2021 Chattanooga Mocs Football

vs. Western Carolina – Oct. 2 – Finley Stadium

Postgame Quotes

Rusty Wright, Head Coach

Opening statement
"It's never pretty, but you gotta find ways to win this time of the year and we're 1-0 in the Southern Conference. We came out and did some things and did things well. We have plenty of things we need to get better at, and we just need to do it. Our guys played well and I'm proud of them. I'm so happy for those kids and those coaches. We had a good week of practice and a good week of preparation. I tell them all the time, it's different every Saturday."

On the amount of guys that made plays today.
"We have played a lot of guys this year. I always tell the guys, 'it takes all of us.' I wish we could have done a little better in the third quarter, but we took care of business and did what we were supposed to do."

On not letting the Catamounts score on their opening drive starting from the UTC 7.
"That was huge. If they score, you don't know what it's going to be like for the rest of the afternoon. Did I know we would be able to hold them to three there? Of course I did.

On the nine explosive plays today.
"We need it all, they have to compliment each other. We need to get out there and catch a hitch and get more than three or four [yards]. We were going to take a few more shots today but there was a lot more wind down there than I thought there would be."

On the Mocs' red zone defense.

"We've got guys who can play on defense… it doesn't matter where they are on the field. When they're locked in, they're good. The first drive of the game was huge. They were on the seven-yard line and we got out there and held them to three… that was probably the biggest part of the game."  

Cole Copeland – Jr., QB

On Chattanooga's scores after Western Carolina's touchdown in the fourth quarter.
"We were hoping to do that out of the half. We have to be better at putting teams away earlier. It was an excellent answer by the offensive line, Gino and Ailym making plays."

On having time to throw in the pocket.
"I feel like I'm sitting there with endless time. The line did an excellent job. Our receivers did their job when they needed to, and it felt great to put up points today."

On having success with multiple running backs.
"It's a quarterback's dream. The way the offensive line played, allowing the guys to move like that, and how the running backs moved the ball, it's definitely nice to see at the quarterback's position."

Jay Person – So., LB

On holding WCU's offense to under 300 yards.
"We made them get out of their game plan and made them throw a lot. It's always good when you can get a team out of what they do a lot and get turnovers off it."

On Western Carolina switching up the quarterbacks.
"They are both good quarterbacks and play similar. The second quarterback is a little quicker, but we stuck with our game plan and it worked out.

How important this win was.
"This is a great win. Obviously, every win is a great win but, especially to start to SoCon play off with a win like this is big for us."  

Brandon Dowdell – Sr., DB

On WCU's fast offense.
"We knew against Austin Peay we didn't do a great job lining up and getting to the ball. Today we emphasized that and made that a priority."