NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS

CHATTANOOGA --- The 20^th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs football team earned a 418-120 advantage in total offense while the defense forced four turnovers in the process to help capture a 34-3 Southern Conference win over rival ETSU in the Rail Rivalry contest on Saturday afternoon inside Finley Stadium.
 
Following the victory over the Bucs, Chattanooga improves to 6-2 overall and 5-1 inside SoCon play with two league games remaining. ETSU drops to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in conference action after the defeat.
 
The offense created separation early on with three touchdown drives on their first three possessions while the defense's two first-half turnovers aided the charge. UTC carried a 28-3 lead into the break before holding ETSU scoreless in the second half to notch the team's fourth victory over its rival in as many meetings.

"They're never easy. To our credit, we did what we talked [about] at halftime. [We] played well in the first quarter, not so well in the second quarter. Give them credit," said head coach Rusty Wright following the game.
 
"We put the distance between us, stopped them on defense; those are things you have to do."

HOW IT HAPPENED
On the game's opening possession, Gino Appleberry capped off a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give Chattanooga an early 7-0 lead just four-plus minutes into the contest. After UTC recovered a fumble, it was Appleberry again from three yards out to put UTC ahead 14-0 heading into the second quarter.
 
The Mocs continued the early scoring with a 45-yard touchdown strike from Chase Artopoeus to Jamoi Mayes on the first play of the second frame to extend the edge to 21-0. A pair of UTC turnovers eventually led to ETSU's first points of the game after a 40-yard field goal split the uprights, settling the score at 21-3 with 3:55 left in the half, a tally that would hold into the break.
 
After a three-and-out from the ETSU offense kicked off the second half, UTC took advantage with a short three-play, 47-yard touchdown drive that ended with Artopoeus finding Mayes from 26 yards out, making it 28-3 with 9:43 on the third quarter clock.
 
Chattanooga continued to control both sides of the ball down the stretch as Clayton Crile added a pair of fourth-quarter field goals (37, 38) to amount the game's final six points which resulted in the 34-3 lopsided victory for the hosts.

SCORING SUMMARY
1^st Quarter
UTC – 10:38 – G. Appleberry 2 yd touchdown rush (XP GOOD) – 7-0 UTC
UTC – 3:15 – G. Appleberry 3 yd touchdown rush (XP GOOD) – 14-0 UTC
 
2^nd Quarter
UTC – 14:52 – J. Mayes 45 yd touchdown reception thrown by C. Artopoeus (XP GOOD) – 21-0 UTC
ETSU – 3:55 – E. Johnson 40 yd FG – UTC 21-3
 
3^rd Quarter
UTC – 9:43 – J. Mayes 26 yd touchdown reception thrown by C. Artopoeus (XP GOOD) – 28-3 UTC
 
4^th Quarter
UTC – 10:32 – C. Crile 37 yd field goal – 31-3 UTC
UTC – 7:33 – C. Crile 38 yd field goal – 34-3 UTC

RECORDS – No. 20 Chattanooga 6-2, 5-1 SoCon ∙ ETSU 2-5, 1-3 SoCon
 
SERIES – Chattanooga now leads the all-time series 26-19-1.
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW | MORE
1. Defense limited ETSU to 120 yards total offense… fewest since 90 at North Alabama on Sept. 2, 2021... 9th time with 200 or fewer allowed in the Rusty Wright/Lorenzo Ward Era (2nd in 2023).
2. The 31-point margin of victory is the largest in the series for the Mocs… largest spread since a 68-7 loss in Johnson City on Nov. 15, 2003.
3. Safety Clay Fields III tied the program record with four pass breakups including three straight plays in the second quarter… previous four PBU games LB Doug Faatiliga (2009 vs. The Citadel), DB Buster Skrine (2009 vs. Western Carolina) & David McCrary (1984 vs. App State).

QUOTABLE | MORE
DB Clay Fields III on him stepping up on defense with Jordan Walker being out the opening half of the game.
"On our side, I knew for me personally that I had to step up to fill Jordan's shoes. When we looked at the game plan coming into today we knew it was a young quarterback, so we wanted to take advantage of that as much as we could today just in terms of his reads and stuff like that."
 
HC Rusty Wright on staying level in the emotion of the rivalry.
"We talk about it all the time, about doing things right all the time, and I'm not going to put up with it. They know that. We want those free yards; I don't want to give anything free to somebody out there if I don't have to. My guys know better, and we're constantly talking to them on the sidelines about those things, pulling guys off, and talking about making good decisions on and off the football field, it's what you have to do."

NEXT GAME – Saturday, Oct. 28 – No. 20 Chattanooga (6-2, 5-1 SoCon) at VMI (3-4, 2-2 SoCon) – 1:30 p.m. ET – Lexington, Va.

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