Sept. 21, 2002

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Citadelsports.com) - Western Carolina rode the efforts of junior quarterback Brian Gaither to survive conference foe The Citadel, 37-34, in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon in Johnson Hagood Stadium. Gaither posted a stellar day as he rushed six times for 20 yards and a score, while also compiling 247 yards on eight-of-16 passes and another score.

"We have to give credit to our quarterbacks, they did a great job," Western Carolina head coach Kent Briggs stated. "These tight games make our team tougher and we will mature much faster when we are faced with a strong opponent teaching us how to play under pressure."

Western Carolina (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as place kicker Chris Vought ended a 12-play, 78-yard drive with a 20-yard field goal at the 9:35 mark in the first quarter.

The Citadel (1-2, 0-1 SoCon) rallied back and scored the next two touchdowns of the game to take a 14-3 lead. Quarterback Jeff Klein scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns at the 6:05 mark in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs the 7-3 advantage. Klein then capped off the second scoring drive with an eight-yard jaunt. Klein's second rushing score ended a six-play drive that covered 49 yards in two minutes and 14 seconds.

The Catamounts fought right back in the second quarter as tailback Fred Boateng plowed ahead for a three-yard score at the 9:32 mark in the quarter. Western Carolina's defense held on the next Bulldog possession and held them to a three and out. The Catamounts then capitalized on a five-play, 71-yard drive as Boateng added a nine-yard scoring run to give WCU a 17-14 lead.

The Citadel rounded out the first half as junior place kicker Travis Zobel booted a 20-yard field goal as time expired to knot the score at 17-17 entering the locker room. The Bulldogs came out and took the lead to begin the second half as Zobel boomed a career-long 38-yard field goal to finish off a four play, four-yard drive at 9:12 in the third. The Cadets then lengthened their lead to 27-17 as fullback Nehemiah Broughton pulled in a tipped pass in the end zone for a one-yard score.

Western Carolina countered with a one-yard run of their own by quarterback Pat Cilento at the 3:34 mark to draw the score to 27-24. Western's defense again held the Bulldogs and Gaither hooked up with wide receiver Michael Banks on a 76-yard bomb at the 10:52 mark in the fourth quarter. The touchdown reception gave the Catamounts the lead for good at 31-27. WCU held the ball for most of the fourth quarter and scored another touchdown as Gaither leaped over the line for a one-yard score. The Citadel's Marcus Cohen blocked Vought's extra point attempt and the score stood at 37-27 with 2:35 left in the contest.

The Bulldogs did not surrender following a plethora of penalties and drove 69-yards on 11 plays to bring the score to 37-34. The drive was finished when Klein connected with wide receiver Bud Pough on a 30-yard completion.

The Citadel lined up for an onside-kick with 25 seconds remaining in the game, but the Catamounts recovered and ran the time out to capture the victory in Charleston.

"The loss was very disappointing, but there was not a problem with effort," Citadel head coach Ellis Johnson stated. "The players don't need to get down on themselves if anything they might be playing too hard."

Banks, who hauled three passes for 131 yards and a score, led the Catamounts offensively. With his performance, he moved into the Southern Conference's All-Time Top-10 list. In a game of big plays, 10 players hauled in passes of over 20 yards with each team having five.