Chattanooga 51, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- The battle for first-place in the Southern Conference had a clear winner Saturday afternoon at Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee, N.C. No. 12 Chattanooga dominated from the start in a 51-0 win at Western Carolina. The Mocs stand alone atop the SoCon standings at 5-0 (6-3 overall) with the Catamounts in second at 4-1.
It was a complete performance from the visitors, piling up 512 yards of total offense while the defense throttled its host, allowing just 102. The rushing attack was potent with a season-high 386 yards on 60 carries. The 60 rushes were 18 more plays than the Catamounts had total (42).
Williams scored twice in the first quarter building a 14-0 advantage. While the defense limited the Cats to three straight three-and-outs to open the game, the Mocs ran off eight consecutive scoring drives after punting on the opening possession.
Williams’ two scores came from one and 39 yards out. Jacob Huesman followed with touchdown passes to Taharin Tyson and Tommy Hudson of 51 and 21 yards, respectively. The latter came on a perfect toss on a corner route in the end zone. Huesman tacked on a one-yard run before Henrique Ribeiro added a 33-yard field goal to end the first half onslaught for a 38-0 advantage at the break.
Ribeiro added two more field goals to push the lead to 44-0. Marquis Green had the exclamation point with a 36-yard run with 3:55 to go in the game for the 51-0 final. The defense held Western to seven three-and-outs and nine drives of three plays or less, forcing two turnovers. The Catamounts also turned the ball over on downs with a four-play drive.
Williams was outstanding. He had a career-high 194 yards on 19 carries (10.2 yards per rush) with the two scores. Derrick Craine added 74 on the ground, while Huesman netted 52. Huesman completed nine of 13 passes for 126 yards and the two touchdowns.
The 386 yards rushing is the most since tallying 404 in a 49-14 win over VMI on October 15, 1994. It’s the fourth time in five SoCon contests the Mocs have accumulated 250 or more this season. That led to a 16-plus minute (38:01-21:59) advantage in time of possession.
While the offense was stunning, the defense was spectacular. The Catamounts managed just 14 yards rushing and 88 yards passing. That’s 183 yards below average running, while the passing yards were 117 yards off their usual mark.
Led by a stout effort by the defensive line, the Mocs had nine tackles for loss including three sacks. Nakevion Leslie had a team-high seven tackles while forcing a fumble. Davis Tull recovered that fumble and added a sack. Josh Freeman and Muhasibi Wakeel had sacks as well.
Christon Gill had a game-high 14 tackles for the Catamounts with Sertonuse Harris adding 10. Offensively, Shaun Warren’s seven yards rushing (three rushes) led the way, while Troy Mitchell threw for 72 yards on eight of 17 with an interception.
VMI 31, Furman 15
LEXINGTON, VA. -- Al Cobb passed for 239 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another to lead VMI to a 31-15 victory over Furman in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Memorial Stadium.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Keydets (2-8, 1-4 SoCon) and halted a 21-game series losing skid to the Paladins (2-7, 1-3 SoCon) dating back to 1979. Furman dropped its seventh straight game, the program’s longest slide since 1972.
Cobb, a freshman, completed 24-of-37 passes, including scoring strikes covering 19 yards to Dane Forlines and 14 yards to J.C. Garvin. He also scored on a 1-yard sneak to headline VMI’s offense that compiled 377 total yards.
Furman finished with 299 yards and tallied a pair of P.J. Blazejowski second half touchdown passes covering 28 yards -- one to Chad Scott and another to Duncan Fletcher.
Blazejowski connected on 20-of-37 passes for 217 yards but was intercepted three times.
The Paladins managed only 82 rushing yards in the contest.
VMI covered 77 yards in 12 plays to take a first quarter lead on a Dillon Christopher 21-yard field goal.
The Keydets’ Ryan Francis set up the game’s next score with a sack and forced fumble, which was recovered by Joe Nelson at the Furman 41. Converting a pair of third and long plays, VMI needed six plays to find the end zone, with Cobb connecting with Forlines for 19 yards with 7:44 remaining in the second period for a 10-0 lead.
