Chattanooga 20, Wofford 17
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Henrique Ribeiro kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to lift Chattanooga to a 20-17 win over Wofford Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers tied the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 2:25 left in the contest, but the Mocs were able to drive to the Wofford 21-yard line and set up Ribeiro's kick.
The Terriers are 3-5 on the season and 1-3 in Southern Conference play, while the Mocs are 6-1 and 4-0 in the league. Wofford was led by Lorenzo Long with 13 rushing yards, while Brad Butler had two rushing touchdowns and was 8-of-11 passing. Chattanooga was led by Derrick Craine with 90 rushing yards and a touchdown, with Jacob Huesman adding 58 yards and a touchdown along with 109 passing yards.
The Mocs had the ball first and drove 75 yards in nine plays, with Jacob Huesman scoring from 12-yards out. Chattanooga had a 7-0 lead at the 10:55 mark of the first quarter. Wofford picked up a pair of first downs before having to punt back to the Mocs.
Chattanooga had two first downs before the drive stalled and the Mocs punted. Wofford took over with 5:48 on the clock in the first quarter and Brad Butler ran for a first down before the Terriers had to punt. The Wofford defense forced a three-and-out and took over at the 39-yard line. The Terriers got on the board with a 33-yard field goal by David Marvin to make it a 7-3 game with 10:19 left in the second quarter.
On the next drive by Chattanooga, the Mocs gained two first downs before JoJo Tillery intercepted a pass by Jacob Huesman at the 12-yard line. After one first down, Lorenzo Long went 50-yards to the 4-yard line. On fourth-and-one, Brad Butler took it in for the touchdown. Wofford had a 9-7 lead with 2:54 left in the first half after the point after was wide right. The Mocs had a first down and then a sack by Tyler Vaughn and John Patterson on third down forced a punt. Wofford took a knee and went to the locker room with a 9-7 lead.
The Terriers had the ball to begin the second half and had one first down before Brad Butler fumbled and it was recovered by Josh Freeman at the 41-yard line. The Mocs had one first down and then Brion Anderson had a one-handed interception in the endzone that he returned to the 16-yard line. On the first snap, the Terriers fumbled again and the Mocs recovered at the 12-yard line. Derrick Craine scored from two yards out to give Chattanooga a 14-9 lead with 9:46 left in the third quarter.
Wofford had one first down on the ensuing drive before facing fourth-and-two. The run was stopped short and the Mocs took over at the 37-yard line. A 34-yard field goal made it a 17-9 lead for Chattanooga with 3:04 on the clock in the third quarter. The Terriers had one first down with Evan Jacks at quarterback before punting back to the Mocs.
Chattanooga went three-and-out and punted. The Terriers then were able to gain a pair of first downs before having to punt. The Mocs again were forced three-and-out and punted. Wofford took over at the 39-yard line with 9:40 left in the fourth quarter. The Terriers converted two fourth downs and Brad Butler scored from 7-yards with 2:25 on the clock. The two point try was good when Butler ran it in to tie the game at 17-17. The Mocs had one first down before facing a fourth-and-two from the 47-yard line. Derrick Craine ran for 16 yards on the play and another first down moved the ball to the 21-yard line. Henrique Ribeiro hit a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give Chattanooga the 20-17 victory.
Wofford had 319 total yards, with 255 rushing. Chattanooga had 265 total yards, 156 of which were rushing. Wofford had a 19 to 16 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 6-of-15 on third downs and 3-of-4 on fourth down. Chattanooga was 2-of-10 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Wofford was called for four penalties to Chattanooga’s three. Wofford had a 35:39 to 24:21 time of possession advantage.
The Citadel 38, Furman 17
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Cam Jackson rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns and The Citadel rolled up 388 yards on the ground en route to a 38-17 Southern Conference victory over Furman in the 95th meeting between the league’s two oldest rivals Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
The victory was the third straight for The Citadel (5-2, 4-0 SoCon) and third triumph in the last four clashes with Furman (3-4, 1-2 SoCon).
Jackson’s 34-yard touchdown run midway through the first period tied the game at 7-7 and keyed a run of 24 unanswered points for the Bulldogs, who added a 1-yard scoring run by quarterback Dominique Allen, a 35-yard touchdown sprint by Brandon Eakins on a reverse play, and an Eric Goins 22-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half to take a 24-7 lead into intermission.
