Football Southern Conference

Mocs' Koester Leads Blue Team To Spring Game Win

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---Sophomore quarterback Kurtis Koester completed all but one
pass attempt Saturday and led Chattanooga's Blue Team to a 35-24 victory
over the Gold in UTC's Annual Blue-Gold Spring Football Game.

Koester's first completion for the Blue was a 43-yard touchdown toss to
running back Jesse Chesterfield. He completed his next six pass attempts
before his only miscue of the day and finished with 10-of-11 completions
for a game-high 204 yards. He also threw a 17-yard TD to tight end Brian
Arnold which gave the Blue a 21-7 lead at 8:22 of the second quarter.

"I thought all three quarterbacks played really well," UTC head coach
Donnie Kirkpatrick said. "Kurtis Koester was on fire. The White defense
was not as good as the Blue, but he really played well. Justin Barnes gave
the Gold a good jump start, and Ryan McCann did well also."

McCann, a senior transfer from UCLA, was the starter for the Gold offense,
which was made up primarily of first-teamers. McCann's four-yard TD strike
to receiver Jason Jones tied the score at 21-21 with 12:05 left in the
third quarter. He completed 11-of-20 passes for 143 yards.

"We signaled in plays for Ryan, and he wasn't used to that from us,"
Kirkpatrick said. "That may have been the reason for the slow start. I
have really been impressed with what he has picked up. He's caught on very
quickly. He made some tough throws. He still needs to get familiar with
our system and our players."

The Gold took its first and only lead on Andrew Ladebauche's 24-yard field
goal at 2:43 of the third period. Running back Michael Dodd scored his
second touchdown of the day, a six-yarder with 12:31 left in the game, to
give the Blue a 28-24 edge. Chesterfield capped the scoring with a 12-yard
TD run with 1:14 to play.

Dodd, who gained 34 yards on six carries, gave the Blue a 14-0 advantage
with his five-yard scoring run at 3:10 of the first quarter. Running back
Mario Hain got the Gold on the board on a one-yard run two minutes into the
second quarter. Koester's TD toss to Arnold pushed the margin to 21-7 with
8:22 left in the first half, and Gold quarterback Justin Barnes trimmed the
deficit to 21-14 on a four-yard hookup with receiver Cortez Rankin 1:16
before halftime.

Barnes was 9-of-12 passing for 118 yards, while Chuck Spearman, who played
for the Blue in the second half, connected on 4-of-8 passes for 26 yards.

Sophomore receiver Jeremy Grier of the Gold led all pass catchers with
seven receptions for 99 yards. Chesterfield caught three balls for 91
yards, and junior Jason Jones had five catches for 76 yards for the Gold.
Sewanee transfer Ebrahim Tehrani collected five balls for 89 yards for the
Blue.

Hain led the Gold with 34 yards on six carries. Chesterfield finished with
29 yards on eight rushes.

Defensively, freshman lineman Renaldo Jackson recorded two sacks for the
Blue. Credited with one sack were Sheldon Green, Josh Cain, Emmanuel
DeWalt and Jason Jackson. Blue cornerback Greg Knight broke up three
passes, and Gold linebacker Jeremy McClellan had the game's only interception.

The Mocs have six practice days remaining in the spring session and will
return to workouts this coming week.

SCORING SUMMARY
B Koester 43 pass to Chesterfield, 10:16 1st (7-0)
B Dodd 5 run, 3:10 1st (14-0)
G Hain 1 run, 12:54 2nd (14-7)
B Koester 17 pass to Arnold, 8:22 2nd (21-7)
G Barnes 4 pass to Rankin, 1:16 2nd (21-14)
G McCann 4 pass to Jones, 12:05 3rd (21-21)
G Ladebauche 24 FG, 2:43 3rd (21-24)
B Dodd 6 run, 12:31 3rd (28-24)
B Chesterfield 12 run, 1:14 3rd (35-24)