Oct. 19, 2003

Charleston, SC - As Citadel center Kevin Olecki ran off the field Saturday evening, he was bear-hugged by a proud Citadel alum.

"Make sure those guys know what they just did," former Bulldog punter Stan McGill yelled into Olecki's ear. "That was Furman!"

Rest assured, the happy Bulldogs realize exactly what they accomplished with a nerve-wracking 10-9 victory over the rival Paladins before 17,041 fans at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

The Citadel, led by tailback Nehemiah Broughton's 159 rushing yards, ended a painful four-game losing streak against fifth-ranked Furman, beating the perennial Division I-AA power for the first time since 1998 (and for the first time at home since '93).

And the Bulldogs climbed into a tie for second place at the midpoint of the Southern Conference football season.

At 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the SoCon, The Citadel trails only No. 8 Wofford (6-1, 4-0), a 38-6 winner over Western Carolina on Saturday.

Appalachian State (4-3) also is 3-1 in the league after a 28-21 victory over Georgia Southern (4-3, 2-2), but the Bulldogs already own a win over App State.

Suddenly, The Citadel -- off to its best league start since 1992 -- is waking up echoes of that championship season.

"Now, these kids are starting to realize we can win," said Citadel coach Ellis Johnson, whose players ended a nine-game losing streak to App State just three weeks ago. "We might not be the best team or the most talented team, but we can win."

The Bulldogs won this one by gashing the SoCon's No. 1 defense for 243 rushing yards. Furman (4-3, 2-2), loser of two straight for the first time since 1998, entered the game allowing just 117.2 yards per game on the ground.

Broughton rushed for his season-high 159 yards on 28 carries, and The Citadel tried only four passes in the second half, none in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Willie Simmons, who was 8 of 19 for just 76 yards, scored the Dogs' only TD on a spectacular 3-yard run in the second quarter.

"The guys up front, they were awesome," Broughton said of Olecki and the rest of the offensive line. "After the first couple of running plays, I could tell they were up to the task and we were going to have a good day."

The good day had to survive some scary moments late in the game. After redshirt freshman kicker Blake Vandiver missed a 35-yard field goal that would have given the Bulldogs a 13-3 lead with 8:05 left, Furman drove 80 yards for what looked like a tying TD.

Redshirt freshman QB Josh Stepp, playing for injured starter Bo Moore, hit a 39-yard pass to Isaac West, then scored from 3 yards out on fourth-and-goal with 3:06 left, pulling the Paladins to within 10-9.

But the extra point was a disaster. The snap was low and into holder Jeremiah Van Dora's body. He tried to get the ball down for kicker Danny Marshall, but had to pull it up and run. Citadel cornerback Marcus Cohen corralled him as the crowd erupted with cheers.

"We've kicked plenty of extra points this year, and they've all gone through," Furman coach Bobby Lamb said. "It's just one of those things that happen."

Lamb, a former Furman QB in his second season as coach, questioned himself after he called two timeouts late in the first half as the Paladins drove out from their own 2-yard line. They made it to their 24, but linebacker Travis Hodge intercepted a Stepp pass, setting up Travis Zobel's 33-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead just five seconds before the half.

A couple of hours later, those three points were huge. "We wanted to try to get up field and make a field goal," Lamb said. "Looking back on it, you'd like to have that one back."