The Paladins rebounded in the third quarter with a 19-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Logan McCarter to Duncan Fletcher and a 20-yard Jon Croft Hollingsworth field goal to make it a 24-17 game.
The Citadel quickly answered the challenge, however, using a 50-yard pass from Allen to Reggie Williams to the Furman 1, and on the next play Allen bulled into the end zone for his second score of the game to give the Bulldogs a 31-17 lead with 1:39 remaining in the third quarter.
Jackson tallied The Citadel’s final score with an 11-yard fourth quarter touchdown following a Tevin Floyd 29-yard interception return to the Furman 25.
The Bulldogs’ potent rushing attack, which entered the game ranked second in the FCS, featured eight ball carriers led by Jackson’s 78 yards. Vinny Miller recorded eight rushes for 70 yards, and Isiaha Smith had 10 carries for 64 yards.
Allen completed 3-of-7 passes for 67 yards to help the Bulldogs finish with 455 total yards.
Furman registered 60 of its 295 total yards on its first drive, which ended with a 20-yard Reese Hannon touchdown pass to Chad Scott, but the Paladins mustered only 13 offensive plays and 19 yards the rest of the half, during which the Bulldogs took control with a 24-point burst.
Eakins’ 35-yard run on a reverse midway through the second quarter on a third-and-six play put the Bulldogs up 21-7.
The Citadel finished off its 17-point second quarter by moving 76 yards in 13 plays for Goins’ 22-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.
Reese Hannon, who exited the game on the first possession of the second half with an apparent concussion, moved into fourth place on Furman’s career passing yards ledger with a 6-for-10, 71-yard effort, surpassing Frankie DeBusk (4,984 yards). The redshirt junior from Greer has 5,033 yards.
His replacement, P.J. Blazejowski, connected on 9-of-15 pass attempts for 69 yards but was picked off twice.
Ernie Cain had 54 of Furman’s 136 rushing yards.
Kailik Williams topped Citadel’s defensive effort with nine tackles and a sack, part of a four-sack performance by the Bulldogs.
VMI 28, Mercer 21
MACON, Ga. - Aaron Sanders set a new VMI record for catches in a game and the Keydet defense posted a game-deciding stop in the final minutes as the VMI Keydets defeated the Mercer Bears, 28-21, in SoCon football action Saturday in Macon, Ga. With the win, VMI broke a 30-game road losing streak that had dated to Oct. 23, 2010.
On this day, VMI had jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and still had a 28-14 lead at halftime. Mercer was able to claw back within a touchdown at 28-21, and took possession with just over four minutes to go in the contest.
Quarterback John Russ drove his team to the Keydet 25, but hurries by Brian Lipscomb and Joe Nelson helped bring up fourth down and a short completion halted by cornerback Damian Jones was not enough for a first down as the Keydets took over. VMI quickly ran out the clock and claimed its first SoCon win of the season.
VMI's Al Cobb threw for nearly 400 yards on the day, going 28 for 40 for 391 yards and two scores. Sixteen of those 28 completions went to Sanders, easily breaking the previous record of 13 set by Jeff Hubbard against Furman in 1995 and co-held by Sanders when he caught 13 passes at Ball State in the season opener. Sanders also piled up a career-high 218 yards receiving – the third highest single game total in school history.
Redshirt senior back Derrick Ziglar led the Keydets in rushing with 104 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns. It was Ziglar’s second 100-yard game of the season.
VMI converted 17 of 19 third down conversions including their first 12 opportunities of the first half.
Russ completed 14 of 22 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown to pace the Bears and completed seven passes to sophomore Chandler Curtis for 109 yards including the scoring aerial.
The Keydets rolled up a season-high 567 yards total offense and Cobb produced the ninth 300-yard passing game of his career and third this season.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore Ryan Francis led the charts with eight tackles followed by fellow inside linebacker Allen Cratsenburg with seven. Francis also recovered a fumble that led to VMI’s second score of the game.
VMI won the coin toss and opened the scoring with a 12-play, 85 yard drive capped by Ziglar’s 3-yard burst up the middle to the endzone, giving the visitors a quick 7-0 lead. Cobb completed 4 of 5 passes on the drive for 67 yards and Ziglar rushed four times for 13 yards.
