JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — There was a lot of heated conversation in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga locker room at halftime of Saturday’s Southern Conference football game at East Tennessee State University.
The first half had been bad for the Mocs, who were lucky to be down just 13-0 at the break. UTC had mustered up 72 yards of total offense, and some poor tackling by its defense on the game’s first series led to an ETSU touchdown. There was trouble on special teams, too, with bad snaps leading to the Mocs missing a field-goal attempt and losing 40 yards while trying to punt.
In that case, being down by 13 was a gift for the Mocs.
But if the phrase “a tale of two halves” could be encapsulated on the scoreboard, it would have been there at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium, where the big video display read UTC 24, ETSU 16 when it was all over. It could be encapsulated in a picture of the Mocs sprinting to grab the 108-pound Rail Rivalry trophy and celebrate the program’s third consecutive win in the series.