After forcing a Furman punt, the Keydets fashioned a 12-play, 84-yard drive to increase their lead. Convering four third down plays on the drive, Cobb bulled over on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to make it 17-0 with just 25 seconds remaining in the first half.
VMI effectively put the game away with a 9-play, 55-yard third quarter drive that culminated on a Jabari Turner 1-yard run for a 24-0 advantage.
The Paladins ended a nearly eight-quarter scoring drought on the ensuing possession when Blazejowski found Scott in the corner for a 28-yard scoring toss with 4:55 to go in the third quarter.
The two teams traded scores the rest of the way. Furman cut it to 31-15 on Blazejowski’s 28-yard connection to Fletcher and two-point conversion pass to his sophomore tight end, but the Paladins’ bid for a comeback slipped away after VMI recovered an onside kick.
Marcus McMorris and Gary Wilkins paced Furman defensively with 10 tackles apiece. The Paladins notched three sacks -- all in the second half.
Francis led all defenders with 12 tackles.
Furman senior safety Hunter Tremaine, making his first career start following a rash of injuries in the secondary, sustained a fractured arm in the first half and joins Paladin safeties Trey Robinson (mononucleosis) Thomas Brown (fractured arm), and Rodney Anderson (sprained ankle) on the sideline.
The Citadel 28, Mercer 26
MACON, Ga. - The Citadel raced to an 18-point halftime lead and held on for a 28-26 victory over Mercer to get the Bulldogs into the win column in Southern Conference play.
The Bears outscored the Bulldogs 16-0 in the second half and pulled within two on a two-yard touchdown run by Alex Lakes with 3:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Mercer used a gadget play on the two-point conversion try, with wide receiver Chandler Curtis taking a pitch and throwing back to Russ, but Citadel cornerback DeVonta Delaney broke it up in the end zone.
Mercer (5-5, 1-5 SoCon) elected to kick deep with all three timeouts remaining, but three first down runs by The Citadel (3-6, 1-3) including a 22-yard carry by Aaron Miller on third and four finally sealed the win.
The game was the first between the teams in 83 years. Mercer dropped its football program after the 1941 season and returned to the gridiron in the Pioneer League last year before joining the SoCon in July.
The Bulldogs ran the ball on 67 of their 70 plays from scrimmage (including one sack of Miller) and rushed for 493 of their 507 total yards. Cam Jackson led the way with a season-high 142 yards on only eight carries, and his 64-yard jaunt on The Citadel's first offensive snap represented the longest play of any kind for the Bulldogs this season.
Vinny Miller added a career-high 99 yards on nine rushes, and Aaron Miller added 18 totes for 83 yards with both scoring a touchdown. B-backs Tyler Renew (12-65) and Isaiha Smith (14-53) combined for another 118 yards with Smith scoring a pair of touchdowns.
Russ led the Bears with 178 passing and 96 on the ground and accounted for a touchdown both ways. The Citadel held Lakes to 58 yards on 22 carries after he entered the game leading the SoCon with an average of 102.6 yards per outing.
The Citadel scored the first three times it had the ball to take a 21-10 lead early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs capitalized on Jackson's long run when Smith went in from the one with just 1:56 expired in the first quarter. A 48-yard field goal by Mercer's Jagger Lieb cut it to 7-3 before The Citadel went back on the march.
Jackson ran for 23 yards and Vinny Miller had two long runs, the second for 19 yards and a touchdown to make it 14-3 with still 7:29 left in the first quarter. The Bears answered on a four-yard run by Russ, but a 14-yard run by Vinny Miller set up a two-yard scamper by Aaron Miller that made it 21-10 with 10:55 to go before the half.
After an exchange of punts, The Citadel defense came up big at midfield when Carl Robinson and Dondray Copeland combined to stop Lakes on a fourth down run with 1:12 left on the clock. The Bulldogs needed only 29 seconds to drive 53 yards, with Smith going in from 21 yards out to make it 28-10 at intermission.
