Tory Cooper rushed for 84 yards and four touchdowns for The Citadel Saturday, and quarterback Duran Lawson topped the century mark in both rushing and passing with 221 yards through the air and 108 yards on the ground as The Citadel defeated Chattanooga (1-3, 1-1) 41-16 in a Southern Conference football game.
The Bulldogs (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) took control of the game early, scoring the first 14 points of the game. Cooper capped off a 51-yard drive, going four yards up the middle at 9:06 for his first touchdown on the game's opening possession. After the Bulldogs blocked a UTC punt, The Citadel took advantage of good field position on the Mocs' 34-yard line. Cooper found the end zone again, this time from one yard out with 39 seconds to play in the first quarter, for a 14-0 Bulldogs' lead.
“The Citadel has a good football team,” UTC Head Coach Rodney Allison said. “The rest of the season will show that. Their quarterback played well. Ours did not. We did not beat them in one area tonight. Defensively, they blitzed us on about every play. When that happens, you have man coverage and you have to be able to throw and catch. We did not get it done.”
Chattanooga's offense struck just before the half when senior quarterback Antonio Miller connected with sophomore tight end Joseph Pitman on a 21-yard touchdown pass to trim the deficit to 14-7 with 2:32 to play in the first half.
The Citadel responded quickly, capitalizing off of a Mocs turnover at the UTC three-yard line when Miller was sacked and fumbled. One play later Cooper registered his third touchdown from three yards out to make the score 21-7 with 49 seconds left in the first half.
“Our players wanted to win worse than anything,” Allison said. “I hate it for them. When things go like this, I have to look at possibly making some changes. I'm going to look at some things tomorrow, and if necessary, I'm going to do whatever it takes to right the ship.”
The Bulldogs scored on their first two possessions of the second half to go ahead 35-7 and put the game out of reach. On the first, Cooper busted a 19-yard run for his fourth touchdown at the 4:11 mark of the third quarter, capping a nearly seven minute drive, while Lawson found the end zone on the next possession, going 11 yards on a quarterback keeper for his lone score of the game with 14:52 to play.
The Mocs added a safety one minute into the fourth quarter as sophomore linebacker Joseph Thornton dropped Cooper in his own end zone to get to within 35-9. Miller tossed a three-yard scoring pass to sophomore Blue Cooper with 10:32 left to make it 35-16. The Bulldogs tacked on two field goals on their next two drives to wrap up the 41-16 victory.
The Bulldogs racked up 468 yards, 28 first downs and won the time of possession battle, 37:01 to 22:59. Lawson was 20-of-26 passing for 221 yards and led the Bulldogs on the ground with 108 rushing yards. Cooper finished with 84 yards on 26 carries. Ta'Mar Jernigan caught eight balls for 95 yards.
Miller generated 221 yards through the air, completing 21-of-37 passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Cooper caught over eight balls for the fourth straight game, collecting nine for 70 yards.
Safety Chris Camacho led all defenders, tying his career high with 13 tackles. Safety Jeff Phillips notched 12 tackles and 11 solos. Junior cornerback Brandon Golder recorded his first career interception, picking off Duran Lawson in the second quarter, and recovered a fumble.
Chattanooga will be back in action next Saturday, when it travels to Little Rock, Ark., to face the Arkansas Razorbacks at 7 p.m. ET. The Citadel hosts Wofford.
