Chattanooga 33, VMI 27
LEXINGTON, Va. - The VMI Keydets nearly pulled off the upset, but the sixth-ranked Chattanooga Mocs converted on a fourth down in the waning moments to seal a dramatic 33-27 win in SoCon football action Saturday afternoon at VMI's Foster Stadium.
The Keydets (1-6, 0-3 SoCon) trailed by 12 as UTC (5-1, 3-0) capped a run of 23 unanswered points with a fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown. At the 6:14 mark, however, Al Cobb found Chad Jacob for a touchdown that got VMI within 33-27.
The Mocs then marched the ball to the VMI 33, where they faced a fourth and six with 1:45 remaining and the Keydets out of timeouts. Quarterback Jacob Huesman found wideout Alphonso Stewart for a 17-yard completion at the left hash mark, giving the visitors a first down and allowing UTC to run out the clock.
VMI stayed in the ball game despite trailing 38:07 to 21:53 in time of possession. The Keydets allowed 261 yards on the ground and were outgained 490-262, but three defensive stands inside the 15-yard line forced UTC field goals in the second and third quarters. In contrast, VMI scored touchdowns on each of its scoring drives.
Chattanooga, the highest-ranked team VMI had played in Lexington since 2011, jumped ahead on an early Henrique Ribeiro. It would be the first of four field goals for the UTC kicker, but VMI answered on its ensuing drive. An 11-play, 86-yard effort was capped with a Cobb to Sam Patterson two-yard fade pass to the back left corner of the endzone, putting the home team ahead, 7-3.
That was the score at the end of the first quarter, but the Mocs wrapped up a first quarter drive early in the second. A 19-yard Huesman to James Stovall connection gave the visitors a 10-7 lead just two plays in to the second period.
Once again, VMI came right back. A 69-yard Cobb to Dontae Mauck connection gave the Keydets the lead again, 14-10. The Mocs' next play from scrimmage was picked off by Caleb Furlow and returned to the UTC 6, where Cobb ran it in for a touchdown and a 21-10 VMI advantage with 12:45 left in the half.
Chattanooga rallied yet again, however, as after an exchange of punts, Huesman ran the ball in from 18 yard out on a quarterback keeper to cut it to 21-17. Ribeiro added a field goal in the waning seconds to account for the halftime score, 21-20.
The UTC defense held VMI to just one yard from scrimmage in the third quarter, and another Ribeiro field goal gave the Mocs a 23-21 lead headed into the final period. He would add another early in the fourth, and VMI took over with 13:50 to go. Sema'je Kendall intercepted Cobb's first pass of the drive and returned it 28 yards for a score, giving the Mocs a 33-21 lead and a 23-point swing in less than two quarters.
That set the stage for VMI's final drive, an 11-play, 77-yard effort that Jacob capped with a touchdown grab, but Huesman's fourth down conversion sealed the win.
Greg Sanders posted a career-high 13 tackles to lead the Keydet defense, while UTC, who entered the game with 17 sacks, posted five on the day. Cobb finished 15 of 25 for 190 yards and three scores, while Huesman was 21 of 33 for 219 yards and a single touchdown.
Western Carolina 24, Wofford 17
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Troy Mitchell threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and Western Carolina capitalized on five Wofford turnovers as the Catamounts held off the Terriers, 24-17, in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium.
Though they didn’t start playing annually on a regular basis until Wofford joined the SoCon in 1997, Saturday’s victory was WCU’s first against the Terriers in Spartanburg since 1981, snapping an eight-game slide.
After mounting fourth quarter rallies for the first two wins in the current three-game win streak, it was the Catamount defense which was called upon to stand tall in the final frame on Saturday.
Wofford (3-4, 1-2 SoCon) had one final possession inside the game’s final five minutes, opening from their own 20-yard line. However, on a fourth-and-long play, senior Caleb Hawkins and a host of Catamount defenders swarmed Terrier ball carrier, Hunter Windham, for a seven-yard loss and sealed the victory with the fifth takeaway on a fumble recovery.
