HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Keionta Davis said before the season that he couldn't wait for other people to see what University of Tennessee at Chattanooga quarterback Alejandro Bennifield could do in the latter's first season as a starter.
And while it wasn't quite good enough Saturday, it'll be hard to find a better complete performance by the junior.
He finished with 295 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 85 yards in the Mocs' 41-36 loss to top-ranked and fifth-seeded Sam Houston State. Despite having what could be considered an up-and-down season, he had thrown for 2,327 yards and 25 touchdowns and earned second-team All-Southern Conference honors.
He was at the helm of an offense that piled up 382 yards in the final 30 minutes of Saturday's game, helping to erase a 21-point deficit and nearly pull off the biggest win of the Russ Huesman coaching era. The Mocs fell a fourth-down pass into the end zone short of victory.
Bennifield was 17-for-26 for 225 yards and a touchdown, while finding rushing lanes to run for 74 of his season-high total.
"I thought Alejandro played excellent," Huesman said. "He looked like a big-time player. He made plays with his feet, he threw the ball well and made big plays.
"I thought he had a great game."
The quarterback was willing to concede that the second half was probably the best he'd played, but he credited an attitude shift from the team in the locker room to the better performance.
"Being it was under the most pressure, it was probably the best I've played," he said. "I could have played better, but I played pretty well in the second half."
With so many key names graduating this season - Davis, running back Derrick Craine, linebacker Nakevion Leslie and offensive lineman Corey Levin, to name but a few - the team is going to be Bennifield's next season. He'll enter it having just tied B.J. Coleman (2009) for the second-most touchdown passes in a single season with 26.
"That's what I know he can do," Davis said of Bennifield's performance. "That's my quarterback, and I've got 100 percent trust in that man. There's a lot that didn't know who he was, didn't expect him to go out and do what he did, but that man's tough. He's taking hits straight on, throwing great passes.
"You go watch Dro on film, you'll see a great competitor, a great guy that makes all the throws. He knows what he's doing. Chattanooga's going to be all right in his hands."
Notes
C.J. Board, who had six catches for 129 yards Saturday, finished his career with 146 catches to move ahead of Jeremy Grier (2001-03) and Terrell Owens (1992-95) for sixth-most in school history. Board also finished with 2,032 yards to pass Joel Bradford for fifth. Craine wound up with 2,997 career yards rushing, fifth all-time. He also had a pair of rushing scores to pass Keon Williams (2010-14) for second all-time with 31. Henrique Ribeiro finished with a school-record 48 field goals made, 103 extra points and 307 career points.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.