Football Smothers Samford in a Rainy SoCon Battle, 19-3

Saturday, October 10

Chattanooga, Tenn.

1 PM

Chattanooga

4-3 , 3-1

Samford

1-5 , 1-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Samford	0	3	0	0	3
Chattanooga	7	6	3	3	19

Notes Quotes

Kristian Ozane celebrating after stop against Samford

Photo by: Ray Soldano

10/10/2026 5:06:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Chattanooga Mocs football team rushed the ball 58 times and dominated the time of possession battle during Saturday’s rain-filled contest.

Box Score | Notes | Quotes | Photos

CHATTANOOGA (October 10, 2026) --- On a rainy and dreary afternoon inside Finley Stadium, the Chattanooga Mocs football team controlled the line of scrimmage and rolled its way to a 19-3 victory over Samford during Southern Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

Following the win, Chattanooga improves to 4-3 overall and now holds a 3-1 record inside SoCon play. Samford drops to 1-5 overall and 1-2 against the league after the defeat.

Quick Records & Series
Chattanooga: 4-3, 3-1 SoCon
Samford: 1-5, 1-2 SoCon
Series: 51st all-time meeting… UTC now leads 36-12-3… 22-7-2 all-time at home against Samford.

Game Breakdown

Chattanooga built a 7-0 lead (1Q 3:34) on its first possession with a lengthy 16-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that consumed 8:41 of clock and was capped off by a Journey Wyche one-yard plunge.
Jude Kelley converted on a pair of field goals, one from 46 yards and the other from 39 yards, to extend the Mocs lead to 13-0 with 5:19 remaining before halftime.
Samford put together a 12-play, 44-yard scoring drive before the halftime buzzer as a Ty Ippolito 46-yard field goal made it 13-3 at the break.
Kelley connected on his third field goal of the game (39 yards) to open the second half, pushing the hosts lead to 16-3 at the 8:41 mark of the third quarter.
Kelley would connect on one more field goal over the game's final 23-plus minutes, successfully converting a 45-yard attempt with just under six minutes left, to give Chattanooga an eventual 19-3 victory.

Inside the Stats

Chattanooga totaled 200 rushing yards on a whopping 58 rushing attempts… finished with 255 yards of total offense… held Samford to just 137 yards of total offense including just 20 rushing yards on 21 attempts.
Chattanooga controlled the time of possession by a wide 38:16 – 21:44 margin… went a perfect 3-for-3 on red-zone conversions (two field goals and a touchdown)… defense totaled four sacks in the winning effort.
RB Kevin Lalin finished with 156 rushing yards on 28 attempts… added a catch for 10 yards… RB Journey Wyche attempted 20 rushes for a 57-yard total… added a touchdown and a reception for 13 yards.

Game Notables

Chattanooga's .735 win percentage (36-12-3) against the Bulldogs ranks as the best in program history in against teams with 15 or more meetings... second is Tennessee Tech (.714/30-12).
Chattanooga has allowed just 32 points over the last four games… 8.0 points per contest… fewest in a 4-game stretch since 1981… 26 from Oct. 10-31: Marshall (20-0), at Arkansas State (3-2), at Western Carolina (10-24) & at ETSU (17-0).
K Jude Kelley's second quarter FG was his 231st career point for the Mocs… passed RB Ailym Ford '23 (228) for fourth place on the Mocs all-time list: Henrique Ribeiro '16 (307), Jacob Huesman '15 (264), Matt Vick '00 (242), Kelley (240)…scored 13 today (1-1 PAT, 4-4 FG).

Postgame Quotes
HC Rusty Wright on today's conditions and the team's performance.
"The elements played a big part, but I thought it was the ultimate team game today—offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. The kids did a great job. I don't think we had a turnover today. Playing a game like that without a turnover or anything bad happening in the kicking game, I'll take it. They don't put pictures of wins, so it's a good win."

C Devin Lively on starting the game with a long scoring drive & it's importance.
"Nineteen plays, nine minutes and putting it in the end zone—you can't ask for much better than that to start a football game. We had a couple of drives like that last year to start games and didn't put it in the end zone. To do that today was a great way to start."

Up Next | Buy Tickets
Chattanooga is IDLE next weekend before heading to Cullowhee, N.C., for a matchup at Western Carolina on October 24. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (ET). Fans can watch the game live on ESPN+, follow live stats at GoMocs.com, or listen on WFLI 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM.

GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.