Falkner | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Oyelaran | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Quentin Oyelaran | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrien Garrow | 2/2 | 36 | 0/0 |
Apex Vipers box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Okafor-Reid | 19/29 | 220 | 3 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luther Banks | 22 | 150 | 2 | 23 |
| Nils Yardley | 12 | 78 | 0 | 16 |
| Mason Okafor-Reid | 2 | 19 | 0 | 16 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pavel Garrow | 3 | 60 | 0 | 5 |
| Ravi Castellano | 5 | 59 | 1 | 7 |
| Wendell Garrow | 3 | 51 | 0 | 5 |
| Luther Banks | 4 | 33 | 1 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nils Ashford | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Soren Falkner | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonas Draven | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matteo Zamora | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hector Castellan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fabian Lachance | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kasimir Eriksen | 1/1 | 54 | 0/0 |
Watch the replay
Every play of this game can be replayed on the big screen, with the play calls, the win probability and the commentary: replay Citadel Rams 41, Apex Vipers 38 on Snapline. More about the teams: Apex Vipers · Citadel Rams.