Evan Kiely kicks winning field goal on final play as The Citadel tops South Carolina State 34-31

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- — Evan Kiely kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired, lifting The Citadel to a stunning 34-31 victory over South Carolina State on Saturday.

Facing third-and-1 from its own 11-yard line, The Citadel flipped the field with a 44-yard run by Gavin Garcia and a 34-yard pass from Nick Billoups to Michael Lorino. Kiely booted the game-winner three plays later.

Garcia had 167 yards rushing with two touchdowns for The Citadel (2-3). Quentin Hayes was 7-of-12 passing for 127 yards with two touchdowns, and Billoups completed 2 of 3 passes for 56 yards.

Keely Watson threw two touchdown passes and was 20-for-31 passing for 245 yards for South Carolina State (5-1), ranked No. 15 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. Mason Pickett-Hicks had 90 yards rushing.

The Citadel had a 448-346 advantage in total yards.

The Citadel led 17-10 at halftime and went ahead 31-17 on Damir Abdullah's 55-yard touchdown catch on a deep throw from Hayes, followed by Garcia's 19-yard run late in the third quarter.

Watson's 21-yard touchdown pass to Pickett-Hicks made it 31-24 in the final minute of the third quarter and South Carolina State tied it on Josh Shaw's 6-yard run with 8-plus minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Up next

The Citadel: vs. East Tennessee State next Saturday

South Carolina State: at Charleston Southern next Saturday

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