Jacob Huesman had a hand in six touchdowns while eclipsing the 2,000-yard rushing and 4,000-yard passing marks for his career

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- It was a happy Homecoming for the 14th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs football squad. It rolled to a 55-7 victory over VMI at Finley Stadium on equally impressive performances by the offense and defense.

“Today was a good win,” head coach Russ Huesman said. “Our guys competed really well today. The defense did a great job today. VMI averages 298 yards per game (passing), so that is well below their average.

“Today was just a good day…everyone was able to play.”

The Mocs had a season-high 555 yards of total offense while scoring the program's most points since the 59-56 win over Appalachian State on October 30, 2004. Jacob Huesman accounted for 275 of those yards with two rushing touchdowns and four more in the air in just over two quarters of work.

The defense was stifling behind a stout effort from the line. The Keydets had just 165 total yards for the game with 107 coming in the fourth quarter. The defensive unit had three takeaways with an interception and two recovered fumbles.

The Mocs offense took a little time to get started. After punts on their first two drives, Huesman and his mates scored touchdowns on seven consecutive possessions. Huesman connected with three different receivers on his four touchdown tosses and tallied scores on runs of six and 44 yards.

The onslaught started with a 23-yard catch-and-run when Huesman found Derrick Craine in the flat. Craine motored through the defense for his second score of the season. Huesman also hit C.J. Board for a 26-yard touchdown and Faysal Shafaat twice from 17 and 18 yards.

“I give big-time credit to the defense,” Jacob Huesman stated. “Those guys come to play every week no matter who we're playing. I'm proud of those guys.”

Meanwhile, the defense was miserly. It held the VMI rushing attack to zero yards through three quarters. The Keydets seven points tied for its lowest output of the season with its number against FBS Bowling Green. They entered the contest averaging 24.8 points per game, 28.4 points per FCS contest.

Huesman hit two big milestones today. He became the first Moc to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark rushing and 4,000 yards in the air for his career.

Alphonso Stewart and C.J. Board both caught their first touchdown passes. Stewart had a team-high six catches for 71 yards including the 31-yard third quarters score from Alejandro Bennifield. Board (64 yards) and Shafaat (49) both had four receptions as the Mocs signal callers hit eight different receivers.

Ryan Bossung had a team-high five tackles. Davis Tull had four stops with two sacks and three hurries. Nakevion Leslie and Derrick Lott each added a sack.

Taylor Stout led VMI with 36 yards on seven rushes. Starting quarterback Al Cobb was limited to 42 yards completing just six-of-18 pass attempts. Hayden Alford added 70 yards passing going four-for-nine with an interception. Alford's one-yard plunge with 36 seconds remaining kept the shutout from occurring.

Chattanooga hits the road for the next two games. The squad travels out of conference to Tennessee next Saturday for a 4 p.m., kickoff. Watch the game on the on the SEC Network and access links to audio, stats and more on GoMocs.com. Fans can follow live updates on Twitter @GoMocsFB.

SCORING SUMMARY
Play – Quarter/Time/Score
UTC – Derrick Craine 23 yard Pass from Jacob Huesman (Henrique Ribeiro Kick) - 1/1:40/7-0
Drive: 8 plays, 59 yards, 3:09
Key Play(s): 4/3/V35 – Taharin Tyson runs 13 yards on fake punt

UTC – Huesman 6 yard Run (Ribeiro Kick) - 2/14:07/14-0
Drive: 3 plays, 36 yards, 0:27
Key Play(s): 1/15/V41 – Huesman to C.J. Board for 35 yards

UTC – C.J. Board 26 yards from Huesman (Ribeiro Kick) - 2/10:14/21-0
Drive: 7 plays, 93 yards, 2:52
Key Play(s): 3/4/V33 – Huesman runs 7 yards

UTC – Faysal Shafaat 17 yards from Huesman (Kick Blocked) - 2/4:18/27-0
Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:58
Key Play(s): 3/10/V30 – Huesman runs 13 yards

UTC – Shafaat 18 yards from Huesman (Ribeiro Kick) - 2/1:16/34-0
Drive: 4 plays, 34 yards, 0:19
Key Play(s): Danny Ring recovers VMI fumble at Keydets' 34

UTC – Huesman 44 yard Run (Ribeiro Kick) - 3/12:31/41-0
Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:29
Key Play(s): 3/2/50 – Craine goes 6 yards for 1st one play before TD run

UTC – Alphonso Stewart 31 yard pass from Alejandro Bennifield (Ribeiro Kick) - 3/5:41/48-0
Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 5:15
Key Play(s): TD pass came on a 4th & long play

UTC – Marquis Green 13 yard Run (Ribeiro Kick) - 4/4:01/55-0
Drive: 3 plays, 16 yards, 1:17
Key Play(s): Taylor Reynolds recovers fumble at VMI 16

VMI – Hayden Alford 1 yard Run (Dillon Christopher Kick) - 4/0:36/55-7
Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:25
Key Play(s): 1/10/V37 – Alford throws deep to Calvin Michie for 44 yards to Mocs 19