NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS

LEXINGTON, Va. (Oct. 28, 2023) --- Despite being held to just three second-half points, the 15^th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs football team featured an early attack and a late VMI missed extra-point to help escape with a 24-23 Southern Conference victory over the Keydets on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field in Lexington, Va.

Following the late-season victory, Chattanooga improves to 7-2 overall and 6-1 inside SoCon play with one remaining league contest against No. 3 Furman (7-1, 5-1 SoCon) next Saturday. VMI drops to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in conference action after the defeat.
 
"That was a Southern Conference football game. We were on the road, eight-hour bus trip … the kids figured it out and we went and made a couple plays down the stretch," said head coach Rusty Wright following the victory.
 
"That's what we talk about all the time with defense, just keep making people make plays. You have to force people to do those things against you. We hung in there and kept battling and we figured it out."

HOW IT HAPPENED
After VMI missed a field goal on the game's opening drive, Reggie Davis scampered 45 yards just five plays later to claim his first career touchdown which allowed for early 7-0 UTC lead. The Mocs extended the lead to 14-0 (2:15 1Q) on a Gino Appleberry 11-yard touchdown run after a Kobe Joseph interception set the offensive up at the VMI 26.
 
The Keydets quickly responded in just two plays after Hunter Rice broke off a 67-yard touchdown rush to cut into the hosts deficit, 14-7, ahead of the first-quarter whistle. Rice capped off a 13-play, 76-yard scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown rush to pull VMI into a 14-14 deadlock with 6:51 left to go before halftime.
 
The two teams exchanged scores before the break as Chase Artopoeus found Javin Whatley on an 18-yard scramble and throw at the 4:24 mark which proceeded a 28-yard time-expiring field goal from VMI, allowing for a 21-17 Chattanooga edge.
 
Clayton Crile connected on a season-long 48-yard field goal with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter to add to the UTC lead, 24-17. The score followed four-straight punts, two by each time, to open play in the second half.
 
As the Chattanooga offense was held scoreless for the remainder of the contest, VMI capitalized midway through the fourth quarter with an 8-play, 54-yard scoring drive that was finished off by Rice's third rushing touchdown of the game, pulling the Keydets within an extra-point of tying the game. That extra-point attempt sailed wide right which ultimately allowed the Mocs to escape with the 24-23 victory.

SCORING SUMMARY
1^st Quarter
UTC – 7:31 – R. Davis 45 yd touchdown rush (XP GOOD) – 7-0 UTC
UTC – 2:15 – G. Appleberry 11 yd touchdown rush (XP GOOD) – 14-0 UTC
VMI – 1:29 – H. Rice 67 yd touchdown rush (XP GOOD) – 14-7 UTC
 
2^nd Quarter
VMI – 6:51 – H. Rice 4 yd touchdown rush (XP GOOD) – 14-14 Tied
UTC – 4:24 – J. Whatley 18 yd touchdown reception thrown by C. Artopoeus (XP GOOD) – 21-14 UTC
VMI – 0:00 – C. Beck 28 yd field goal – 21-17 UTC
 
3^rd Quarter
UTC – 2:27 – C. Crile 48 yd field goal – 24-17 UTC
 
4^th Quarter
VMI – 8:09 – H. Rice 7 yd touchdown rush (XP NO GOOD) – 24-23 UTC

RECORDS – No. 15 Chattanooga 7-2, 6-1 SoCon ∙ VMI 3-5, 2-3 SoCon
 
SERIES – Chattanooga now leads the all-time series 19-9-1.
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW | MORE
1. Career-high 113 rushing yards on 21 carries for Gino Appleberry… previous high was 109 in 2022 vs... VMI… had one of the Mocs three TDs… 152 all-purpose yards with three catches for 39 yards.
2. - Chase Artopoeus threw his 18th passing TDs for the season for Artopoeus… ties Kenyon Earl (1994) and Ryan McCall (2002) for eighth most in a season… had 184 yards passing for on 9-17 with zero interceptions.
3. - Javin Whatley added two catches for 61 yards including a 43-yard score… seven TDs on the season are the most since Chris James' same total in 2019… one shy of the season top 10 with five tied at eight with the most recent being Xavier Borishade (2016).

QUOTABLE | MORE
RB Gino Appleberry on setting the tone on the ground.
"It was always going to be a physical game. Anytime we play VMI we know we're going to get their best shot. The offensive line did a great job at opening up running lanes for us."
 
S Kobe Joseph on VMI's offensive success.
"They were really good, and we took a while to get used to it. We were able to slow them down later in the game, but it was tough. We weren't super prepared for that Wildcat; the extra blockers are hard to fit up, and they were creasing us vertically, but they did a great job scheming, they battled their butts off. They're a tough team to play, especially here."

NEXT GAME – Saturday, Nov. 4 – No. 15 Chattanooga (7-2, 6-1 SoCon) vs. No. 3 Furman (7-1, 5-0 SoCon) – 1:30 p.m. ET – Finley Stadium – BUY TICKETS

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