If the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga set out to send a message Saturday afternoon in its Football Championship Subdivision first-round game against Fordham, that message was heard loud and clear in the first 30 minutes.
That’s how long it took for the seventh-ranked Mocs to build a 31-0 halftime lead on the way to a 50-20 victory over the 14th-ranked Rams at Finley Stadium.
The Mocs ran 37 plays for 326 yards in the opening two quarters, while the defense limited a Fordham team that had averaged 456.6 yards per game and 38.8 points in the regular season to 145 yards, seven first downs and no points.
“It was very important for us to get off to a good start,” said receiver James Stovall from Bradley Central High School, who had a career-best two touchdowns in the game. “We were able to be a little more relaxed.
“For us to have a good game, it was important to have a good start.”