Sept. 22, 2002

Charleston, Sc - Citadel players had barely gotten off the field and into the locker room before football coach Ellis Johnson was trying to make this one go away.

"I know you feel bad and I know you're hurting," Johnson told his players after Saturday's 37-34 loss to Western Carolina before 14,105 fans at Johnson Hagood Stadium. "But you've got to forget it and put this one behind you."

The Bulldogs, fresh off last week's upset of nationally ranked Delaware, had hoped to announce themselves as Southern Conference contenders Saturday with a win over the Catamounts, another SoCon hopeful, in their league opener.

But the Catamounts, trailing by 11 points in the first half and 10 points late in the third quarter, caught a huge break on what the Dogs called a "lucky" 76-yard touchdown pass to take the lead, and held on to win a wild shootout that featured 1,022 yards of total offense and 10 pass plays of 25 yards or more.

Now, it's Western Carolina (3-1, 1-0) that enters the heart of the season on the move, and the Bulldogs (1-2, 0-1) who must regroup before heading to SoCon power Appalachian State next week.

"We've got to realize how early in the season it is, and handle this the right way," said Johnson. "The guys have to be down in the dumps, but I have no problem with our want-to and our effort, and that's the most important thing. I don't want these guys to get down on themselves and get frustrated right now."

The effort was there, but the Bulldogs did themselves in with 10 penalties - including a couple of crucial personal fouls late in the game - and a porous pass defense that allowed Western Carolina to average 28.8 yards per completion.

WCU quarterback Brian Gaither, benched for disciplinary reasons to start the game, came on to hit 8 of 16 passes for 247 yards, three of them to receiver Michael Banks for 131 yards.

None was bigger than the 76-yard TD pass on a jump ball that Banks caught off the shoulder pads of Citadel cornerback Marcus Carter. Carter fell down, Banks didn't and the Catamounts led by 31-27 with 10:52 left in the game, never to trail again.

"He got lucky," Carter said.

Said Johnson, "A fluke. The ball's tipped, and it's first down Citadel one way or six points for Western the other. A huge play in a ball game swinging like this one did."

The play helped Western Carolina win despite 539 yards of total offense from The Citadel, the first time the Bulldogs have gained more than 500 yards since 1998. Quarterback Jeff Klein was just 16 of 40 and threw his first interception, but those 16 completions were good for two touchdowns and 335 yards, the most by a Citadel QB since 1985.

And Scooter Johnson became the first Citadel receiver ever to have back-to-back 100-yard games, catching seven balls for 136 yards. With tailback Nate Mahoney out with a dislocated elbow suffered on the Dogs' third play, sophomore fullback Nehemiah Broughton came on to rush for 121 yards on 14 carries, 95 of those yards in the second half.

But the poise and guts the Dogs showed on last week's 21-play, 91-yard drive to beat Delaware went missing Saturday. After Banks' 76-yard TD put WCU up by 31-27, the Dogs had a chance to stage a drive. Broughton returned the kickoff to midfield, but an illegal block took the ball back to the Dogs' 18.

Klein and Broughton drove the Bulldogs to the WCU 38, but an illegal procedure penalty and then a personal foul on receiver Jermaine Anderson - he was called for continuing to block after the whistle blew - saddled The Citadel with a third-and-24, and two Klein passes fell incomplete.

"I just missed passes, no excuses," Klein said. "I missed open receivers. Either you do it and win or don't do it and lose, that's how it boils down."

Western Carolina promptly cemented its good luck with an 80-yard, 10-play drive - with the aid of another Citadel personal foul - for a 37-27 lead with 2:35 left. Klein gave the Dogs a last chance with a 30-yard TD strike to Bud Pough, closing the gap to 37-34 with 25 seconds left. But Western's Chris Lane covered up Travis Zobel's onside kick to end it.

"This could have been two really good Southern Conference teams who fought to the end and may see each other again," Johnson said. "Or it maybe two teams still hanging around the middle of the pack. Was it a good heavyweight battle or just one of those days? That remains to be seen."