NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (October 5, 2024) --- The most prestigious railroad tie in college football stays home. The Chattanooga Mocs football team claimed its fifth-straight win in the Rail Rivalry series after defeating No. 23 ETSU 17-10 in dramatic fashion on a Southern Conference Saturday afternoon inside Greene Stadium in Johnson City.
 
Following the win, Chattanooga improves to 2-3 overall and evens its SoCon record to 1-1. ETSU drops to 3-3 overall and holds a similar 1-1 record inside league play. Head coach Rusty Wright now moves to 5-0 all-time against the in-state rivals.
 
Locked 10-10 in the waning moments, and after a day-long physical battle, it was Reggie Davis who punched it in from one-yard out with just 43 seconds left to give the guests its 17-10 advantage. The rush capped off an 11-play, 85-yard drive after ETSU tied things nearly five minutes before.
 
"What a fun game to play in, right? We talked about this morning and yesterday, just going out there and pouring into each other and just playing your heart out for each other and seeing what happens, you know not worrying about the outcome," said coach Wright after the win.
 
"And I thought our kids did a phenomenal job with that today. I thought our coaches did a phenomenal job calling a great football game today, both sides of the ball."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Much like any rivalry, the first quarter featured strong and physical play from both sides of the ball with ETSU accounting for the only takeaway of the frame. The Mocs and the Bucs each failed to convert on their scoring chances in the first, missing field goals of 52 and 46 yards, respectively, leading to a 0-0 total after the first 15 minutes.
 
After Sam Phillips set the offense up with a one-handed catch along the sidelines in ETSU territory, Jude Kelley opened the scoring with a 48-yard field goal, tying a career long, to put UTC up 3-0 with 12:05 before half. The two defenses went toe-to-toe throughout the second quarter as the Mocs ultimately kept its field-goal lead at the break.
 
Both teams traded empty offensive possessions to begin the second half before the host Bucs put together a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive, ultimately tying the game 3-3 on a 24-yard field goal at the 7:00 mark of the third. Phillips dazzled again on the ensuing drive with a 38-yard touchdown catch off a perfectly placed ball from Chase Artopoeus, putting UTC ahead 10-3 with just over five minutes in the quarter.
 
In the midst of fourth quarter action and the Mocs holding on to its 10-3 edge, the Bucs found magic and tied the game 10-10 on a 25-yard touchdown pass at the front pylon with 6:33 remaining. UTC responded with its impressive game-winning sealed by Davis before Beni Mwamba sealed the deal with an interception near midfield right before time expired.

SCORING SUMMARY
2nd Quarter
UTC – FG – 12:05 – J. Kelley 48-yard field goal – 3-0 UTC
 
3rd Quarter
ETSU – FG – 7:00 – E. Johnson 24-yard field goal – 3-3 Tied
UTC – TD – 5:01 – S. Phillips 38-yard touchdown reception from C. Artopoeus (XP GOOD) – 10-3 UTC
 
4^th Quarter
ETSU – TD – 6:33 – A. Johnson 25-yard touchdown reception thrown by G. English (XP GOOD) – 10-10 Tied
UTC – TD – 0:43 – R. Davis 1-yard touchdown rush (XP GOOD) – 17-10 UTC

RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 2-3 (1-1) ∙ No. 23 ETSU 3-3 (1-1) ∙ UTC leads all-time series 26-19-1.
 
UP NEXT – at Furman – Saturday, Oct. 12 – 2 p.m. ET – Greenville, S.C. – ESPN+

3 NOTES TO KNOW | MORE
1 – 5-game series win streak against ETSU is the longest in school history… it matches the Bucs 5-year run from 1992-96... 7-1 vs. ETSU since it re-entered the SoCon in 2016... 3-3 vs. ranked ETSU teams…2-1 in Johnson City.
 
2 – Strong defensive effort allowing just 225 yards of total offense… limited the Bucs to 117 yards rushing and 108 passing… 10 points ties ETSU season low… also had 10 in the season opening loss at App State…24.8 points below season average.
 
3 – WR Sam Phillips went for six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown… 590 yards on 30 catches for the season… most yards in first five games since 2018… one of four this season 500+ in first five contests… moved into the top 10 in career receptions and yards… 134 catches matches Joel Bradford's (2008-11) in 10th…1,875 yards is now 10th as well passing Rocky Turner's (1968-71) 1,864.
 
QUOTABLE | MORE
HC Rusty Wright ohe importance of the win.
"You go on the road in this league and find a way to win, thats what you do. Doesn't matter what it looks like. Remember the last time we were here, we were down 13 nothing at halftime and there is no question, our kids outplayed them."

Chase Artopoeus on today's tough first half.
"So I mean the first half, I actually think we were moving the ball relatively solid we're kind of just missing a couple of miscues, couple misfires on those crucial third downs in the red zone. Of course, they came out, played a little bit of a different defense than they played everybody else, like most people do for us. So at halftime, we kind of talked it over, got a couple of adjustments in."

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