LEXINGTON, Va. - This time, Sema'je Kendall found the green grass.
And it couldn't have happened at a better time.
A week after intercepting a pass in the end zone against Furman, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior defensive back stepped in front of an Al Cobb pass early in the fourth quarter Saturday and returned the interception 28 yards for what turned out to be the difference in a 33-27 Southern Conference win over Virginia Military Institute in front of 6,104 at Foster Stadium.
UTC's A.J. Hampton (42) and Josh Freeman (95) bring down VMI's bullish running back, Derrick Ziglar, during Saturday's Southern Conference game in Lexington, Va.The sixth-ranked Mocs (5-1, 3-0), who won their 10th consecutive SoCon game, will be back on the road this Saturday at Wofford (3-4, 1-2). The league leaders fell behind 21-10 against the Keydets (1-6, 0-3).
"It was a great win," UTC coach Russ Huesman said. "When you go play a game, the only thing to worry about is whether you won or lost right now. We have to get better, but give VMI a lot of credit. They've got a lot of good players, and the coaches have done an unbelievable job of changing the mindset. They play to win, not to survive."
UTC had 490 yards of total offense but scored only two offensive touchdowns as the VMI defense stiffened in the red zone. Kicker Henrique Ribeiro had four field goals for the Mocs, tying a school record.
Quarterback Jacob Huesman had 219 yards passing and 97 rushing, while running back Derrick Craine had 112 yards for his second consecutive 100-yard game, third this season and fourth of his career.
Wil Young had six catches for 82 yards - both career highs.
UTC's James Stovall was brought down by a Keydets defender after catching a pass in the Mocs' 33-27 Southern Conference victory in Lexington, Va.The Mocs led 10-7 after a 19-yard touchdown pass from Huesman to James Stovall, but VMI answered with 14 consecutive points in a 91-second span. Dontae Mauck hauled in a 69-yard pass from Cobb, and then the sophomore quarterback scored from 6 yards out after a Caleb Furlow interception of Huesman was returned deep into UTC territory.
UTC answered with 23 unanswered points, none bigger than Kendall's big pickoff with 13:37 remaining in the game.
"I was supposed to drive my guy first, and if he goes under I was supposed to jump back out," Kendall said. "He threw the ball right at me, but as soon as I got to the sideline, the guys were on me, telling me, 'So that's the green grass you were talking about.'"
The Keydets answered with a touchdown pass from Cobb to Chad Jacob, capping an 11-play, 77-yard drive that took only 2:44 and left 6:14 remaining, but they wouldn't touch the ball again as the UTC offense made big plays when it had to. Faced with a second-and-18 from the UTC 41 after a holding penalty, Huesman swung the ball out to Xavier Borishade, who gained 17 yards. That set up a third-and-1 play, which Craine converted by rushing 5 yards.
The Mocs then had the ball at the VMI 33 on fourth-and-6, and Huesman passed to Alphonso Stewart for a 17-yard completion that helped seal the win.
The UTC defense made five sacks. Nakevion Leslie and Keionta Davis had 1.5 each, while Toyvian Brand was credited with one and Isaiah Mack and Dee Virgin each got a half-sack.
A.J. Hampton's eight tackles led the team, while Leslie had seven.
Cobb had 190 yards passing for the Keydets. Derrick Ziglar added 70 yards rushing, but the offense that entered the game averaging 399.3 total yards per game was held to 262, including just 1 in the third quarter.
"We fought hard and played a tough, four-quarter game," VMI coach Scott Wachenheim said. "I'm very proud of the effort of our team. I thought third downs were the difference on offense: We didn't convert; they did. They were able to have long possessions and keep our defense on the field. We were more hit and miss and big plays, but today was a great effort in offense, defense and the kicking game."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.
Wide receiver Wil Young had a career-best day against VMI for UTC, with six catches for 82 yards.