Nov. 10, 2002

Charleston, SC - The Citadel's effort to rebuild Johnson Hagood Stadium got a major boost Saturday with a $1 million donation.

But Ellis Johnson's effort to rebuild the Bulldogs' football program took a blow. Previously winless Chattanooga celebrated its first victory, a 34-31 win over the reeling Bulldogs, before a disappointed homecoming crowd of 18,818 at the old stadium.

It could be argued that The Citadel (2-8) - now relegated to last place in the Southern Conference with a 1-6 league record - made some donations of its own. The Bulldogs twice drove into Chattanooga territory in the fourth quarter - once as far as the Mocs' 4-yard line - only to give the ball away both times.

Those turnovers left Chattanooga coach Donnie Kirkpatrick wet from his first Gatorade shower in at least a year - the Mocs are 1-9 overall, 1-5 in the SoCon - and left Johnson shaking his head.

"I take nothing away from Chattanooga," said Johnson, now 5-15 as the Bulldogs' coach. "For them to win a game after not winning one in so long, it shows how hard they are still playing.

"But this was a game nobody wanted. We did not play as well as we can play, and that's what's disappointing to me."

The game was a shootout between two transfer quarterbacks from big-time schools, both taking advantage of two of the weaker defenses in the SoCon.

Chattanooga's Ryan McCann, a former starter at UCLA, completed 18 of 23 passes for 222 yards and a career-high four TDs, two of them to Jason Jones. Chattanooga, dead last in the SoCon in rushing, also ran for 153 yards, including a 52-yard run by Jason Ball - the Mocs' longest of the year - on the first play of the game.

The Citadel QB Jeff Klein answered by hitting 24 of 34 passes for 294 yards and three TDs, also a career best. Scooter Johnson and Matt Healy each caught eight passes, and each scored a TD.

The difference between the QBs? The end-zone interception thrown by Klein with 6:54 left in the game. Down by three, the Bulldogs had driven 69 yards to the Mocs' 4 and faced second-and-goal. Klein rolled to his left, pumped once and then tried to throw back to his right to receiver Scooter Johnson. Mocs defensive back Greg Knight picked it off.

"Not a smart play," a chagrined Klein said after the game. "I've known better than that since I was a freshman in high school."

Yet the Mocs - who have found some inventive ways to lose this season - presented The Citadel with another chance. On a third-and-6 pass, receiver Ebrahim Tehrani spun out of Citadel linebacker T.J. Rose's tackle near the Mocs' 40, and began running - backwards. Trying to turn the corner, Tehrani kept retreating until he was corralled by cornerback Marcus Cohen at the Mocs' 10, a loss of 24 yards that gave Chattanooga fourth-and-30.

After a punt - and a holding call on The Citadel - the Dogs took over at their 46 and drove to Chattanooga's 29. There, on first down, tailback Nate Mahoney was hit and fumbled, the Mocs' Bernard Snowden recovering with 2:33 left. It was Mahoney's third lost fumble in the last two games; he lost two in the second half of the Dogs' 27-14 loss to Wofford last week.

Said Kirkpatrick, "It was our turn for someone else to fumble." Ellis Johnson had a different take.

"When the game is on the line, that's when your old heads have to come through for you," Johnson said. "Those guys are seniors, and I know they'd love to have those plays back. There are certain times in a game when you have to worry more about taking care of the ball than making a play. Seniors ought to know that."

The Bulldogs had other chances, most notably in the third when Scooter Johnson returned a punt 24 yards to the Mocs' 17. The Citadel had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Travis Zobel and a 31-27 lead with 14:56 remaining.

McCann answered quickly, hitting 6 of 8 passes for 87 yards to put the Mocs ahead. The drive looked dead when the Mocs faced third-and-17 from The Citadel's 24. But Bulldog defensive backs crept up into tight man-to-man coverage, and Tehrani went right around strong safety Shawn Grant to catch an 18-yard pass for first down. One play later, McCann threw a 6-yard strike to Barrett Brightwell for the winning TD.

Klein and McCann each threw three TD passes in the first half, The Citadel clinging to a 21-20 lead after Chattanooga missed an extra point. The big break came when the Mocs' Jones blocked a Zobel punt inside the Dogs' 5-yard line, linebacker Marcus Pendergrass picking it up and running 2 yards for a TD and a 27-21 halftime lead.