The adversity for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team started long before kickoff Saturday afternoon.
But just as they overcame one of their buses breaking down on the way to the game against Virginia Military Institute, the Mocs overcame a largely lackluster performance on the field, using VMI's missed extra-point attempt, their own defensive stand and a crucial first down gained in the fourth quarter to defeat the Keydets 24-23.
It was UTC's first win in Lexington, Virginia, since 2017, and the first in three tries there for Rusty Wright as head coach of the Mocs after they lost close road battles with the Keydets in 2019 and 2021. The Mocs are now 19-9-1 all-time against the Keydets, including 9-6 in away games.
UTC improved to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the Southern Conference this season, and with Mercer defeating Western Carolina 45-38 later Saturday, the Mocs will have a chance to play for the SoCon's automatic bid to the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs next weekend at home. It was the second league loss for Western Carolina, which beat UTC 52-20 on a last-second field goal on Oct. 7 at Finley Stadium.
The Mocs, who have yet to reach their open date this season, have just one game remaining on their SoCon schedule. Furman which defeated East Tennessee State University 16-8 to improve to 7-1, 5-0, is the opponent at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday at Finley. UTC is ranked in both FCS polls (15th by coaches, 17th by media), with Furman (7-1, 5-0) at No. 3 in both.
Against VMI, Gino Appleberry rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown in his second game as the Mocs’ premier running back after the loss of Ailym Ford to a torn ACL. But it was Appleberry's 19-yard catch-and-run for a third-down conversion inside the final two minutes that proved to be his biggest play of the game.
“Chase (Artopoeus) did a great job reading the defense there,” Appleberry said of UTC's first-year starting quarterback. “We knew they were trying to send an all-out blitz and we only have give guys in protection at that point, and they had me on a free release, so I caught the ball and tried to stretch as much as I can to get the first down.”
For the second consecutive game, the Mocs jumped on an opponent early. Last weekend it was a 21-3 halftime edge at home against ETSU, this weekend it was a 14-0 lead at VMI.
But just like against the Buccaneers, the Mocs appeared to get stagnant after building that advantage — and unlike last time, the Mocs were almost hurt by it. UTC ran four more plays in the second half than it did in the first, but the Mocs gained only 108 yards in the final 30 minutes after a 248-yard first half.
“I didn’t think we played our best brand of ball,” said Artopoeus, who was 9-for-17 passing for 184 yards with no interceptions and one touchdown, an 18-yarder to Javin Whatley in the first half.
“I think we started off strong, but definitely in the second quarter we kind of calmed down a little bit. I think that we played hard; I don’t think that was the problem. I think it’s just the execution — I don’t think we executed at the highest level we could. That being said, I think a lot of it is stuff we can fix, and I’m excited to get in the film room, get on the practice field and fix it before Furman.”
VMI rallied with back-to-back touchdown runs of 67 and 4 yards by Hunter Rice to make it 14-all midway through the second quarter, and though the Mocs quickly regained the lead and were up 21-17 at halftime, Clayton Crile’s 48-yard field goal provided their only points in the second half.
The Keydets drove downfield early in the fourth quarter as Hunter scored his third touchdown on a 7-yard run to make it 24-23, only for kicker Caden Beck to miss the PAT. After a three-and-out series for UTC's offense, the Keydets got the ball back with 6:13 to play and pushed to midfield before UTC’s defense stiffened, with linemen Montrell Henderson and Marlon Taylor combining for a sack on third down to force a punt.
The Mocs never gave the ball back.
Saturday won’t go down as a masterpiece performance for UTC, but it will register as a win, and while there’s still work to do against preseason SoCon favorite Furman, the Mocs have given themselves an opportunity.
“This was just a Southern Conference football game,” said Wright, who played for the Mocs and was twice an assistant before returning as the program's leader ahead of the 2019 season. “The kids figured it out and we made a couple of plays down the stretch, got the ball back for three minutes and didn’t give it back.”
Reggie Davis rushed for 65 yards and the first touchdown of his UTC career, a 45-yard scamper for the game’s first points, and Jamoi Mayes had 82 yards on three catches. Linebacker Kobe Joseph compiled 13 tackles and an interception that led to the Mocs’ second score, while edge rushers Ben Brewton and Jay Person each was credited with a sack.
The UTC defense forced the Keydets — who held the ball for 36:22 and ran 76 plays to UTC’s 52 on Saturday — to punt on three of their five second-half possessions, with the Mocs’ Jordan Walker intercepting a pass in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.