Chattanooga Rallies To Beat Winless VMI, 34-27

Keydets Bolt To 14-0 Lead Before Mocs Rally

Saturday, October 27, 2018
John Hunt

UTC's Devonnsha Maxwell closes in on VMI quarterback Reece Udinski Saturday afternoon.
photo by Greg Davick

It’s always nice for a college football team to get a win on homecoming and that’s exactly what the Chattanooga Mocs did Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium.

Facing the Virginia Military Academy Keydets, the Mocs overcame a slow start in the first quarter and a 14-0 deficit to beat VMI by a 34-27 final, improving Chattanooga’s record to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the Southern Conference.

The Keydets have now lost 25 straight games, including eight this fall, and are now 0-7 in conference play.

VMI’s record might not be so good, but they’ve lost several close games this fall and they gave coach Tom Arth and his Mocs all they wanted on a blustery and overcast afternoon that was almost perfect for college football.

“I have the utmost respect for their coaches and players as they’re the best 0-8 team in the country,” Arth said at the beginning of his post-game comments.

“They got off to a great start, but we were able to make some adjustments to keep them off balance. We were able to gain positive yards on offense. I thought our drive in the second quarter when it was 21-7 was huge as that allowed us to take a big chunk of time off the clock. Our pass protection was good today.

“I think we let emotions get in our way early, but we had each other’s backs and we were determined to win this football game. Homecoming wins are always critical. The alumni at this school has a lot of pride and I hope we made them proud today,” Arth continued.

While Chattanooga’s offense put 34 points on the board and piled up 386 total yards, it was the Moc defense that played well too. None were any better than senior defensive end Isaiah Mack, who finished with a team-high nine tackles that included three huge sacks of VMI quarterback Reece Udinski.

The 6-3, 305-pound stud from Tunnel Hill was smiling from ear to ear when the final horn sounded. He said that he has never played offense, but he more than made his mark on the defensive side.

“We had to come together and fix what was wrong in the first quarter, but I just knew I had to give everything I had to help this football team win today. I felt good today and I love making that quarterback think about me coming around the corner after I’ve knocked him down. This was another big win for us,” Mack, who will graduate in December with a degree in criminal justice, added.

Chattanooga quarterback Nick Tiano had another steady performance as he completed 21 of 35 passes for 285 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 64-yarder to Bryce Nunnelly in the first quarter and then a 17-yarder to Wil Young with just over a minute before halftime when the Mocs tied the score at 21-21.

He was also UTC’s second leading rusher with 40 yards on a dozen attempts. His only negative was an interception that VMI’s Tyren Cloyd returned 29 yards for a touchdown midway through the opening stanza that gave the guests a 14-0 lead.

“That was a big win as we were finally able to get in a little rhythm after that first quarter. I really liked the touchdown that Bryce scored as it was a great call and I had great protection,” he expressed while standing outside a victorious Chattanooga dressing room.

“We still have some things to correct, but a win’s a win and we’ll move onto the next game,” he concluded.

VMI scored on its second possession when Quan Myers scored from the one with 7:40 left in the opening stanza.

It quickly became 14-0 when Cloyd took his interception to the house some 62 seconds later.

Tiano connected with Nunnelly at the 5:10 mark of the first quarter for a 64-yard TD and UTC’s first score of the day.

Udinski passed seven yards to Jakob Herres to put the Keydets ahead 21-7 on the first play of the second quarter, but the Mocs were able to even the score by intermission with two TDs in the final six minutes of the half.

Tyrell Price scored from the one with 6:21 left while Tiano connected with Young with 1:15 remaining. Victor Ulmo’s third straight extra point knotted the score at intermission.

Price gave the Mocs the lead for the first time with 4:13 left in the third when he concluded a 14-play, 72-yard drive with a TD run from the 5. The extra point was missed, but the Mocs had used 8:18 on that drive and the momentum had clearly shifted Chattanooga’s way.

The Mocs put the game on ice with another long drive, marching 80 yards in 11 plays and taking 6:21 off the clock when time was starting to become a critical factor. Alex Trotter’s 19-yard run with 5:57 to play turned out to be the winning touchdown of the game.

The Keydets were able to score one final touchdown, that coming on a two-yard pass from Udinski to Devone Humphrey with 1:06 to play, but VMI was out of timeouts by this point and all UTC had to do was recover a most-likely onside kick.

Cody Swabek, a senior from Louisville, was able to do just that and the Mocs were able to let the final minute elapse with any further damage.

The Mocs finished with 386 total yards that included 285 through the air and another 101 on the ground.

VMI countered with 297 total yards, including 313 through the air where Udinsk completed 29 of 52 passes. The Keydets had a minus 16 yards on 24 rushing attempts.

Kris Thornton had nine catches for 116 yards while Herres had seven for 118. Humphrey finished with 43 yards on six catches.

Nunnelly was the leading receiver for the Mocs with seven grabs for 130 yards and the 64-yard TD. Young and Price both had four receptions each for 54 and 36 yards, respectively. Joseph Parker had three grabs for 43 yards.

Price was the leading rusher with 44 yards on 19 carries followed by Tiano with 40 and Trotter with 21 yards on four attempts.

VMI had the advantage in first downs by a 23-21 margin after holding the upper hand at 12-1 following the first 15 minutes.

The Mocs play at Furman next Saturday with a 1 p.m. kickoff while VMI will be at home to host Tusculum.

VMI 14 7 0 6 -- 27

CHATTANOOGA 7 14 6 7 -- 34

VMI – Quan Myers 1 run (Grant Clemons kick), 7:40 left in first;

VMI – Tyren Cloyd 29 interception return (Clemons kick), 6:38 left in first

UTC – Bryce Nunnelly 64 pass from Nick Tiano (Victor Ulmo kick), 5:10 left in first;

VMI – Jakob Herres 7 pass from Reece Udinski (Clemons kick), 14:55 left in second;

UTC – Tyrell Price 1 run (Ulmo kick), 6:21 left in second;

UTC – Wil Young 17 pass from Tiano (Ulmo kick), 1:15 left in second;

UTC – Price 5 run (kick failed), 4:13 left in third;