Two University of Chattanooga football players have been honored as All-Americans for their classes by HeroSports.com. Wide receiver Bryce Nunnelly was named to the website’s sophomore All-American team and defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell was chosen for its freshman All-American team. Also, Jacksonville State junior long snapper Josh Brady from Silverdale Baptist Academy was one of three Gamecocks who made the Hero Sports overall FCS All-America second team; another was a third-team selection. Brady snapped for every extra-point kick, field-goal try and punt in a season in which Jacksonville State scored 520 points, third-most in school history. Nunnelly enjoyed a breakout season in 2018, with the former Walker Valley High School player earning All-Southern Conference first-team honors after totaling 1,237 receiving yards, second-best in UTC history, and averaging 112.5 receiving yards per game, seventh in the nation and second in the SoCon. Maxwell, who is from Valdosta, Georgia, and redshirted in 2017, played in nine of 11 games this past season, starting five, including the last three. He made 32 tackles and was second on the team with 6.5 stops for loss and 5.5 sacks, with the latter total trailing only Joshua Williams’ seven in 2009 for most by a Mocs freshman. Maxwell also made the SoCon’s all-freshman list.
WRESTLING
» UTC lost 22-19 to Ohio University on Thursday night in Athens, Ohio, dropping to 1-2 in dual meets this season. The Mocs trailed by seven points twice but led by six before losing the last two matches. The meet began at 165 pounds, and the Bobcats went up 7-0 before UTC’s Dominic Lampe got six points with a forfeit win, and Ohio earned two more decisions for a 13-6 lead. The Mocs’ Fabian Gutierrez overcame a 4-2 deficit and won by pin with five seconds left in the 125-pound match against a Mid-American Conference champion and two-time NCAA tournament qualifier, and Jake Huffine and Chris Debien followed with a 13-1 major decision at 133 and a 4-3 decision at 141 for a 19-13 Mocs margin. But the Bobcats got a pin at 149 to tie and a 10-8 decision at 157 to win. In previous matches against other top Southern Conference wrestling contenders, Ohio had lost 19-13 to Campbell and won 25-16 over Appalachian State. “I think our guys overall are doing a great job. We just have to fix the details,” first-year Mocs coach Kyle Ruschell said in a UTC release. “We are not supposed to be the March version of ourselves in December. We just need to fix the little things and keep working.”
BASKETBALL
» Dalton State College trailed by a point at halftime and by 12 during the second half before rallying to beat Life University 83-78 Wednesday in Marietta, Georgia. The host Running Eagles (10-5) led 71-59 with less than eight minutes to go before the Roadrunners (6-5) made their comeback, keyed by six straight points from Elijah Staley to tie the game at 73 as part of a 16-2 run that ended when Sean Cranney made three free throws for a 78-76 advantage. Randy Bell led Dalton State with 18 points and had six rebounds and three steals. Staley added 16 points and Sean Chislom scored 14 – each on 6-for-9 shooting – and Cranney had 12 points with four assists.
SOCCER
» The Covenant College women’s team this week received a team ethics award from the United Soccer Coaches for the eighth year in a row and 12th time since 2001, and this one was the Lady Scots’ second Gold Award in that span. That is second to Platinum in recognizing “fair play, sporting behavior and adherence to the laws of the game” as shown in the small number of yellow and red cards a team receives in a season. Coach Mark Duble’s Lady Scots were shown two yellows while going 11-8-1 in 2018.