The Bulldogs rushed for 275 yards over the opening 30 minutes with Jackson gaining 101 on three carries. His final total eclipsed his previous season best of 116 yards against Charlotte.
Although the Bulldogs continued to move the ball on the ground in the second half, they were not able to finalize drives, allowing Mercer to get back in the game. The Bears reached Citadel territory on their first drive of the half, but Delaney made his first big defensive play when he picked off a pass at the one.
The interception was the second of the season for Delaney, who also grabbed one last week at Western Carolina.
The ensuing punt set Mercer up in good field position, and Lieb booted a 31-yard field goal to make it 28-13 with 5:46 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs then reached the Bears' 35 before turning the ball over on downs, and a 65-yard touchdown pass to Avery Ward on the next play made it 28-20 in the final seconds of the third quarter.
A 42-yard field goal attempt by Eric Goins came up short, and a Tyler Renew fumble at the Mercer 39 left the door open for the Bears. Two penalties on The Citadel defense kept Mercer's drive alive and resulted in the Lakes' touchdown that proved to be the final points of the day.
Nick Willis led the Bulldogs with nine tackles followed by Tevin Floyd and Malik Diggs with eight. Mitchell Jeter and Justin Oxendine had sacks, giving both of them 10 in their career.
Samford 55, Concordia 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team earned a 55-0 homecoming win over the Concordia Hornets Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
The win ties Samford head coach Pat Sullivan with former coach Terry Bowden for the most wins in program history with 45. Prior to the game, Sullivan and his family were honored with the dedication of the Sullivan-Cooney Family Field House.
The victory also marks the team’s third shutout of the season, the most of any Samford team since 1971. The team has also posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1971.
Individually for Samford in the win, quarterback Michael Eubank completed 10-of-12 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Carson Barnett completed 9-of-13 passes for 105 yards and two scores, while Drew Pederson completed his lone pass attempt for three yards. Albert Mitchell also saw time under center for the Bulldogs.
Denzel Williams led the running game, rushing 14 times for 78 yards and one touchdown. Jake Wilks had eight rushes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Emmanuel Obajimi caught five passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Jeremy Brown had four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, while Karel Hamilton caught three passes for 56 yards and a score.
Defensively for Samford, Justin Cooper had five tackles, including four solo stops and one forced fumble. Trey Wesley and Mitchell Smith had a fumble recovery each. Omari Williams had an interception, returning it for a touchdown. The interception and the score are both career firsts for Williams.
Concordia was led by Haratio Keller, completing 7-of-12 passes for 53 yards. Matthew Rowser rushed 15 times for 56 yards for the Hornets.
Samford scored on its first possession when Eubank hit Hamilton for a 24-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 13:34 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs struck again on their next drive when Eubank hit Obajimi for a 43-yard touchdown to make the score 14-0 with 8:48 left in the first quarter. On Samford’s next possession, Williams scored on a four-yard run to give the Bulldogs a 21-0 lead with 5:00 left in the opening period.
The Bulldogs added to their lead early in the second quarter when Reece Everett kicked a 30-yard field goal to make the score 24-0 with 14:09 left in the second quarter. On Samford’s next possession, Barnett hit Brown for a 17-yard touchdown with 8:34 left in the second quarter, pushing Samford’s lead to 31-0.
In the third quarter, Barnett connected with Devon Schmitt for a six-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 38-0 lead with 3:24 left in the quarter. With just 36 seconds left in the third quarter, Williams picked off a Concordia pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown to make the score 45-0.
Samford’s Warren Handrahan kicked an 18-yard field goal with 12:55 left in the game to push Samford’s lead to 48-0. The final score of the game came on a three-yard run by Wilks with 5:45 to go to make the final score 55-0.
As a team, Samford rolled up 533 yards of total offense, while the Bulldog defense held Concordia to just 114 total yards. Samford rushed for 259 yards and passed for 274 yards in the win.