Oct. 26, 2002

Charleston, SC - Sophomore quarterback Chaz Williams rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more scores to lead No. 10 Georgia Southern to a come-from-behind victory over Southern Conference foe The Citadel, 28-24, Saturday afternoon in Johnson Hagood Stadium.

"I thought Chaz grew up today, in fact, the whole team did," said GSU coach Mike Sewak. I give all the credit to The Citadel. They fought hard and kept the ball away from us, especially in the first half. They tweaked their defensive front, a little which gave us all kinds of problems early. Coach Johnson had them well prepared, that's for sure. I'm happy we had enough pride and a sense of resiliency to be patient take their best shot."

The Citadel (2-6, 1-4 SoCon) jumped on the board at the 6:04 mark in the first quarter as junior kicker Travis Zobel nailed a 26-yard field goal to cap off an impressive 15-play drive that covered 84 yards. After a three-and-out by the Eagles, the Bulldogs put together a nine-play scoring drive that covered 56 yards and 2:59 on the clock. The highlight of the march came when senior quarterback Jeff Klein connected with junior wide receiver Bud Pough on fourth-and-three for the touchdown. Zobel's extra-point was blocked by Georgia Southern giving The Citadel a 9-0 lead.

The Bulldogs extended their first half lead to 15-0 as sophomore fullback Nehemiah Broughton broke off a 44-yard run for the touchdown at 12:56 in the second quarter. Zobel's extra-point attempt sailed wide left and marked his first miss of the season.

Georgia Southern (6-2, 5-1 SoCon) registered its first points of the game at the 7:03 mark in the second quarter as Williams scampered 13-yards for his first score of the game. The run finished a five-play, 40-yard drive that lasted 1:45.

The Citadel countered and added a 32-yard field goal from Zobel with only one second remaining in half. The Bulldogs took an 18-7 lead into the intermission.

The Eagles turned the tide in the second half as they scored 21 points either off the arm or from the legs of Willams. Georgia Southern held The Citadel to a three-and-out on the first drive of the third quarter and the Eagles offense took care of the rest. On the first pass attempt of the game for GSU as Williams connected with wide-open sophomore slotback Kevin Davis for 47 yards and the score.

The Bulldogs countered and took a 24-14 lead in the third quarter as junior wide receiver Scooter Johnson made an acrobatic catch off of the back of a Georgia Southern defender for 66 yards and the score.

The Eagles started their comeback at the 55-second mark in the third as Williams' second pass was completed for another score as he connected with junior wide receiver Carl Kearney for 79 yards. Georgia Southern added the go-ahead touchdown at 5:28 to go in the game as Williams scored on a six-yard jaunt. The run culminated a 15 play, 80-yard drive that lasted 6:04. The score gave the Eagles the final lead at 28-24. The Bulldogs mounted a final drive but were thwarted by an interception by junior linebacker James Burchett.

"It's disappointing for our players, but I have no problem with the way we played," second year head coach Ellis Johnson. "We have come a long way and hopefully we will win some games for seniors to finish off the season on a high note."

Offensively, Broughton who rushed 20 times for 109 yards and a score led The Citadel. The 100-yard performance was his fourth of the season. Defensively, Georgia Southern received a solid performance from senior linebacker Derrick Butler who totaled 12 tackles and senior linebacker Joe Scott who added seven tackles and an interception.

Georgia Southern returns home to face East Tennessee State on November 2nd, while The Citadel travels to Spartanburg to take on Wofford with a 1:30 start scheduled.