Western Carolina (4-2, 2-1 SoCon) converted three of Wofford’s four, first half turnovers into points to grab a 17-0 lead at intermission. Redshirt freshman tailback Corey Holloway muscled in from two yards out to open scoring midway through the second quarter with Mitchell finding Karnorris Benson on a one-handed, 22-yard scoring strike over the middle to take a two TD lead just before intermission.
In the waning moments of the first half, Hawkins knocked the football loose from Wofford QB Evan Jacks with Tyson Dickson pouncing on the ball to give WCU the ball in scoring position at the Terrier 24-yard line. Logan Howard eventually punched through a 23-yard field goal to provide the halftime tally.
Out of the halftime locker room, the Terriers converted WCU’s lone turnover – an interception on the first play from scrimmage in the second half – into a David Marvin field goal to snap WCU’s streak of four-consecutive shutout quarters.
Just before the conclusion of the third quarter, Detrez Newsome took a swing pass from Mitchell and tip-toed the sideline for a 22-yard touchdown reception to hand the Catamounts a commanding, 24-3, lead heading into the final frame.
Wofford didn’t go away, though, capping consecutive 12-play drives with scores to close to within a score, 24-17. Immediately after Jacks found Windham for a 20-yard touchdown pass to trim the margin to 14, the Terriers converted an on-side kick to keep momentum. Jacks then guided Wofford 54 yards for their final score, setting up the end-of-game drama.
Mitchell completed 21-of-27 passes on the day including the two scores. The Houston, Texas, native also led WCU on the ground with 42 yards on eight carries. Newsome was held to a season-low 97 all-purpose yards including 27 yards rushing, 26 yards receiving and 44 on kickoff returns. Benson and C.J. Goodman led the receivers with six catches apiece, finishing with 53 and 51 yards, respectively.
Defensively, linebackers Daniel Riddle and Tyson Dickson paced the squad with 13 and 10 tackles with Dickson posting a career-best four tackles for loss and recovering a fumble. Ends Tahjai Watt and Caleb Hawkins had eight and seven tackles, respectively, with Hawkins filling the stat sheet with a sack as a part of two TFLs, a forced and recovered fumble.
Wofford QB Evan Jacks threw for 74 yards and a score, adding 66 yards on the ground. Lorenzo Long paced the Terriers with 69 rushing yards.
The Citadel 44, Samford 25
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Citadel football team improved to 3-0 in the SoCon and 4-2 on the year after defeating Samford on Saturday afternoon 44-25. The 44 points scored is the highest point total for either team in the series history.
Dominique Allen got the ball rolling for the Bulldogs on their second possession of the game, scrambling for a one-yard touchdown run to give The Citadel a 7-0 lead with nine minutes left in the first quarter. Allen finished the day with 166 yards, his single-game career high.
Two possessions later, Samford tied the game at 7-7 with 1:04 left in the first quarter after scoring on a 32-yard touchdown run.
The Citadel would regain possession of the lead less than three minutes into the second quarter after Vinny Miller found the end zone from eight yards out, giving the Bulldogs the 14-7 lead. The offense would continue to pour it on in their next possession after Isiaha Smith broke loose for a 31-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7 with seven minutes left in the second quarter.
Samford would add another rushing touchdown to make it 21-14 with 3:39 left in the second quarter but Smith would punch it again from one yard out to make it 28-14 in favor of The Citadel with 56 seconds remaining in the half. On the ensuing drive, Mark Thomas forced Samford to fumble and Dee Delaney picked it up and took it 25 yards to the house, giving The Citadel a 35-17 lead at the half. The second quarter featured five scoring drives.
In the second half Delaney continued to get things done on the defensive side of the ball, snagging an interception which led to another Smith rushing touchdown, this time from nine yards out. After a failed two-point conversion and with 9:30 left in the third quarter, the Bulldogs held a commanding 41-14 lead. The pick marks the fifth of the year for Delaney.
Samford added a 25-yard field goal and a touchdown with a successful two-point conversion to cut the Bulldog lead to 41-25 with 12 minutes left in the game.
The final points of the game for either team would come off of a 41-yard field goal courtesy of Eric Goins with nine minutes left in the game, making the final 44-25 Bulldogs.
Mercer 52, ETSU 0
MACON, Ga. – Junior quarterback John Russ threw for 269 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, while junior tight end Robert Brown had 82 receiving yards and two touchdowns, as Mercer blanked ETSU a 52-0 on Saturday afternoon at Five Star Stadium.
