-The 8th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs defense was in shutdown mode in a 21-0 win at Presbyterian in a non-conference matchup. The Mocs are now 3-1, while the Blue Hose fall to 1-3 on a rainy night in Bailey Memorial Stadium.
It was more than an impressive performance from the defense in the first shutout since a 51-0 win at Western Carolina last season. The Mocs allowed their hosts a meager 117 yards of total offense, a miniscule eight in the second half.
"Everybody was on one page and knew what we wanted to do," defensive end Keionta Davis said.
"We knew who we had to come play against. The coaches did a good job preparing us and everybody played as one."
Offensively, Chattanooga rolled up 400 yards with a season-high 293 on the ground. Jacob Huesman led the way with 132 yards, followed by running backs Derrick Craine and Richardre Bagley with 82 and 74, respectively. The unit ran up yards while controlling the clock for 38:30.
"I think we moved the ball pretty effectively," Jacob Huesman noted. "The guys up front did a great job moving the line of scrimmage. We just did a couple of things that killed some drives and made it tough on us. The yard total doesn't match the point total.
"That's what we needed, to kind of play the complete game team-wise. Obviously, we could have scored more points and helped out the defense. We played really well as a team. I'm proud of our guys."
The play of the game came from the defensive side of the ball at the start of the fourth quarter. Ben Cheek dropped back for PC under a heavy rush. His pass was deflected at the line by Josh Freeman and snatched at the 44 by Toyvian Brand.
The senior headed to the right sideline crossing the goal line for his first career score.
"I commend Free (Josh Freeman) for getting up there…you know he's pretty short…he got up there knocked it down, right in my hands," Brand smiled. "I felt pressure so I kicked it in another gear."
Davis had a career-high three sacks on the night and has five in the last two games. He ended up with a career-high five tackles, one off of Cedric Nettles team-high six. The defense finished with four sacks and nine total tackles for loss.
"We put them (the defense) in a couple of bad situations, whether it was special teams or the offense with a couple of bad turnovers and they responded," coach Russ Huesman said. "We responded with a great stop and we responded with a touchdown, and that is what great defenses do.
"I am awful proud of them. We rushed the passer again today and he had no time to throw the football. I thought our linebacker play was good. It didn't look like they had anybody open."
PC was led by Chattanooga native Darrell Bridges who ran for 87 yards on 12 carries. The rest of the Blue Hose offense accounted for just 20 yards. Cheek was 5-10 passing for 38 yards with one interception, while starter Tamyn Garrett was limited to five yards on 1-8 in the air.
Donelle Williams tied his career high with 18 stops on the night. Ed Britt added 13 tackles and an interception.
Chattanooga takes a week off before returning home October 10 hosting SoCon-rival Furman. Kickoff is 1:00 p.m. (E.D.T.), with coverage from ESPN3.com. GoMocs.com has links to video, audio, stats and more. Fans can follow live updates on Twitter @GoMocsFB.