QB Jacob Huesman
photo by Michael Ohagan
The Chattanooga Mocs missed a golden opportunity to get their first win of the season Saturday night at a spirited Finley Stadium.
In a game where the UTC offense didn't score a touchdown and didn't even get its first first down until midway through the third quarter, the Mocs still came mighty close to pulling out a stirring comeback win over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks before an announced crowd of 14,285.
As it turned out, JSU quarterback Eli Jenkins scored the winning touchdown on a 13-yard run in overtime after the Mocs had taken their first lead of the game on Henrique Ribeiro's third field goal of the game, a 29-yarder in OT.
For all practical purposes, the Chattanooga offense didn't deserve a victory, but the scrappy Moc defense surely did.
"That was a tough game, but give Jacksonville State credit as they came in here and played a very physical football game. They did a fantastic job and they won it fair and square," said UTC coach Russ Huesman after his team had lost in heartbreaking fashion for the second-straight week.
"We were an embarrassment on offense. We only had 111 total yards and we didn't even get a first down until the third quarter. We've got to fix that, but for whatever reason, we just aren't getting it done on offense," he added.
Thank goodness the UTC football team has a defense or the Mocs would have been shutout in the first half.
The Gamecocks gained 265 yards in the first half and had two touchdowns and a field goal to show for it, but the lead was only 17-14 after UTC returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the first 30 minutes.
The Mocs offense must still be in Michigan as they were limited to negative yards in the first half, including two passing yards and a negative seven on 14 rushing attempts.
JSU struck first when Miles Jones bolted 12 yards for the first TD with 11:07 left in the first quarter.
The Mocs knotted the score when Dee Virgin picked off a Jenkins pass and returned it 55 yards for the tying score with 6:28 left in the first.
The Gamecocks, running about what they wanted to on offense, made it 14-7 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half when DaMarcus James scored from the 4, ending an 88-yard drive which took 11 plays and erased some 4:45 off the clock.
A 42-yard field goal by Connor Rouleau with 6:11 remaining in the half extended the JSU lead to 17-7, but the Moc defense struck again when Lucas Webb returned a pass from quarterback Max Shortell 37 yards to close to within 17-14 at the 2:32 mark following Henrique Ribeiro's second extra-point kick.
While UTC was limited to no first downs and minus five yards on 18 total plays, the Gamecocks had 15 first downs on 265 total yards, including 186 on the ground.
The second half was somewhat better for the UTC offense as they finished with 73 yards rushing and 38 yards passing, but the former Baylor star kept the Mocs in contention with his three second-half field goals.
The Chattanooga defense didn't allow much in the second half and had stopped the Gamecocks at the Jacksonville State 12, forcing a punt with less than a minute to play in regulation.
UTC's Tommy Hudson fielded the punt at the Chattanooga 45 and made a couple of acrobatic cuts before bolting down the left sideline for what appeared to be the go-ahead touchdown with 30 seconds to play.
However, the celebration was short lived as the Mocs were flagged for a block in the back on the return. As had been the case all game long, the UTC offense couldn't even get a first down and the fourth-quarter clock expired without anything further happening.
Jacksonville State won the coin toss going into overtime and the Gamecocks chose to play defense.
The choice was a good one as Ribeiro's final field goal gave Chattanooga its only lead of the game.
James got the visitors off and running with back-to-back six-yard gains, setting up Jenkins winning score.
"Our defense played like warriors and we still had a chance to win the game in regulation," said coach Huesman.
"I told Tommy Hudson to catch that punt and do something with it and that's exactly what he did. I just hope that was a good call on the illegal block, but we just need to regroup and find a way to win next week," he concluded.
Jacksonville State coach John Grass earned his first victory as the Gamecock head man after serving as their offensive coordinator and assistant head coach a year ago. He was just happy to be leaving town with a hard-earned win.
"This was a good road victory for us as we played in a great college football atmosphere tonight," he said outside the JSU locker room.
"We just beat a solid football team, but we made it interesting at the end. The ball seemed to fall their way on those two interceptions in the first half. I've never been in a situation where our offense was so dominant and we were only up by three at the half.
"But I'm really proud of the way my guys perservered. This takes away some of the pain from last week," he concluded, referring to a 45-7 whipping his team took at Michigan State.
Jacksonville State finished the game with 409 total yards, including 285 on the ground and 124 through the air.
James was the rushing leader with 112 yards on 29 carries while Jenkins added 82 on eight carries, including a long of 48 that set up his team's second TD early in the second quarter.
Williams finished with 62 yards rushing on 24 carries to lead the Mocs after being limited to just six yards on six carries in the first half. Jacob Huesman added 11 yards on 16 carries, but he also absorbed 33 yards in losses trying to pass.
Markis Merrill had four catches for 19 yards to lead the JSU receivers while Josh Barge, Ruben Gonzalez and Anthony Johnson all had three catches for 43, 16 and seven yards, respectively.
C.J. Board was the leader in receptions for Chattanooga with three for 24 yards, including a long of 17.
The Gamecocks will be off next week as they prepare for their home opener against West Alabama on Sept. 20. The Mocs will be heading to Clarksville next Saturday looking for their first win against Austin Peay.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 7 10 3 0 6 -- 26
CHATTANOOGA 7 7 3 3 3 -- 23
JSU -- Miles Jones 12 run (Connor Rouleau kick), 11:07 left in first;
UTC -- Dee Virgin 55 interception return (Henrique Ribeiro kick), 6:28 left in first;
JSU -- Damarcus James 4 run (Rouleau kick), 10:06 left in second;
JSU -- Rouleau 42 field goal, 6:11 left in second;
UTC -- Lucas Webb 37 interception return (Ribeiro kick), 2:32 left in second;
JSU -- Rouleau 21 field goal, 11:54 left in third;
UTC -- Ribeiro 26 field goal, 3:13 left in third;
UTC -- Ribeiro 22 field goal, 12:19 left in fourth;
UTC -- Ribeiro 29 field goal in overtime;
JSU -- Eli Jenkins 13 run in overtime (no conversion attempted as game over at that point)
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@Comcast.net)