CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? In its first game of the season against a Football Championship Series opponent, the Mocs fell to Jacksonville State 31-3 Saturday night at Finley Stadium. With the loss, Chattanooga now sits at 1-3 on the 2008 campaign.
On a night where offense was hard to come by for the Mocs, quarterback Jare Gault completed 10 of 18 passes for 64 yards, while gaining 28 yards on the ground. Erroll Wynn was the Mocs leading rusher with 48 yards on nine carries. Wideout Clint Woods paced the Mocs receivers with nine catches for 72 yards.
Leading the way for Jacksonville State was LSU transfer Ryan Perrilloux. The junior threw for 122 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for 31 yards and another score. The Gamecocks featured a two-headed running back tandem in Tremayne Coger and Daniel Jackson, as both backs combined for 234 yards and one touchdown.
The Gamecocks broke the scoreless tie in the middle of the first quarter thanks to a 35-yard field goal from Gavin Hallford. Just over six minutes later, JSU would strike again, this time on a 35-yard run from Perrilloux to put the Gamecocks up 10-0.
In the second quarter, Jacksonville State continued to pour the offense on thanks to Perrilloux. The Gamecock quarterback would account for another score, seven minutes in, on a 17-yard pass to Maurice Dupree as JSU went into halftime with a 24-0 lead.
Chattanooga struggled to find consistency on offense in the first half as the Mocs were held to 72 yards total. Mocs quarterback Tony Pastore was held in check during the first half as the UTC signal caller was 3-8 for eight yards. Pastore also accounted for three interceptions in the first half as the Mocs' passing game was held to only 29 yards in the air.
In the second half, the Mocs were able to get on the scoreboard thanks to a third quarter 43-yard field goal from Craig Camay to make the score 24-3. The Mocs defense was able to slow down the potent Gamecock attack in the second half as well, holding Jacksonville State to 173 yards of total offense.
DE Neil Brown led the defense with nine tackles, eight solo and one for loss. LB Jarvis Newson added seven tackle with two coming for loss.
Next up for the Mocs will be its Southern Conference opener against Furman on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, S.C.