In a game that will be a Southern Conference affair in 2016, Mercer scored on its final five possessions of the first half, while the Bears outgained ETSU, 563-228, for the game. Mercer used two key fourth down conversions to gain momentum early on, while the Bears converted on all seven of its red zone chances (six touchdowns/one field goal).
Red-shirt freshman wide receiver Demetrius Anthony totaled five receptions for 51 yards, while also adding 25 yards on four rushes. Quarterbacks Austin Herink and Nick Sexton went 13-for-30 with 160 yards. Sexton finished 7-of-15 with 110 yards. Red-shirt sophomore wide receiver Dalton Ponchillia – who played for Mercer in 2013 – recorded two catches for 46 yards.
The Bucs, who were coming off their bye week, dropped to 0-6 on the season, while Mercer snapped its three-game losing skid and improved to 3-3.
Despite forcing and recovering a fumble on the opening drive of the game, ETSU’s offense went three-and-out on its first series, while Mercer scored on its next five possessions to take a 35-0 lead into halftime.
Following the three-and-out by the Blue and Gold, Mercer capitalized on the ensuing possession, as sophomore running back Tee Mitchell scored on a 23-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-3, for the first score of the afternoon. The drive, which covered 11 plays and 80 yards in 4:39, also saw Mitchell have a key 27-yard run on 3rd-and-10 at the Mercer 43-yard line.
The Bucs failed to answer on their next possession as JJ Jerman’s 50-yard field goal attempt was blocked, and the Bears executed an 11-play, 91-yard scoring drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown reception from Marquise Irvin to go ahead, 14-0, with 2:01 left in the first quarter.
Mercer’s offense remained in sync as the Orange and Black used 10 plays to cover 74 yards en route to finding the end zone for the third consecutive possession as Russ connected on a 5-yard score to Brown, while a fumble by Anthony on ETSU’s next possession gave the Bears a short field to work with. Mercer took advantage of the miscue when Russ finished a 7-play, 50-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak, making it a 28-0 game with 6-plus minutes remaining before the half.
On their final possession before the break, the Bears went on a 5-play, 81-yard scoring drive as Brown caught his second touchdown pass from Russ with 2:30 left in the second quarter. Despite a 45-yard punt by Marion Watson pinning the Bears down to their own 19, the Russ-Brown show highlighted the drive. Russ connected on a 50-yard pass play to Brown on the first play of the series, while four plays later the duo showed up again to wrap up the drive in 2:11.
Overall, Mercer ran 17 more plays than ETSU in the first half, 46-29, while outgaining the Blue and Gold, 373-75. The Bears registered 207 rushing yards, compared to 51 by the Buccaneers. Russ was 11-for-18 with 166 yards and three touchdowns, along with picking up 50 yards on the ground (one rushing touchdown). Anthony led the ETSU offense with two receptions for 12 yards and picked up 21 rushing yards on two attempts in the first half.
The Bucs, who forced a turnover on downs on Mercer’s opening possession of the second half, looked to have been in position to score their first points in the third quarter this season. However, after having a 1st-and-goal at the two-yard line situation, the Blue and Gold were pushed back 11 yards – and after Drake Powell couldn’t hold on after laying out for a ball in the end zone – Jerman missed a 30-yard field goal attempt, keeping it a 35-0 score.
Unfortunately, Mercer turned the missed field goal into seven points on the next possession, as the Bears marched 80 yards on seven plays in 2:28 – capped by an 8-yard touchdown run by Payton Usher – making it 42-0 with 3:24 left in the third quarter. Prior to the score, ETSU looked to have forced its second turnover of the game, but the officials determined cornerback Tavian Lott didn’t have full control of the ball and his interception was waived off in the end zone.
The Bears added another touchdown two minutes later and wrapped up their scoring with a 28-yard field goal by Cole Fisher with 9:39 remaining in the game.
For the fourth time this season, red-shirt freshman linebacker Dylan Weigel paced the defense in tackles with 11 (one for loss), while fellow freshman Cole West added 10 tackles. Weigel was also credited the fumble recovery on the opening drive of the game, marking his second of the season.