The Chattanooga Mocs kicked off the season with a victory on Thursday night (August 30th). The Mocs defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 34-10 using a sharp defense and a strong defense, that set the pace of the game early.
Kareem Orr put up the first defensive play of the game. Orr picked off a throw by Bailey Fisher but the TTU defense returned with a keen attack. Victor Ulmo kicked the first points of the night with a 37-yard field goal and then added on another field goal to put the Mocs up 6-0.
The defense of Tech then replied to that play with an interception that landed in the hands of Josh Poplar. 14 yards later, Tech scored making it a 7-6 ballgame.
Mid-way through the second quarter, Bryce Nunnelly took a screen pass all the way down the right sideline 89 yards to give the lead back to the Mocs, 13-7.
Jerrell Lawson picked off Fisher's pass and brought it back 26-yards to make it 20-7. A 40-yard run and a 63-yard run put the Mocs up 34 points while TTU was held down to a sole field goal making it 34-10 at the end of the third quarter.
A heavy storm hit Finley Stadium with 10:25 but the actual storm and damage had already been done as The Mocs held down the fort earning their first victory of the 2018 campaign.
"Well it was an interesting game," said UTC head coach Tom Arth. "I thought it was a game that we came out and played well. We forced a turnover on defense and then, unfortunately, missed some opportunities on offense in the red zone. I was really happy in the way we continued to respond. There was a couple moments in that game, after that pick-six interception, you weren't quite sure where the team was going to go. We were able to come back after really putting ourselves in bad situations with bad penalties. We converted a third-and-long and that turned into a touchdown. I thought that was the story of the night for me, it was how we responded."
Thursday's season-opener was filled with multiple notables including the 89-yard touchdown play by Nick Tiano to Bryce Nunnally. It became the fifth longest in UTC history and the longest in almost 21 years when Stefpon Hawkins caught a school-record 94-yarder from Brian Hampton at Georgia Southern on Sept. 27, 1997.
It became the first victory in a season opener for the Mocs against a DI opponent in 12 years. The last victory against a DI opponent came on August 31st, 2006 against Tennessee Tech, at Finley Stadium.
The Mocs will look to continue their strong opening of the season against The Citadel. The game is slated to begin at 6 p.m. ET and will be shown on ESPN+. The Mocs lost to The Citadel in 2017 in a close contest, 20-14. (Koelle,2018)
Quote Credit: UTC Athletics
Kareem Orr put up the first defensive play of the game. Orr picked off a throw by Bailey Fisher but the TTU defense returned with a keen attack. Victor Ulmo kicked the first points of the night with a 37-yard field goal and then added on another field goal to put the Mocs up 6-0.
The defense of Tech then replied to that play with an interception that landed in the hands of Josh Poplar. 14 yards later, Tech scored making it a 7-6 ballgame.
Mid-way through the second quarter, Bryce Nunnelly took a screen pass all the way down the right sideline 89 yards to give the lead back to the Mocs, 13-7.
Jerrell Lawson picked off Fisher's pass and brought it back 26-yards to make it 20-7. A 40-yard run and a 63-yard run put the Mocs up 34 points while TTU was held down to a sole field goal making it 34-10 at the end of the third quarter.
A heavy storm hit Finley Stadium with 10:25 but the actual storm and damage had already been done as The Mocs held down the fort earning their first victory of the 2018 campaign.
"Well it was an interesting game," said UTC head coach Tom Arth. "I thought it was a game that we came out and played well. We forced a turnover on defense and then, unfortunately, missed some opportunities on offense in the red zone. I was really happy in the way we continued to respond. There was a couple moments in that game, after that pick-six interception, you weren't quite sure where the team was going to go. We were able to come back after really putting ourselves in bad situations with bad penalties. We converted a third-and-long and that turned into a touchdown. I thought that was the story of the night for me, it was how we responded."
Thursday's season-opener was filled with multiple notables including the 89-yard touchdown play by Nick Tiano to Bryce Nunnally. It became the fifth longest in UTC history and the longest in almost 21 years when Stefpon Hawkins caught a school-record 94-yarder from Brian Hampton at Georgia Southern on Sept. 27, 1997.
It became the first victory in a season opener for the Mocs against a DI opponent in 12 years. The last victory against a DI opponent came on August 31st, 2006 against Tennessee Tech, at Finley Stadium.
The Mocs will look to continue their strong opening of the season against The Citadel. The game is slated to begin at 6 p.m. ET and will be shown on ESPN+. The Mocs lost to The Citadel in 2017 in a close contest, 20-14. (Koelle,2018)
Quote Credit: UTC Athletics
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