Chattanooga 25, Wofford 13
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Levonte Barber scored two touchdowns and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team held Wofford College well below its rushing average to defeat the Terriers 25-13 Saturday in a Southern Conference football game.
The Homecoming win for the Mocs over the 22nd-ranked Terriers gives them three wins on the season, one more than all of last season. It is also the team’s second win over a ranked team this year.
“We just beat a top-20 conference opponent at home,” UTC Head Coach Rodney Allison said. “I couldn’t be happier. After losing like we did the last two weeks, to come back and beat a team like Wofford says a lot for this program. This is probably the biggest win since we’ve been here.”
Barber, a sophomore, scored the first two times of his career. He gave the Mocs a 6-0 lead at 3:26 of the first quarter, scoring on a six-yard pass from quarterback Antonio Miller. Extra point holder Jonathan Wright tossed a quick pass to Lironnie Davis for the two-point conversion to give the Mocs an 8-0 lead.
Wofford, 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the SoCon, took advantage of the first break of the game. After missing a 32-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter, the Terriers blocked a punt deep in UTC territory. Brian Kemp blocked the Wright punt, and Dan Tavani ran it to the UTC five-yard line. Corey Dunn scored from three yards out two plays later, trimming the deficit to 8-7 at 9:24 of the second quarter.
A 20-yard field goal by Esteban Lopez on the final play of the second quarter gave UTC an 11-7 halftime edge. The Mocs, now 3-2 and 1-1, called a timeout with five second left on the clock and the ball at the three-yard line. Miller tried to connect with receiver Emanuel Hassell on a fade route in the right corner of the end zone but overthrew the pass. The play left two seconds on the clock for Lopez to tack on the three points.
The game turned late in the third quarter. Dunn coughed up the ball on the Terriers 34-yard line and it landed right in UTC outside linebacker Ovince St. Preux’s hands. St. Preux fumbled himself, but UTC cornerback Greg McConico scooped the ball up and raced untouched into the end zone. The 24-yard score at 5:43 of the third period pushed the Mocs’ lead to 18-7.
Wofford wasted little time striking back. Quarterback Josh Collier tossed a 59-yard pass to Colby Harris which placed the ball at the UTC six-yard line. Michael Hobbs scored two plays later, bulling in from the two. A two-point pass play failed leaving the Mocs with an 18-13 lead.
With UTC driving in Wofford territory late in the fourth quarter, Layton Baker intercepted a Miller pass to give the Terriers another shot at the 43-yard line. On a fourth-and-five play from the 48-yard line, Collier’s pass to Shiel Wood sailed over his head and incomplete.
The Mocs, winning a Homecoming game for the first time since 2000 and beating Wofford for the first time since 2001, put the game out of reach on the ensuing possession. On the second play of the drive, Eldra Buckley ran down the left side for 33 yards to the 12-yard line. Barber capped the march with a one-yard scoring plunge, his second score of the game, to push the margin to 25-13 with 3:30 to play.
On Wofford’s final possession, outside linebacker Jeff Phillips forced the ball from Collier’s hands on a sack, and lineman Nick Rivers recovered it, starting the Mocs’ celebration.
Miller led UTC’s ground attack with 81 yards on 11 carries. He completed 12-of-16 passes for 110 yards, two interceptions and one touchdown. It was the team’s first passing touchdown of the season.
Buckley added 75 yards on the ground, and Lironnie Davis collected 56. Tyrus Ward was the Mocs’ leading receiver with three catches for 45 yards.
Hobbs paced the Terriers with 98 yards on 21 carries. Dunn added 67 yards. Collier threw for 109 yards on 5-of-14 passing.
UTC linebackers Chris Johnson and Larry White each recorded 10 tackles. Tavani led Wofford with 10 tackles of his own.
The Mocs take to the road next Saturday, traveling to Lynchburg, Va., for a non-conference game at Liberty. Wofford hosts Elon.
The Citadel 17, Western Carolina 7
Cullowhee, N.C. ? The 18th-ranked Western Carolina football team tried to rally late, but could not overcome some trickery ?a touchdown pass by Citadel receiver Kinta Palmer ? and a quick score off a turnover ? a TD reception by Palmer ? as the Bulldogs held on for a 17-7 upset victory over the Catamounts Saturday night before 10,067 at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Water Field.
With 4:09 left in the first half, The Citadel (2-2, 1-1 Southern Conference) started a drive on the 20 yard line after a touchback on a Catamount punt. Mitchell Lee immediately put the Bulldogs in scoring range with a 49-yard run. One play later, Palmer looked to run an end-around, but pulled up and hit an open Ta’Mar Jernigan for a 23-yard touchdown.
