BIRMINGHAM, Ala.---Chattanooga (4-1/2-1) jumped out to a 14-0 lead and held on for a 14-7 win over Samford (3-3/1-2) at Seibert Stadium Saturday afternoon. The win moves the Mocs to 2-1 in league play, one game behind first-place Elon at 3-0.
It is the first time the Mocs have been 4-1 since the 1997 season. One has to go even farther back to find the last time UTC started 2-0 on the road. It was in 1980 when current head coach Russ Huesman and offensive line coach Russ Ehrenfeld starred for the Mocs.
B.J. Coleman led the Mocs throwing for 249 yards on 18 of 31 passing with no interceptions. He rushed for Mocs first score, while Chris Awuah got the other. Awuah had 40 yards on 20 carries as it was a tough running day for both squads.
Junior wideout Chris Pitchford had a big afternoon with a career-high 135 receiving yards on five catches. He had four catches of 19 or more yards including a 54-yarder that kept alive the drive that Awuah scored on.
Samford running back Chris Evans was held to 64 yards on 21 carries. Evans entered the game second in the SoCon in rushing yards per game (107.4) to the Mocs' Bryan Fitzgerald (109.3). Fitzgerald left the game in the first quarter with a foot sprain after rushing for 14 yards on three carries.
Bulldogs QB Dustin Taliaferro completed 25 of 31 passes for 165 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. The relentless Mocs defense held the Bulldogs to 208 yards total offense and while adding five sacks.
Samford opened on offense to start the game and after the Mocs defense held it to a brief drive, UTC took over at its own 30-yard line. Moving methodically up the field, the Mocs got a key third-down conversion on a Coleman to Bryan Fitzgerald eight-yard hookup to the Samford 37. On the next play, Coleman found Pitchford for 36 yards to inside the Bulldogs one, which setup a Coleman sneak for the first score of the game.
After stopping the Bulldogs on defense, the Mocs offense struck again in the second quarter. Opening at its own 26, Chattanooga marched 74 yards in eight plays to go up 14-0 on a Chris Awuah one-yard run. Pitchford would make the big play again with a 54-yard catch-and-run from Coleman.
The Bulldogs answered, driving 68 yards down to the Mocs five-yard line when running back Chris Evans took a direct snap. During his run, Mocs senior DT B.J. Taylor forced a fumble that was recovered by Ryan Consiglio and handed off to J.D. Dothard who returned it for an apparent score. The ball was brought back and spotted at the Mocs' eight-yard line due to an inadvertent whistle.
At the half, it was all Mocs holding a 229-to-92 yard advantage in total offense limiting the vaunted Samford rushing attack to just 29 yards. Pitchford also posted 135 yards receiving as Coleman had 204 yards passing in the first 30 minutes.
The second half got interesting. The Bulldogs defense held the Mocs to just 71 total yards with 28 yards coming on a Coleman-to-Terrance Davis connection in the fourth quarter.
The third quarter was quiet until the Bulldogs' second possession. Samford started its drive at the UTC 42 and after nine plays, Samford had a second-and-goal on the Mocs' six. Sophomore Jordan Tippit made a big play, intercepting a Taliaferro pass and returning it to the 20.
The next Samford possession was a 66-yard, 14-play drive with Taliaferro scoring on a one-yard plunge. It got even more harrowing from there.
Chattanooga drove to the Bulldogs' 40-yard line and tried a fake punt, but Jare Gault's pass to Justin Buckhalter was a little short. The defense held with sophomore DT Nick Craig ending the drive with a sack on fourth down to give the Mocs the ball back at the Samford 35.
After three plays and nine yards, Craig Camay came on for a 42-yard field goal attempt, but it was blocked by Jamael Lett and Samford was in business at the Mocs 41. The Bulldogs could not capitalize as the Mocs defense came up big time-and-again in the contest.
The Bulldogs crossed into Chattanooga territory four times on the day, but the Mocs yielded just one score and caused two turnovers inside its own 5-yard line.
Senior LB Joseph Thornton led Chattanooga with 10 tackles including one of UTC's 10 tackles for loss. Senior DE Josh Beard added seven stops including a team-high two of the Mocs' five sacks. Tippit had six tackles and the interception as well as a pass breakup at the goal line on the Bulldogs final offensive play.
Samford was led on defense by junior middle linebacker Bryce Smith with a game-high 11 tackles.
The Mocs travel to Georgia Southern next week for a 6 p.m. kick. Samford is also on the road at Furman (2 p.m.).
SCORING SUMMARY:
1st Quarter/6:31: (UTC) B.J. Coleman 1-yard run (Craig Camay Kick Good)
Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 4:46
Key Play(s): 3/6/34V: Coleman 7-yard pass to Garrett Hughes. 3/8/45H: 8-yard pass Coleman to Bryan Fitzgerald. 1/10/37H: 36-yard pass from Coleman to Chris Pitchford.
2nd Quarter/9:40: (UTC) Chris Awuah 1-yard run (Camay Kick Good)
Drive: 8 plays, 74 yards, 2:57
Key Play(s): 3/5/31V: Coleman and Pitchford again for 54 yards.
4th Quarter/9:59: (SAM) Dustin Taliaferro 1-yard run (Cameron Yaw Kick Good)
Drive: 14 plays, 66 yards, 5:40
Key Play(s): 3/4/40H: Taliaferro to Riley Hawkins for 9 yards. 3/6/10V: Pass interference on the Mocs gives the Bulldogs the ball on the two.
