NOTES | QUOTES | STATS | PHOTOS
 
MARTIN, Tenn.---The Chattanooga Mocs got off to a hot start then held off host UT Martin 34-24 at Graham Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Mocs used timely offense and opportunistic defense to build a lead they'd not relinquished.
 
Tyrell Price amassed 118 yards with two touchdowns, while Nick Tiano threw for 208 yards and two scores. Victor Ulmo accounted for the remaining six points with field goals of 31 and 25 yards.
 
The Mocs scored 20 unanswered to open the contest. Ulmo's two boots rotated with two Will Young touchdown receptions. The first, from 11 yards out, came in traffic as he corralled the Tiano offering in the center of the end zone. He completed the duet of scores with a 14-yard strike late in the second quarter to build the lead to 20-0.
 
Both touchdown scores came off big plays by the secondary. Brandon Dowdell's interception provided a short field at the 17. Kareem Orr throttled a Skyhawks drive deep in UTC territory with a pick at the one returning it out to the 30.
 
The Skyhawks found a rhythm to end the opening 30 minutes. Taking over on their own 25 with 1:42 until intermission, quarterback Dresser Winn completed passes of 20 and 18 yards to cross the 50. LaDarius Galloway added runs of six and nine yards to get to the 18. Three plays later, Winn dove into the end zone with no time left on the clock to cut it to 20-7.
 
The Mocs got on the board first in the second half. Tiano's 42-yard pass to Bryce Nunnelly was originally a 43-yarder for a touchdown. Upon further review, the ball was placed at the one. Price got the first of his two scores on the ensuing play.
 
A Jaylon Moore four-yard pass from Winn and Ryan Courtright's 36-yard field goal made it a 10-point contest with 9:46 to go in the game. Price would not give the Skyhawks anymore life.
 
Tiano started the next possession with a 13-yard pass to Jordan Giberti. Price consumed clock time with five and four-yard totes before hobbling to the sideline. Alex Trotter converted the third-and-short and added 11 more yards over the next two plays for first-and-10 at the UTM 40.
 
Price returned. Forty yards later it was 34-17. The Skyhawks answered with another score and got the onside kick. It took just four plays to get to first-and-goal at the seven. Four plays later, the ball turned on downs back to the Mocs at the one as Galloway was stuffed short by Marshall Cooper and Hawk Schrider.
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga: 3-0
UT Martin: 0-3
 
QUOTABLE
Check out all we heard at the quotes link at the top of this story.
 
"That was a crucial run. It all started with Torrez Finney, our fullback, he did a great job getting that block to get the run started. Tyrell [Price] made a special play. He made some people miss and broke some tackles. That was a really big play in the game." – Coach Tom Arth on Price's fourth quarter TD trot.
 
"This is just a different team. The culture, the mood and the guys we have, we have really formed a great bond. We have great leadership and we're only concerned about winning. We are all bought in." – Junior quarterback Nick Tiano.
 
NOTABLE
Three notes from today's contest. Check out the full complement of facts and figures in the link above.

• The last time UTC started 3-0 for the season with ALL THREE triumphs coming against Division I opponents was 1979 (41-28 vs. Western Kentucky, 24-7 vs. LA Tech & 45-14 at Furman).
• Nunnelly had 117 yards today. First Mocs receiver since Alonso Nix in 2003 to record three straight games with 100 yards receiving.
• Two takeaways for the defense resulting in 14 points. Seven on the season, 4 in turnover margin. Third game in a row with at least two for the first time since the start of the 2010 season.

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

• Tiano completed his first 10 passes. He ended up with just four incompletions connecting on 20 of 24 attempts.
• Five sacks today with a high of two from Schrider. That's the highest team total since seven at Sam Houston State in the 2016 FCS Playoffs. Most in the regular season since six vs. VMI in Chattanooga on Oct. 22, 2016. Most in a regular season road game since five at VMI on Oct. 17, 2015.
• Nunnelly tallied seven receptions for his 117 yards. First Mocs receiver since Blue Cooper in 2009 with three consecutive contests of seven or more catches.

 
NEXT UP
The Mocs return home hosting Southern Conference rival Samford. The 7 p.m., kickoff airs on ESPN . UTM remains at Hardy Graham Stadium for its Ohio Valley Conference opener against Austin Peay.
 
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