Then, with under 20 seconds left in the half, Bulldog defensive end Deon Douglas sacked Western’s Justin Clark inside the WCU 30 and forced a fumble, which was recovered by The Citadel’s Fred Townsend. On the next play, Bulldog quarterback Duran Lawson found Palmer in the left corner of the endzone with just six seconds left for a score, giving The Citadel a 14-0 lead at the break.
Neither team had much offensive success in the third quarter and most of the fourth. However, late in the fourth quarter, Blake Vandiver, who missed a 37-yard field goal earlier in the period, padded The Citadel’s lead to 17-0 with five minutes left, connecting from 38 yards out and effectively putting the game out of reach.
Western immediately answered on the ensuing kickoff. The kick went to J.C. Brown, but he lateralled the ball to Nick Miller across the field and the speedy sophomore found paydirt 92 yards later. It Western’s first kick return for a touchdown since Xavier Godard accomplished the feat versus Georgia Southern ? a 100-yarder ? on Oct. 11, 2003. It was also the 10th-longest kickoff return in WCU history.
After a failed on-side kick by the Cats, Western would force The Citadel to punt on a three-and-out series. Starting from their own 16, Clark led the Catamounts down the field to the Bulldog two. However, a penalty and incomplete passes on third and fourth downs preserved the win for The Citadel.
Both defenses played well on the evening with The Citadel gaining just 237 yards of total offense and Western managing just 166. Also, Citadel was just 3-of-15 on third down conversions and the Cats were just 3-of-18. With that, both punters played key roles in the game. Western’s Tim Mayse averaged 46.6 yards on eight punts, including two career-long punts over 57 yards. Bulldog punter Mark Kaspar averaged 43.4 yards on 10 punts, including a career-long of 53. The difference being Western was penalized eight times, while the Bulldogs were whistled just four times.
Offensively for the Bulldogs, Lee led the way rushing 13 times for 87 yards, an average of 6.7 yards per carry. Lawson finished the night completing 9-of-15 passes for 60 yards and a TD. Jernigan hauled in a game-high five passes for 45 yards. Defensively, Porter Johnson recorded 11 tackles, including 10 solo stops and six for losses, while Joshua Lawson, who recorded his first career interception, added nine tackles.
For the Catamounts, Lamont Reid was the team’s top rusher, gaining 39 yards on 12 carries, and Clark completed 14-of-32 passes for 153 yards and an interception. Senior linebackers James Conklin and Lamar Barnes led the WCU defense, each collecting seven tackles.
Next up for Western Carolina will be a trip to Statesboro to face the Georgia Southern Eagles next Saturday (Oct. 8). Kickoff is set for Noon and the game will be broadcast on CSS TV. The Citadel will stay on the road next Saturday to play Southeastern Conference member Mississippi at 2 pm (ET) in Oxford.
Furman 48, Gardner-Webb 31
GREENVILLE, S.C. --Ingle Martin passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns and reeled off a carer long 80-yard touchdown run on the Paladins’ first play of the second half to pace NCAA I-AA seventh-ranked Furman to a 48-31 win over Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Martin, a senior from Nashville, Tenn., completed 11-of-24 passes in the contest, including first half scoring strikes of 13, 11, and 65 yards to help stake Furman (4-1) to 35-7 lead. After Gardner-Webb’s Hunter Smith booted a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to make it 35-10, Martin took an option keeper around right end for 80 yards on the Paladins’ first play of third quarter for a 42-10 advantage.
“We played our most solid football of the year in the first half, both offensively and defensively, came out in the second half and got a stop, and then scored on our first possession ? just what we wanted,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “But after that, some of our inexperience, particularly with our younger players, showed. Give Gardner-Webb credit, however. They fought back. Right now we’re glad to be 4-1.”
“Our effort was good, but they hit some big plays in the first half to get up on us. We drove the ball on them in the second half, and our defense found a way to keep them out of the end zone other than the 80-yard run early in the third quarter. If we can cut down some of the mental errors, we’ll be in good shape.”
Trailing 42-10 following Martin’s long scoring run, Gardner-Webb exploited Furman’s attempt to play reserves by using a 1-yard Nick Roberts scoring plunge and a 38-yard touchdown strike from Roberts to Kory Alston with
4:08 left in the third period to make it 42-24.
A Scott Beckler 35-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter stretched the Paladin advantage to 45-24, but Kory Alston’s second touchdown catch of the game, a 3-yard strike from Roberts at the 6:11 juncture, narrowed Furman’s lead to 45-31.
The Paladins’ defense tightened down the stretch, however, forcing the Bulldogs into a punt and interception on their final two possessions.
The two teams combined for 1,065 yards in total offense, with Furman rolling up 610 yards, including 346 rushing and 264 passing.
Gardner-Webb, which didn’t record its first first down of the contest until midway through the second period, finished with 28 first downs and
455 yards total offense. The Bulldogs were paced by senior quarterback Nick Roberts, who completed 28-of-40 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior flanker Grant Brigham was Martin’s favorite target, catching five passes for 189 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown reception and 87-yard catch and run in the second quarter that set up a Jerome Felton 1-yard touchdown run.