Keydet defensive end J.C. Garvin forced a fumble from Bear back Tee Mitchell on the Mercer’s first play from scrimmage and the ball was recovered by Francis at the 42-yard line. A 24-yard Cobb to Dane Forlines completion to the Mercer 15 set up a four yard TD pass from Cobb to Sam Patterson in the right corner of the end zone and Dillon Christopher’s extra point made it 14-0, VMI, with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter.
The game headed to the second quarter and the Keydets engineered a 14-play, 88 yard drive capped by a Ziglar 4-yard TD rush to push VMI ahead 21-0 with 13:17 left in the half.
The Bears got on the board when they covered 75 yards in nine snaps and scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Russ, who highlighted the possession with four carries for 31 yards and completed a 40-yard strike to Marquis Irvin to the VMI 3.
The Keydets answered quickly when freshman running back Quan Myers took a swing pass in the left flat and dash to the endzone for an 11-yard catch and scoring run with 7:36 left in the second quarter pushing the Keydet lead to 28-7 following Christopher’s extra point. But the Bears answered just as quickly with a 3-play, 75-yard scoring drive that started with a 37 yard pass from Russ to Chandler Curtis. Two snaps later, running back Alex Lakes took an option pitch and burst down the right boundary for a 37-yard TD run, cutting the Keydet lead to 28-14. The score remained as such at halftime after VMI saw its final second quarter drive expire empty handed as time ran out after having it third and goal at the Mercer one yard line.
Mercer took the opening second half kickoff and consumed exactly half of the period, before making it a one score game on a Russ to Curtis 2-yard TD pass play. The drive was keyed by a decisive 4th down conversion and a third and 13 conversion to extend the possession. Russ was 4 of 5 in passing for 48 yards on the drive and Mercer trailed 28-21 with 7:30 left in the quarter.
The game then settled in a scoreless slugfest the rest of the way with the Keydet defense stepping up numerous times to keep the Bears off the board while VMI’s offense was slowed by three straight interceptions. The Keydets missed a golden opportunity to assume a two-score lead midway in the third quarter when Cobb’s pass intended for Sanders inside the Mercer 10 was deflected and intercepted by Mercer defensive end Kelly Brooks at the 3:21 mark. The VMI “D” forced the Bears to a quick three and out on the ensuing drive but Mercer got some breathing room when Matt Shiel blasted a season-long 73 yard punt which pinned VMI back to its own 10.
Cobb was picked off inside the Mercer 10 over the next two Keydet possessions of the fourth quarter, but Mercer in its last two offensive possessions of the game was forced to punt from the VMI 44 and turned it over on downs at the Keydet 25 with 1:26 left after Jones wrapped up Bear receiver Avery Ward to turn aside Mercer’s final scoring threat.
Western Carolina 56, Samford 36
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Corey Holloway rushed for two touchdowns and Karnorris Benson tallied a pair of receiving scores as Western Carolina powered past the Samford Bulldogs, 56-36, on Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference play at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. The Catamounts claimed their fourth-straight seasonal victory, winning their third-consecutive Homecoming game.
WCU (5-2, 3-1 SoCon), which never trailed on Saturday, scored on five of its seven second half possessions including three-consecutive touchdowns to grab a 26-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Spearman Robinson capped scoring with a 49-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on an on-side kick attempt to provide the final tally.
The Catamounts snapped an 11-game winless skid against the Bulldogs, ending a 46-year drought by scoring their first win over Samford since 1969. WCU’s fourth-straight win is its longest since 2001.
Senior quarterback Troy Mitchell threw for 352 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His favorite two targets on the day were wide receiver Steffon Hill and tight end Tyler Sexton, both hauling in six receptions apiece. Hill finished with a game-high 119 yards receiving while Sexton finished with 102 – both career-best numbers. Benson finished with three catches for 75 yards.
Redshirt freshman receiver Jordan Mathis also had a banner day for the Catamounts. A two-sport student-athlete who also plays baseball at WCU, Mathis caught his first receiving touchdown on a nine-yard strike to open WCU’s third quarter onslaught. Just over two minutes later, Mathis threw a TD pass to Benson from 39-yards away.
