CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel was driving on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team in the third quarter Saturday, and somebody needed to make a play.
Redshirt freshman cornerback Kadeem Wise rose to the occasion literally, leaping to intercept a pass in the end zone. That play turned the momentum in UTC's favor, and the Mocs went on to a 28-10 Southern Conference win at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
"That play was huge in every way imaginable," said UTC linebacker Ryan Consiglio, who had a game-high 14 tackles.
Afterward, Mocs coach Russ Huesman gave Wise - who broke Huesman's UTC freshman record with his fifth interception of the season - the game ball.
"When I was trying to give him the game ball, everyone was yelling and screaming, but I wanted to explain how important that pick was," Huesman said.
The Mocs (3-2, 2-1) were leading 14-10 as the Bulldogs (2-4, 0-3) drove down the field. On first down at the UTC 24-yard line, quarterback Matt Thompson tried to hit 6-foot-5 wideout Domonic Jones in the end zone.
Wise, listed at 5-10, went up with Jones and tipped the ball before bringing it down.
"I knew his arms were way longer than mine, so I made up my mind that if I just tipped the ball then I've got a chance," Wise said. "I tipped the ball and I knew it was a jump ball from there, and I went up and snatched it."
That play gave UTC new life and seemed to deflate the Bulldogs, who used their triple-option offense to dominate the time of possession but had little to show for it.
The Mocs made the most of the turnover by driving 80 yards for a touchdown, capped by quarterback B.J. Coleman's 21-yard strike to Joel Bradford to make it 21-10 with 3 minutes, 3 seconds left in the third quarter.
"We just kept driving the ball and we had great running and great blocking, and then that second-to-last touchdown, that was just a great play," said Bradford, who totaled seven catches for 71 yards.
The Mocs jumped to a 14-0 lead, but the Bulldogs joined the fray with 10 straight points following a 33-yard run by Cass Couey on a fake punt. It was the same fake, a run up the middle, that Eastern Kentucky used against the Mocs.
"I wasn't real happy about that one," Huesman said.
The third quarter appeared to start with a bang for UTC when true freshman running back Keon Williams, in his first career start, took off for what should have been an 88-yard touchdown run.
There was nobody between Williams and the end zone once he got 10 yards down field, but he somehow stumbled and fell after a 29-yard gain.
"It was like somebody just grabbed my foot and just tripped me," Williams said.
The coached were even madder after Erroll Wynn fumbled on the next play, but UTC's defense held and continued to keep the Bulldogs from scoring.
The Mocs' defense held the Bulldogs to 98 yards in the second half and 263 for the game. The Citadel ran for 238 and completed two passes for 25 yards.
Williams finished with 101 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, part of a 222-yard rushing effort by the Mocs. Coleman was 13-for-21 for 157 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Up next for the Mocs is this Saturday's homecoming game against No. 16 Georgia Southern at Finley Stadium.
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeat.