NOTES | QUOTES | STATS | PHOTO GALLERY
 
CHATTANOOGA---The No. 6 Chattanooga Mocs had a balanced attack on a toasty Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium. Between a quick-strike offense and stingy defense, the Mocs rolled to a 34-0 win over Presbyterian.
 
UTC amassed 496 yards while limiting their visitors to just 196. Junior quarterback Alejandro Bennifield had a banner day with 279 passing, completing 11 of 15 attempts with four touchdowns. He added another score on the ground.
 
"We mixed it pretty well when you get 217 yards rushing and 279 yards through the air," coach Russ Huesman said. "A lot of the throwing yards were on play action so that was good. When Alejandro gets out of the pocket something can happen, those are things that he does really well.
 
"I thought we took care of the ball really well today, I never thought the ball was ever in jeopardy of being turned over."
 
Bennifield directed scoring drives on three of four possessions starting late in the first quarter. He hit James Stovall on a 46-yard pass down the left sideline. That was followed by strikes of 65 and 35 yards to Xavier Borishade.
 
The latter score came as a result of pressure from the Blue Hose defensive front. Bennifield scrambled left and lofted a pass to the back corner of the end zone where only Borishade could catch it before stepping out of bounds. It led to a 20-0 halftime advantage.
 
The Mocs scored on their first possession of the second half. After a three-and-out, the offense took over on their own 36. Richardre Bagley started the possession with a 55-yard run around the right end. Bennifield finished it with the final nine yards on the ensuing play. Bennifield and Borishade finished the scoring late in the third quarter with a 68-yard run-and-catch down the middle of the field for the 34-0 final margin.
 
The Blue Hose made a strong push in the fourth quarter. Starting on their own 17, they marched down the field, setting up a first-and-goal at the five. Bridges ran twice to the 1 before quarterback Will Brock fumbled on third down with redshirt freshman Khayyan Edwards pouncing on it to preserve the shutout.
 
Vantrel McMillan added two more sacks, four total tackles for loss, this week. The defensive line accounted for four sacks with Justin King and Keionta Davis getting in the act as well.  All of the sacks came in the first half.
 
Dale Warren and Montrell Pardue tied for game-high honors with eight tackles. Taylor Reynolds added seven, including 1.5 for loss. Khari Rosier led Presbyterian with eight tackles, 2.5 for loss with 1.5 sacks.
 
Derrick Craine piled on 118 yards rushing on just nine carries. Borishade and Stovall both had three catches for 168 and 61 yards, respectively.
 
Chattanooga-area native Darrell Bridges led the Blue Hose with 89 yards on 18 carries. Two Presbyterian quarterbacks threw for 110 yards completing 14 of 23 attempts. Punter Brett Norton kicked 12 times for an average of 43.8 yards with six downed inside the 20.
 
The Mocs have outscored their first two opponents 100-0 to start the season.  The back-to-back shutouts are the first since 1964 when the squad blanked Tennessee Tech (18-0) and ETSU (7-0) early in a 7-3 season.
 
Bennifield has eight touchdown passes in his 19 completions thus far, four to Borishade. That's come in just five quarters of work.
 
"Excellent win for us," Huesman added. "For our guys to put almost 500 yards of offense and 34 points, I'm proud of the offense they did a great job.
 
"Defensively, second shutout in a row, any time you shut someone out, it's a great day. I'm proud of our guys I thought it was an excellent win, but now it gets harder and harder every day and every week so we have to get ready for next week."
 
The three-time defending Southern Conference Champions open league play on the road next week in Greenville, S.C., at Furman. Game time is 7 p.m., and can be watched on ESPN3. Check the GoMocs.com football schedule page for links to video, audio and live stats.
 
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs.  The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page and on Twitter.  Find out how to join the Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.