Brandon Mays topped all rushers with 14 carries for 100 yards.
Austin Holmes’ two interceptions headlined a Furman defensive unit that forced Gardner-Webb into punts on its first four possessions, limiting the Bulldogs to 10 yards on their first 12 plays.
Furman will play its fourth straight home game next Saturday when it entertains Southern Conference foe Appalachian State in a 3:30 p.m. game.
Gardner-Webb will host Hampton next Saturday beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Georgia Southern 49, Elon 7
ELON, N.C. - Jayson Foster rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns while Jermaine Austin ran for 125 yards and two scores as Georgia Southern topped Elon 49-7, spoiling its conference opener as well as 2005 Phoenix Family Weekend festivities Saturday afternoon in front of a season-high crowd of 9,875 fans at Rhodes Stadium.
The Eagles (3-2 overall, 2-1 Southern Conference) denied the Phoenix (3-2, 0-1) a fourth consecutive victory. Elon entered the contest ranked first in the league and 14th in NCAA-IAA in both rushing offense (81.0 yards per game) and total offense (274.8 per contest), but surrendered 503 total yards to Georgia Southern, including 359 on the ground.
After the Elon defense became the first this season to hold the Georgia Southern offense scoreless on its opening drive, the Phoenix offense marched 80 yards in 10 plays in 3:46 to claim an early 7-0 edge on an eight-yard Jarrett Meadors touchdown run with 9:17 left in the first period.
Georgia Southern responded with a 10-play, 65-yard, 4:53 drive on its next possession, capped by a six-yard Jayson Foster touchdown run to even the score at 7-7 with 4:24 to play in the opening quarter.
Jermaine Austin gave the Eagles their first lead at 14-7 on a 38-yard touchdown run with 10:04 remaining in the second period, concluding a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took 4:56 off the clock.
In setting up that go-ahead score, Foster broke free for an eight-yard run on a fourth-and-two situation on the GSU 48-yard. That run gave the Eagles a first-and-10 on the Elon 44-yard line. A six-yard run by Foster on the next play moved the GSU offense to the Elon 38-yard line and set up Austin's go-ahead touchdown.
"We got a good offensive line push (in that fourth-and-two situation)," said Georgia Southern coach Mike Sewak. "We got them in the formation we wanted and we were able to pop Foster loose. That was a big play. Our team now knows that fourth down is a go down."
Georgia Southern extended its advantage to 21-7 on a 30-yard run by Austin with 6:04 left before halftime. Austin's second touchdown capped a six-play, 55-yard drive that only lasted 2:11.
On the Eagles' next possession, Reggie McCutchen scored on a 49-yard pass from Foster on his team's first play from the line of scrimmage. McCutchen stretched the Georgia Southern lead to 28-7 with 3:15 to play in the first half.
The Eagles quickly pushed its cushion to 35-7 - the eventual halftime margin - on a program-long 82-yard touchdown pass from Darius Smiley to Teddy Craft with 2:03 remaining before the break.
Georgia Southern cashed in on a four-yard touchdown run by Foster to increase its advantage to 42-7 with 5:41 left in the third period. Scoring quickly again, the Eagles only needed four plays and 1:50 to travel 22 yards following John Mohring's recovery of a fumbled punt return by Elon's Dwayne Ijames.
Brandon Andrews pushed the Georgia Southern lead to 49-7 on a three-yard touchdown run with 14:15 to play in the final quarter. The touchdown capped a three-play, 10-yard drive that lasted 45 seconds after David Willingham's eight-yard sack of Elon quarterback Kye Hamilton led to a fumble recovered and returned 15 yards by GSU's Dusty Reddick.
"Each game has started a one-game season ever since we lost our first SoCon game," said Sewak. "Getting our offense in stride will help and our defense has been getting better."
The Eagles out-gained the Phoenix in first downs (23-15), rushing yards (359-108), total offensive yards (503-259) and possession time (31:33-28:27). Hamilton completed 17 of 27 passes with two interceptions for 151 yards while Foster and Smiley combined for 144 yards on 3-for-9 passing with one interception.
"We were whipped in every phase of the football game today," said Elon coach Paul Hamilton. "Their offense whipped our defense, their defense whipped our offense and their coaches whipped our coaches. They beat us from top to bottom. If they kept score for getting off the bus, they would've beat us at that, too."
Elon's Anthony Harris led all defenders with a career-high 15 total tackles while teammate Chad Nkang amassed 13 stops. Mohring tallied a team-high six total tackles.
In next week's action, the Phoenix will visit No. 22 Wofford at 1:30 p.m. Saturday for its Homecoming. Georgia Southern hosts No. 18 Western Carolina at 1 p.m. Saturday.