CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The 15th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs (2-3/0-2) were upset 28-27 by The Citadel (2-2/1-2) at Finley Stadium Saturday evening. It was a tale of two halves as UTC led by 24 at intermission only to see the Bulldogs reel off 28 unanswered points in the final 21 minutes.
B.J. Coleman (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led the UTC offense, completing 17 of 27 passes for 253 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. True freshman Ron Moore, Jr. (Sanford, Fla.) saw his first game action of the season, catching two passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Bulldogs quarterback Ben Dupree led The Citadel with 83 yards rushing on 22 carries with two touchdowns. Darien Robinson added 79 yards on 11 rushes and a score.
The Mocs dominated play in the opening half on both sides of the ball. The offense posted 252 yards, averaging seven yards per play. Coleman was 13 of 18 for 207 yards and his touchdown to Moore.
Defensively, UTC was even more dominant. It held the Bulldogs to a mere 62 yards of offense, all on the ground. Its first of two turnovers forced set up a two-yard Coleman scamper for a score to make it 7-0 Mocs.
On the next Chattanooga possession, Coleman found Moore streaking down the left sideline for a 60-yard scoring strike. It was Moore's first collegiate catch and the Mocs were rolling at 14-0. UTC tacked on a Chris Awuah (Marietta, Ga.) one-yard touchdown run and a Nick Pollard (Nashville, Tenn.) 29-yard field goal for a healthy 24-0 cushion going into halftime.
Another Bulldogs turnover gave UTC the ball on five-yard line, but the Mocs settled for a Pollard 21 yarder for the 27-0 advantage. It was the last trip into the red zone for Chattanooga on the evening.
The Citadel got on the board with a Dupree sneak with 5:21 left in the third to make it 27-7. It took advantage of a short field after an interception was returned to the UTC 20. He scored again on a 42-yard breakaway with seven seconds to go in the quarter to get within 27-14.
Special teams bit the Mocs midway through the fourth as Mike Hammons (Benton, Tenn.) had a kick blocked by Chris Billingslea that Rod Harland picked up on the 40 and returned for a score to make it 27-21.
Robinson made the comeback complete with a three-yard dash at 2:24 of the fourth, driving 71 yards in eight plays. That capped the comeback as an interception on the next Chattanooga possession and the offense getting a first down to run out the clock.
The Bulldogs amassed 206 yards in the second half, 203 on the ground. Their defense also stepped up allowing the Mocs just 57 yards, 11 on the ground and 46 in the air, and just four first downs.
Ryan Consiglio (Franklin, Tenn.) and Wes Dothard (Carrollton, Ga.) continue to pace the UTC defense. Dothard had a game-high and career-high 12 stops with two-and-a-half for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Consiglio added 10 tackles, two for loss.
Harland led the Bulldogs with seven tackles with a sack to go with his touchdown. Brandon McCaddie added six tackles, two pass breakups and had 30 return yards on his interception that set up The Citadel's first score.
The Mocs are back on the road next week at No. 1 Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga., at 3 p.m. The game is on the SoCon Sports Network and can be viewed in the Chattanooga area on WTCI Chattanooga Public Broadcasting as well as Georgia's PBS stations, along with ESPN3.com.
SCORING SUMMARY
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Quarter
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Score
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Time
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Play
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1
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7-0
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2:59
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B.J. Coleman 2 yard Run (Nick Pollard Kick)
Drive: 3 plays, 7 yards, 1:28
Key Play(s): 1/10/V20 - Josh Freeman recovers fumble returns 13 yds
|
|
2
|
14-0
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14:03
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Ron Moore 60 yard Pass from Coleman (Pollard Kick)
Drive: 6 plays, 85 yards, 2:19
Key Play(s): 2/10/V28 - Chris Awuah 14 yd run
|
|
2
|
21-0
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4:53
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Chris Awuah 1 yard Run (Pollard Kick)
Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 5:34
Key Play(s): 4/3/V31 - Coleman to Sloan Allison 12 yards; 3/10/H42 - Coleman to Marlon Anthony 20 yds. Coleman 4-5 for 54 yds on drive.
|
|
2
|
24-0
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1:08
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Nick Pollard 29 yard Field Goal
Drive: 5 plays, 58 yards, 1:19
Key Play(s): 1/10/H30 - Coleman to Moore 52 yards; 3/10/H42 - Coleman to Marlon Anthony 20 yds. Coleman 4-5 for 54 yds on drive.
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|
3
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27-0
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9:39
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Nick Pollard 21 yard Field Goal
Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 1:34
Key Play(s): 3/4/V26 - Davis Tull recovers fumble on 9 yardline
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|
3
|
27-7
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5:21
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Ben Dupree 1 yard Run (Ryan Sellers Kick)
Drive: 4 plays, 20 yards, 1:50
Key Play(s): 1/10/H24 - Brandon McCladdie 30 yard INT return
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|
3
|
27-14
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0:07
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Dupree 42 yard Run (Sellers Kick)
Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 2:44
Key Play(s): 3/5/50 - Rickey Anderson 8 yard run
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4
|
27-21
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7:46
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Rod Harland 40 yard Punt Block Return (Sellers Kick)
Drive: N/A
Key Play(s): 3/5/50 - Chris Billingslea with block
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4
|
27-28
|
2:24
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Darien Robinson 3 yard Run (Sellers Kick)
Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 3:13
Key Play(s): 2/6/V33 - Robinson 39-yd run
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