Nov. 21, 2002

Charleston, SC - Senior quarterback Jeff Klein connected on 17-of-32 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns to set The Citadel's single season record for passing yards and lead the Bulldogs past Charleston Southern 53-19 in Johnson Hagood Stadium on Thursday night.

"It is a great feeling for our players and I am glad to go out with a win," second-year head coach Ellis Johnson stated. "I am really happy for the seniors right now because they are leaving The Citadel on a victory."

Charleston Southern (4-8) exploded on their first possession with a four-play, 77-yard drive that ended with quarterback Darren Swiggett hitting wide receiver Luke Turner for a 15-yard touchdown pass at the 13:47 mark in the first quarter.

The Citadel (3-9) answered back and got on the board with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Klein to tight end Chris Franklin with 5:28 left in the first quarter to the tie the score at seven.

The Bulldogs scored for the second time of the night when Klein hit wide receiver Scooter Johnson for a 50-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs up 14-7 with 13:08 left in the second quarter. The drive started after Citadel nose tackle Rudy Griffin recovered a Buccaneer botched snap at the Bulldogs' 10-yard line.

Linebacker T.J. Rose intercepted a Swiggett pass at the 39-yard line and returned it 25 yards to the Buccaneer 14-yard line to stall another Charleston Southern drive. The turnover led to another Bulldog score when tailback Nehemiah Broughton dove in the end zone from one yard out to go ahead 21-7 with 2:11 left until halftime.

The Citadel answered the call again on the next drive as linebacker James Greene intercepted a Swiggett pass at The Citadel 20-yard line and returned it 25 yards to the 45-yard line with 0:43 left until in the half. After the interception, place kicker Travis Zobel split the uprights with a 40-yard field goal to close out the scoring for the first half at 24-7 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Defensive end Martin Arce ignited a Buccaneer scoring drive as he sacked Klein at the one-yard line and forced a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Frank Perkoski. Charleston Southern then scored on the next play when Swiggett plunged in from six inches out to cut the deficit to 24-13 with 12:22 left in the third quarter.

After intercepting a Klein pass at the 44-yard line the Buccaneers handed the ball right back to The Citadel. Defensive end Cliff Washburn caused, recovered, and returned a Charleston Southern fumble 34 yards for his first career touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead 31-13 with 11:45 left in the third quarter.

The Buccaneers closed the gap to 31-19 when tailback Travis Mays scampered in from one yard out to cap off an 89-yard drive with 7:27 left in the third.

Tight end Ross Armstrong hauled in a three-yard touchdown reception from Klein to cap off a seven play, 32-yard drive and opened the margin to 38-19 at the 12:36 mark in the fourth quarter. Klein then added his fourth TD pass of the game as he hit Jermaine Anderson over the middle for a 25-yard score. The Bulldogs added their final score as fifth-year quarterback Joe Call connected on a 33-yard bomb to wide receiver Bud Pough for the score.

Offensively, The Citadel was led by Broughton who rushed 22 times for 109 yards and a touchdown. With the 100-plus rushing performance Broughton eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing plateau and became only the 11th Bulldog in school history to reach the mark. Klein of note finished the season with 2,561 yards passing and surpassed the mark of 2,478 yards by Kip Allen in 1985.

The Bucs received strong performances from Swiggett who completed 29-of-50 passes for 396 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Aaron Dunklin hauled in six passes for 135 yards, while Brad Moultrie hauled in nine passes for 76 yards to break Charleston Southern's all-time receiving record.