Chattanooga quarterback Antonio Miller ran for a touchdown, threw a touchdown pass and caught a touchdown pass Saturday to lead the Mocs to a 39-21 Southern Conference victory over Western Carolina.
Miller caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from receiver Blue Cooper and scored on a one-yard run in the first quarter and connected with wideout Clint Woods on a 59-yard pass play in the third quarter to move the Mocs to 2-1 in the SoCon and remain in second place.
“We got things going early tonight,” UTC Head Coach Rodney Allison said. “Our offense was moving the ball and putting points on the board, and our defense was creating pressure on them and causing problems. I credit Western Carolina for coming back in the second half.”
UTC tailback Bryan Fitzgerald rushed for a career-high 174-yards, his second straight 100-yard game, and Cooper completed both his pass attempts for touchdowns.
The Mocs shut out the Catamounts, 1-6, 0-3 SoCon, in the first half, 25-0, marking the first time since October 25, 2003, that a Chattanooga football team has accomplished that feat.
The Mocs, 2-4 overall, took control of the game early as they scored on their first four drives to take a 23-0 lead at the 10:58 mark of the second quarter. Following a 41-yard field goal by kicker Craig Camay, linebacker Joseph Thornton set up the Mocs' next scoring drive with his first of two interceptions of the night, stepping in front of an Adam Hearns' pass.
Following a play for loss at the WCU 33-yard line, Cooper took the ball on a trick play and found Miller on a flea-flicker for a 35-yard touchdown pass to go up 10-0 with 6:25 left in the first quarter. That pass attempt was the first of Cooper's career.
Fitzgerald accounted for 81 of Chattanooga's 82 yards rushing on its second touchdown drive, going 79 yards off left tackle on the second play from scrimmage down to the Western Carolina 1-yard line. On the next play, Miller went over right tackle for his third rushing touchdown of the year to extend the Mocs' lead to 16-0 after a failed extra point.
With 10:58 to play in the first half, Cooper struck again as he capped off a 75-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joseph Pittman on a fake field goal to make the score 23-0. Safety Chris Camacho closed out the first half scoring, forcing a Western Carolina safety at the 6:35 mark to extend to a 25-0 lead. It was the Mocs' third straight game registering a safety.
The Catamounts got on the board at the start of the second half as safety Angelo Brown recovered a blocked Chattanooga punt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown, making the score 25-7. Chattanooga wasted little time in regaining its 25-point advantage as Miller connected with receiver Clint Woods twice on the next possession, including a 59-yard catch and run at 10:49 of the third quarter for a 32-7 lead.
WCU answered right back as Hearns connected with wideout Eddie Cohen for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 8:43 remaining in the third quarter. WCU added a four-yard TD run by tailback Willie Harper with 1:00 left in the third to close to within 32-21.
UTC's defense, who registered six sacks on the day, stopped any comeback hopes the Catamounts had in the fourth quarter. Thornton picked off his second pass of the night at the WCU 43-yard line and returned it 42 yards to the one. Erroll Wynn provided the final margin with a one-yard scoring run at 8:35 in the final period.
Miller completed 9-of-16 passes for 124 yards. Woods led Chattanooga's receivers with four catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Hearns finished with 265 yards passing and one touchdown, connecting on 17-of-40 attempts. Cohen led all receivers with 109 yards on six catches, his third straight game with at least 100 yards receiving.
Camacho, the league's leading tackler, led the Mocs with 11 hits. Two of linebacker Chris Johnson's four tackles were quarterback sacks, while the defense kept the Cats to just 12 rushing yards.
Chattanooga will be back in action next Saturday, hosting SoCon foe Furman at Finley Stadium in a special noon kickoff.
