Chattanooga Football Postgame Quotes
Mercer at Chattanooga
Finley Stadium – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Saturday – Nov. 10, 2018

Tom Arth, Head Coach
Opening statement after 13-9 loss to Mercer:
"Obviously that was a tough day and a bad finish for us. I thought, defensively, we played lights out and did a lot of really great things. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes early in the game. A fumble going in on the opening possession and the interception return. Some really costly errors. We struggled offensively all day long, but at the end of the day we had the lead with a few minutes left. We were up by two and I made a decision to whether squib it, pop it up or kick it deep. I chose to kick it deep and that was my call. I trust our kick off team to go down there and make the tackle, but unfortunately we didn't. That's on me. That was the only thing that could not happen. That's part of the game we all have to learn from it."

On difference makers in the game:
"We didn't play well enough and we didn't coach well enough. At the end of the day, they made nice plays, especially on short yardage situations. Somehow we couldn't manage to gain a yard. We have to play better. We had the lead with three minutes to go and our defense had played lights out all afternoon, and we gave them an opportunity to win the game."

On opening play turnover at the one:
"It's a big swing when you think you're scoring and to not only be tackled at the one, but fumble the ball. It's a big change in the game. We came out and got a stop on defense and got the ball right back at the 40 yard line. So we just have to go and do that again and get it back in there, and we didn't. I think that was the bigger issue. It wasn't the morale, it was just not making plays when we needed to."

On senior's going out on a tough loss:
"I told them that game is on me. It was my decision to kick it deep and that wasn't the right decision. I'm sorry, that's the way it turned out. I feel bad for those guys because of all the effort and hard work they put in. To come up short and lose that way after playing so well on defense, it's a tough way to go. All of our seniors have nothing to hang their head about because they've been through a lot. A lot of highs and a lot of lows and they learned a lot from both of those types of situations. I'm very grateful and thankful to have had the chance to coach them and work with them. I look forward to continuing our relationships. Relationships won't stop just because they're done playing football. I want to be there for them for anything they may need."

Bryce Nunnelly – So.-WR
On today's performance:
"It was a frustrating day for us, offensively. It was a defensive game on both sides of the ball. We couldn't really get anything going our way. When we did it was a set back by a penalty or something along those lines. It was frustrating."

On the struggles in the redzone:
"The total yards showed we moved it pretty well. In the red zones, the two run plays we had right there, not getting in the end zone was disappointing. All the other times we had set up for field goals. We wanted touchdowns. We needed touchdowns and unfortunately we didn't get them."

Derek Mahaffey – Sr.-DL
Overall thoughts on the defense:
"We played very well. We all came out and played well as a collective team. That is one thing that we strive to do over the course of the week."

On the pick-six called back for high-stepping:
"First I had to realize I made a mistake. Then from that I took forth the responsibility of owning my mistake. After that you have to be positive and support your teammates. That's the whole thing.  We're a team. We have the next man up mentality. That's one thing you have to look forward to."

Isaiah Mack – Sr.-DL
Has it sunk in that you have one game left:
"It has.  I'm sad it had to end this way. I wouldn't want to go out with no other guys on my team. Especially number five (Derek Mahaffey), he's my roll dawg."

On the upcoming game's preparation:
"It's going to be a fun game. Just pin your ears back and let's go play some ball. Try to get an upset really."

Nick Tiano – Jr.-QB
Thoughts on today's performance:
"We fought hard all the way to the end. Like this team always does. The defense played great all day. Unfortunately, we just couldn't get in the endzone for them. It came back to haunt us in the end."

What do you take from a game like this:
"It's tough. Sometimes the loss hurts; obviously for us on offense. We all have to play better and it starts with me. Going forward we have one more opportunity to get this team together. It's a great group of guys. We have to come out one more time and fight to win another one together."