NOTES | QUOTES | STATS | PHOTOS
 
GREENVILLE---The Chattanooga Mocs fought to the finish but ultimately fell short in a 16-10 loss at Furman Saturday afternoon. It was a defensive battle with just 519 yards of offense between the two squads.
 
The Paladins scored the first 13 points of the game. Devin Wynn's 50-yard run late in the first quarter along with two Grayson Atkins field goals of 50 and 48 yards late in the second sent the home team into halftime leading 13-0.
 
The second of those two field goals came on the last play of the first half with Furman receiving the opening kickoff of the second. Ian Hayes made a big play to spark the Mocs.
 
He forced a fumble on Landon Lawrence's return of that kick that was smothered by Jerrell Lawson at the 45. 12 plays and six-plus minutes later, and Victor Ulmo got Chattanooga on the board with a 23-yard field goal.
 
Furman went on a long drive to put the clock in its favor. It ran out the third quarter and a bit of the fourth with a 20-play methodical march that included three fourth-down conversions. That ended in a third Atkins field goal and a 16-3 advantage.
 
"Just keep fighting," Coach Tom Arth shared about what to do at that point in the game. "We are able to hold them to a field goal a number of times. They were taking some time off the clock, and we had opportunities. We got the ball on the ground and had some near interceptions. 
 
"(The defense) were playing their hearts out and leaving it all on the field. They were giving us opportunities, repeatedly."
 
The next two Mocs drives were stopped on downs at their 43 and Furman's 7, respectively. Time looked to be out as the Paladins rushing attack, which had grinded out 180 yards on the day, stubbed its toe. On second-and-eight at the Furman 14, the defense made a huge play as Isaiah Mack forced a Ridge Gibson fumble with Rashun Freeman getting credit for the recovery at the 18.
 
"It is incredible," quarterback Nick Tiano said when asked to recollect his thoughts when the turnover happened. "Knowing they were going to run the ball, and it'd be tough to get it back, the defense made a play. 
 
"They gave us another opportunity, we were able to score and give us a chance with the on-side kick."
 
Three Nick Tiano completions to Bingo Morton, the last a scoring strike of five yards, made it 16-10 with 1:49 on the clock. One more special teams play was needed, but the Paladins got a clean catch by Avery Armstrong. Three knees to the ground and the game was over.
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga: 6-3 | 4-3 SoCon
Furman: 4-4 | 4-2 SoCon
 
SERIES
Chattanooga trails 19-29 in the series…11-13 on the road snapping a four-game winning streak in Paladin Stadium.
 
QUOTABLE
Check out all we heard at the quotes link at the top of this story.
 
Overall thoughts on the game:
"We had multiple opportunities in the early part of the game that we didn't take advantage of. We didn't play well enough. I thought, defensively, we kind of got things figured out and played a great game. We were down in there and had opportunities to score. Just missed on a few opportunities. Just missed on a couple of conversions. You can't beat a good football team when you hurt yourself. We had a number of self-inflicted wounds early on in the game. Drop passes, things like that. It is just hard to overcome that against a team like that." – Coach Tom Arth
 
On becoming the fourth Mocs WR to record 1,000 yards in a season:
"It means a lot. I'm very thankful to play for this team and these coaches. They believe in me, put me out there. I just could not have done this without my teammates." – Sophomore WR Bryce Nunnelly

NOTABLE
Three notes from today's contest. Check out the full complement of facts and figures in the link above.

• Bryce Nunnelly became the fourth Mocs wide receiver to reach 1,000 yards in a season. He joins Joel Bradford (1,284, 2010), Alonzo Nix (1,060, 2003) and Richmond Flowers (1,035, 2000).
• Isaiah Mack made his 40th career tackle for loss. He's the third Mocs defensive stalwart with 40 or more: Davis Tull (60, 2011-14) and Keionta Davis (43, 2013-16).
• Nick Tiano is now eighth in school history in single season passing yards with 2,267. He passed Kenyon Earl (2,233, 1993), Mickey Brokas (2,195, 1971) and Jacob Huesman (2,117, 2015) today. He's 233 yards from becoming the seventh Moc with 2,500 or more in a campaign. 

STATS
Check out the final stats at the link above. Here are three stats of note…

• Two fumble recoveries today were the 18th and 19th takeaways of the season for the Mocs. They now have nine fumble recoveries.
• Double-digit tackles for Michael Bean (12) and Marshall Cooper (11). Second time for Bean, third for Cooper.
• Third consecutive contest with a sack for Mack. He has 6.5 over that span. It was the 20th of his career. Fourth Mocs defensive lineman to record 20 or more along with Davis Tull (37, 2011-14), Keionta Davis (31, 2013-16) and Joshua Williams (23.5, 2009-12).

NEXT UP
The Mocs celebrate Senior Day as well as Military Appreciation Day next week in Finley Stadium. The 1 p.m., kickoff against Mercer airs on ESPN+. The Paladins head to VMI for their penultimate SoCon matchup.
 
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