Football Southern Conference

SoCon Football Results, Thursday, Aug. 28

Samford 31, Chattanooga 23

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--- A very youthful Chattanooga football team played
toe-to-toe with experienced Samford, and the season-opening game went down
to the very last play before the Mocs succumbed to the Bulldogs 31-23
Thursday night at Finley Stadium.

The outcome was not decided until UTC redshirt freshman quarterback Matt
Lopez threw back-to-back hail-Mary passes in the game's waning seconds that
were batted down in the end zone.

The Mocs battled back from a 21-6 halftime deficit to pull within 21-16
early in the fourth quarter as first-year coach Rodney Allison expanded his
playbook.

"We played hard the whole game," Allison said. "We had to make a change at
halftime. We were too conservative to start the game. We waited too long on
offense."

Samford picked off a pair of Lopez passes on subsequent fourth-quarter
possessions, which extended the Bulldogs' lead to 31-16. On third down and
UTC at its own 4-yard line, Russell Delk intercepted Lopez and returned it
13 yards for a TD with 11:04 left in the game. On UTCs next drive, another
Chattanooga turnover resulted in a Samford field goal.

Chattanooga came right back with a score, which was set up by Jeremy
Grier's 49-yard kickoff return. Lopez hooked up with Alonzo Nix on a
27-yard pass to the Samford 11, and two plays later Jason Jones scored from
two yards out with 3:46 left in the game.

UTC got the ball back with no time outs and 45 ticks on the clock and got
to the Samford 45. Two desperation passes were incomplete.

"This loss is on me," Allison said. "I know better than to throw the ball
off the 4-yard line. I'm proud of the way this team hung in there."

Lopez, who was starting his first collegiate game, was 15-for-24 for 205
yards. Jones rushed for 63 yards on 20 totes with a TD and caught six
passes for 50 yards. Barrett Brightwell caught four passes for 51 yards.

UTC kicker Patrick Shutters accounted for the Mocs' first nine points on
three field goals, including a career-long 49-yarder in the first half that
tied for the fourth-longest in school history.

Kentrell Harris (11 carries, 19 yards) had a three-yard TD run early in the
fourth quarter.

Turnovers proved to be the difference as UTC lost two fumbles and had two
interceptions, while Samford only committed one miscue. Samford finished
with 292 total yards, while UTC piled up 280.

The Mocs travel to Vanderbilt Sept. 6 for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.

Eastern Michigan 28, East Tennessee State 21

YPSILANTI, Mich. --Sophomore runningback Anthony Sherrell ran for a
touchdown and caught another en route to 226
total yards as Eastern Michigan University?s football team opened the
2003 campaign with a hard fought 28-21 non-conference
victory over East Tennessee State here at Rynearson Stadium Thursday
night. The game was the season opener for both
teams, and the first meeting between the two schools.

Eastern will play its second straight Thursday night game next week,
Sept. 4, against Western Illinois at 7 p.m.

After completing his first three passes, senior starting quarterback
Jeff Crooks hit the turf in pain with 1:20 remaining in the
first quarter, and would not return for the remainder of the game. He
dislocated his left ankle and broke his left fibula. The
injury will be season-ending. On the next play from scrimmage, backup
quarterback Chinedu Okoro hit Sherrell on a screen

play that went 68 yards for the team?s first scoring strike.
At 10:26 mark in the second quarter, Sherrell scored again, this time
on a 38-yard run up the right sideline to put the Eagles
ahead 14-0, their largest lead of the game. The run capped off a four
play, 47-yard drive.

ETSU would strike back a minute and a half later, when Scott Brumett
intercepted an Okoro pass, returning it 70 yards for
the touchdown to pull within 14-7. With less than a minute remaining in
the second quarter, the Bucs scored on a third-andtwenty
from the EMU 34-yard line on a pass to Brian Matthews in the back right
corner of the endzone to tie the score at 14-
14 at halftime.

The visitors took a 21-14 lead with 7:00 left in the third quarter on a
one-yard run by Gaven Varner before Okoro answered
on a one-run dash of his own with 4:02 left in the third to tie the
score at 21 all.

EMU sealed the win with a 44-yard pass from Okoro to wide receiver Eric
Deslauriers with 7:49 left in the fourth quarter. The
defense had two strong defensive stances to hold off the Bucs and
garner the team?s first win of the year.

EMU head coach Jeff Woodruff

"They scared us to death on film. We're improved, but they are very
talented. We knew we would get their best shot of the
year."

"We wanted our defense to have a chance to win the game."
On the injury to quarterback Jeff Crooks...
"I think initially when we lost him, it was a rallying point, but when
word got around the team how serious it was, there was
no question that it had an effect on us. Everyone felt so bad for him."
ETSU Paul Hamilton

"I am very proud of our football team. It has been a long haul, but we
felt coming up here, we could win this football game.
There were spots in the game where we could have won this thing. I
don't like getting beat, and we are going to turn things
around."