The UTC Mocs trailed #7 Appalachian State by just a point in the fourth quarter before falling 35-20 at Boone, N.C., on Saturday.
The Mountaineers roared out to a 21-0 first quarter advantage before the Mocs held the powerful Appalachian State offense in the second quarter and recorded a TD score after recovering a fumble. Quarterback B.J. Coleman took it in on a sneak after a seven-play drive.
A Craig Camay field goal in the third quarter moved the Mocs to 21-10. The visitors scored again on a pass by Coleman to Blue Cooper to pull to 21-17. Another Camay field goal with 10:43 on the clock in the final quarter put the score at 21-20.
However, the Mountaineers engineered two late touchdowns, including one that came after a third interception of a Coleman pass.
In the opening half, the Mocs picked off two passes thrown by heralded Appy quarterback Armanti Edwards, but did not capitalize.
After getting the ball on the Appalachian State 25 after a Joel Bradford pick late in the first half, the Mocs coughed up the ball on the next play. A B.J. Coleman handoff to running back Chris Awuah was mishandled.
Jordan Tippit got an earlier interception on an Edwards overthrow, but the Mocs could not convert. Edwards had only one prior interception on the year on over 200 tosses.
UTC did score a touchdown in the first half after getting a fumble on the first of three straight Mountaineer turnovers.
In the closing minute of the first half, the Mocs had another chance and Coleman led them down the field. However, he could not connect with Chris Pitchford, who was open at the 15-yard line in the closing seconds.
Coleman had two passes picked off himself in the first half.
The Mocs were also hit with seven first-half penalties.
Chattanooga actually outgained ASU 351-322, including 246-140 in the air. Coleman finished 25-46 for 246 yards.
ASU senior QB Armanti Edwards came into the game No. 2 in the nation in total offense, averaging 361.9 yards per game. Chattanooga held Edwards to 192 yards of offense in the game.
Freshman RB Chris Awuah also had a solid game, posting a season-high 97 yards on 28 carries. Pitchford had his second 100-yard receiving game of the season with 106 on a career-high nine catches.
For Appalachian State, Devon Moore ran for 74 yards and three scores on 12 carries and Edwards added 52 more and a touchdown on 12 carries as the Mountaineers totaled 182 yards on the ground and added 140 more in the air. Edwards completed 13-of-22 passes in the game.
Matt Cline was the top target with seven grabs for 64 yards. Defensively, Jacque Roman recorded 11 tackles and an interception. D.J. Smith and Mark LeGree also intercepted passes on the day.
Turnovers plagued both teams as, in addition to the three interceptions, UTC lost one fumble while the Apps turned the ball over three times.
Devin Radford ran for 21 yards and a score on 10 carries for the Mountaineers.
UTC was trying for a sixth win in going up against a team that is undefeated in conference play. The Mocs hope to get that win and be assured of a winning season after gaining only one victory all last season when they host The Citadel next Saturday at 2 p.m. at Finley Stadium.
The Mocs are now 5-4, 3-4, while Appalachian State improves to 7-2, 6-0 going into a clash next weekend at Elon, which is also perfect in SoCon play.
It was the fifth straight victory for the Mountaineers over UTC since a wild 59-56 Mocs win at home.
Chattanooga 0 7 10 3 20
Appalachian State 21 0 0 14 35
SCORING SUMMARY UTC -ASU
1st 12:51 ASU Devon Moore 1 yd run (Jason Vitaris kick)
2 plays, 1 yard, TOP 0:31 0 - 7
05:58 ASU Armanti Edwards 3 yd run (Jason Vitaris kick)
7 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:01 0 - 14
02:01 ASU Devin Radford 2 yd run (Jason Vitaris kick)
6 plays, 55 yards, TOP 2:09 0 - 21
2nd 08:37 UTC B.J. Coleman 1 yd run (Craig Camay kick)
7 plays, 39 yards, TOP 3:14 7 - 21
3rd 12:38 UTC Craig Camay 30 yd field goal
7 plays, 42 yards, TOP 2:21 10 - 21
03:34 UTC Blue Cooper 2 yd pass from B.J. Coleman (Craig Camay kick)
9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 3:17 17 - 21
4th 10:43 UTC Craig Camay 36 yd field goal
12 plays, 46 yards, TOP 6:11 20 - 21
07:20 ASU Devon Moore 8 yd run (Jason Vitaris kick)
9 plays, 63 yards, TOP 3:16 20 - 28
05:38 ASU Devon Moore 15 yd run (Jason Vitaris kick)
3 plays, 39 yards, TOP 0:40 20 - 35