Sophomore tailback Detrez Newsome finished with 149 all-purpose yards including 69 yards rushing and a career-high 60 receiving yards. Holloway added 50 yards on the ground with Mitchell rushing for 45 in the winning effort.
Holloway capped a 79-yard, game-opening drive for the Catamounts with his first rushing TD – a three-yard run to give Western Carolina the early advantage. The two teams then traded field goals with Samford’s Anthony Pistelli connecting from 31 yards away and WCU’s Logan Howard splitting the uprights from 23 yards out to keep the margin at seven. The Bulldogs managed to knot the game at 10 with a three-yard scoring run by Denzel Williams to leave the two teams deadlocked after one quarter of play.
Western Carolina controlled the second quarter, pitching a shutout defensively and scoring 11 points to grab a 21-10 halftime advantage. Howard drilled a 42-yard field goal to push the Catamounts ahead by three, 13-10. On the ensuing possession, WCU redshirt sophomore linebacker Daniel Riddle jumped in front of a Devlin Hodges pass for the interception, returning the near one-handed grab to the two-yard line to set-up the Catamount offense. Holloway did the rest, plunging in from two yards away to make it 19-10.
Riddle was one of four Catamounts to finish with double-digit tackles, posting 11 for the WCU defense.
The Catamounts would again light the scoreboard thanks to its defense. Hodges had a third-and-short snap sail over his head and carried deep into the Bulldog backfield. The QB managed to corral the football, but then bobbled and fumbled again with the football bouncing into the end zone where he was tackled for a safety, stretching WCU’s lead to its halftime margin, 21-10.
After trading punts to start the second half, the Bulldogs quick-strike offense hung six on the scoreboard as Hodges delivered a 68-yard pass over the middle to Andrew Harris to pull the Bulldogs back to within five, 21-16, after the two-point try failed.
The Catamounts would then score on their next three-consecutive possessions with Mathis hauling in a nine-yard strike from Mitchell on a drive that was spurred by a 62-yard pass-and-run by Hill. WCU’s second score came on the Mathis-to-Benson TD strike on the wide receiver pass.
But perhaps the back-breaker came on a 13-play, 99-yard drive that pushed the Catamounts in front, 42-16. WCU fumbled the exchange between quarterback and running back on the very first play of the drive with Mitchell finding a way to pounce on the football to retain possession. Newsome’s ground attack moved the ball off the goal line before Mitchell connected with a streaking Sexton for a 45-yard pitch-and-catch to move into Bulldog territory. Hill again came through with a big reception on a 31-yard gain to put the ball at the one-yard line before Newsome charged in for the score – his seventh-consecutive game with a TD.
Samford responded with a 13-play drive of their own capped by a Hodges quarterback keeper on a draw play with Hodges finding Kevin Marion from 11 yards out for a second Bulldog TD to trim the margin to 13, 42-29.
Mitchell helped widen the gap with a 30-yard pass to Benson inside the game’s final four minutes before Hodges again struck with a 28-yard pass to Emmanuel Obajimi. On the ensuing on-side kick attempt, Spearman Robinson grabbed the ball off the bounce and raced up the left sideline 49 yards for the final score of the contest.
Junior Trey Morgan paced the Catamount defense with 15 tackles including 10 solo stops and one for loss, adding a pass break-up. Linebacker Tyson Dickson finished with 13 stops including seven solo and one TFL and a pair of pass deflections, while Sertonuse Harris matched Riddle with 11 tackles. Defensive ends Caleb Hawkins and John McBeth combined for 14 tackles and 4.5 TFLs, both recording 1.5 sacks.
For Samford, quarterback Devlin Hodges completed a career-best 42 passes for a career-high 399 yards and three touchdowns including the scoring strikes to Harris, Obajimi, and Marion. He added 94 rushing yards and a TD. Karel Hamilton finished with nine receptions for 65 yards to lead the Bulldogs with Kelvin McKnight catching eight balls for 64 yards. Multi-purpose back K’rondis Larry finished with 167 all-purpose yards including 114 on kick returns.
All told, the two teams combined for 1,072 yards of total offense on Saturday afternoon including an aerial display of 790 passing yards.