Elon hands Mocs sixth loss in a row

In a game that seemed to have a little bit of everything — amazing catches, wild turnovers, blocked kicks and botched punts — only the result went according to form.

Eighth-ranked Elon handed the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga its sixth consecutive loss Saturday at Finley Stadium, scoring the game’s final 39 points in a 42-7 win. The loss was the Mocs’ fourth in Southern Conference play, all of them by at least 24 points.

“It’s frustrating, no doubt about it,” said UTC linebacker Jarvis Newson, who had three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. “We’ve got four games left and we’ve got to focus on winning those and trying to get better.”

The Mocs (1-7, 0-4), who are off this Saturday, came out like a team ready to earn its first SoCon win of the season. Despite a tiny crowd — the paid attendance was 4,505, but not half that many people were present — UTC held Elon (7-1, 5-0) to a field goal on its first drive thanks to a 17-yard sack by Newson.

Elon led 3-0 after the opening quarter. On the first play of the second, Mocs quarterback Jare Gault hit Clint Woods for a 4-yard touchdown pass to give UTC its first lead since the Cumberland game on Sept. 6 and its first lead of the season against a Division I opponent.

After the touchdown, much to the surprise of Mocs coach Rodney Allison, nearly the entire team ran out onto the field to celebrate in the end zone — the same thing Georgia did against Florida a year ago.

“That was done by the players. I didn’t have anything to do with it,” said Allison.

The celebration drew a 15-yard penalty. Wide receiver Blue Cooper, one of the few players who remained on the sideline, said he wasn’t aware of it, either.

“I think the defensive guys came up with that because I didn’t know about it, and I was just about the only guy on the sideline while that was going on,” said Cooper, who had one catch for 20 yards.

Allison said he told his team the ploy was no big deal if the defense made a stop on the ensuing possession, which the defense sort of did by holding Elon to a 38-yard Andrew Wilcox field goal.

After that, the madness began. A play after the Mocs’ Joseph Thornton nearly intercepted a pass that was tipped by Newson, Brandon Newsome scored on a 2-yard run to put Elon up 13-7. On UTC’s next possession, Gault was hit as he threw and Elon’s Nolan Ward intercepted the pass and returned it 27 yards to the UTC 39-yard line.

Newson forced a Newsome fumble, but on the second play after that, Cooper tried to make a catch. As he went to the ground, the ball popped up in the air and Elon’s Dorance Daniels caught it. Two plays later, Elon quarterback Scott Riddle hit Terrell Hudgins for a 9-yard touchdown and a 20-7 halftime lead.

Allison, whose career record dropped to 17-47, had said Wednesday that UTC was going to win the game. After the loss, he said he did not regret the comment.

“I thought we were going to win, I really did, and I wouldn’t have said that if I didn’t think so,” he said.

The Mocs opened the second half with an interception by Chris Lewis-Harris but couldn’t get anything going offensively. They had 87 yards of offense after the first quarter but did little the rest of the game, netting minus-3 yards in the second half.

Gault finished 7-for-15 for 54 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Tony Pastore played the fourth quarter and was 1-for-8 for 2 yards. Clint Woods led UTC with six catches for 24 yards, and Erroll Wynn rushed 22 times for 82 yards.

Elon’s new ground attack was led by freshman Jamal Shuman, who had 18 carries for 166 yards, and Newsome, who ran 23 times for 95 yards. Riddle finished 13-for-20 for 162 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.