QUOTES | NOTES | PHOTOS

CHATTANOOGA --- The 12^th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs football program used a strong effort on both sides of the ball and opened the 2022 season with an emphatic 31-0 shutout over Southern Conference foe Wofford on Saturday evening inside Finley Stadium. The shutout marked the first goose egg against a DI opponent in a season opener since a 41-0 blanking of Charleston Southern in 1995 on old Chamberlain Field.

It used the aid of a pair of redzone turnovers. Keeping the shutout in tact was an important statement for the Mocs defense.
 
"That's a big deal. You saw how the kids played out there in the fourth quarter, it was important to them," said Coach Rusty Wright following the win. "It doesn't happen a lot. It was hard sledding tonight. Anytime you can do that in today's college football, it says you have some good players on that defense."
 
Chattanooga begins the season 1-0 for the first time since 2019 and picked up the first ever season-opening SoCon victory in program history.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After forcing a Wofford punt to begin the game, Chattanooga marched 81 yards in 10 plays and 5:06 highlighted by a 34-yard pass-and-catch down the far sideline from starting quarterback Preston Hutchinson to wide receiver Sam Phillips. Ailym Ford ended the drive with a three-yard powerful run behind the left side to put UTC ahead 7-0.
 
They added to the lead on their next possession. It came on a 21-yard Andrew Southard field goal to go ahead 10-0 with 1:24 left in the opening frame. On Wofford's ensuing possession, Reuben Lowery III picked off a pass at the Terriers 45 and returned it to the house extending the lead to 17-0 at the 13:38 mark of the second quarter.
 
Wofford threatened inside the redzone at the UTC 15 before Jay Person recorded a strip sack with Ben Brewton doing the recovery efforts at the 21-yard line, flipping possession and keeping the zero on the board. The Mocs capitalized with a seven-play, 79-yard drive in 3:36 that was capped off by a 17-yard pitch and catch from Hutchinson to Javon Burke for a 24-0 cushion at the halftime break.
 
The defense forced its third turnover the game, and the second inside the redzone, when Ty Boeck recovered a loose ball at the UTC 14 with 5:02 left in the third. After an incomplete pass, Ford cut back off a defender and sprinted his way all 86 yards to the endzone for the longest rush of his career to extend the advantage to 31-0 (4:40, 3Q).
 
It was all zeros the rest of the way.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Offense
QB – Preston Hutchinson – 11-for-18, 171 yards, TD
RB – Ailym Ford – 18 carries, 156 yards, 2 TD – 2 receptions, 46 yards
WR – Sam Phillips – 3 receptions, 50 yards
WR – Javon Burke – 1 reception, 17 yards, TD
 
Defense
EDGE – Jay Person – 6 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.0 sacks, FF
LB – Ty Boeck – 7 tackles, FR
CB – Reuben Lowery III – 5 tackles, TFL, INT, TD
 
TEAM  
TOTAL OFFENSE – UTC: 361, WOF: 230
PASS – UTC: 171, WOF: 133
RUSH – UTC: 190, WOF: 97
 
RECORDS – Chattanooga (1-0, 1-0 SoCon) – Wofford (0-1, 0-1 SoCon)
 
SERIES – Wofford now leads the all-time series 15-14. Chattanooga improves to 10-6 against Wofford at home all-time.
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- Reuben Lowery III's second quarter pick 6 was his first career interception... last pick 6 at Chattanooga was Rashun Freeman's at Samford last season on Oct. 24 (2 yds)… Lowery's 45-yard return is the longest pick 6 since Lucas Webb's 71 yarder in 2015 FCS Playoff win over Fordham... longest against a SoCon opponent since 70 yards by Wes Dothard in 2013 triumph at Samford.
 
- 86 yard touchdown run in the 3Q is AIlym's longest career run… 12th career 100 yard game… moves into 8th place all-time in rushing passing Keon Williams' (2010-14)… 86 yards is tied for 7th longest run from scrimmage at UTC with Dick Hostetler vs. Tampa on Oct. 1, 1954... longest since Jerry Ellison's (former Rusty Wright teammate) went 95 yards for a TD against Boise State on Sept. 5, 1992.
 
- Last shutout in an opener? 2016 vs. Shorter, 66-0… last shutout in an opener vs. DI opponent? 1995 vs. Charleston Southern, 41-0 (Chamberlain Field).
 
QUOTABLE
"Those guys have some talent, we think they can play. It was a bunch of their first games in years. Hopefully they continue to grow and get better. You score 24 points on offense, you get a pick-six, that's a pretty good night I don't care where you're at. We have a long way to go but I think these guys are going to continue to grow." – Rusty Wright, head coach, on the young receiving core
 
"It felt so good being back out there. There was just so much time pent up for these three-and-a-half hours, and it just felt so good to let it fly and play loose." – Preston Hutchinson, quarterback, on starting for the first time in a few seasons
 
NEXT GAME – Chattanooga (1-0, 1-0 SoCon) at Eastern Illinois (0-1, 0-0 OVC) – 7PM ET – ESPN+
 
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