RICHMOND, Ky. — Rusty Wright was asked about three jersey numbers Saturday night: 14, 9 and 42.
Those are worn by, respectively, receiver Ashton Schumann, running back Kevin Lalin and linebacker Zion Rutledge, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program’s eighth-year head coach had no trouble summing up what that trio had done for the Mocs in a 22-17 loss to Eastern Kentucky at Joe Kidd Stadium.
“You know what you get out of those kids,” Wright said. “They’re going to play their tails off and try like crazy, and that’s all you can ask for. You’ve got to have some other guys step up around them and help.”
On offense, that has been the whole season to this point in UTC’s 1-2 start with Southern Conference play about to begin for the Mocs.
Lalin gained 98 yards on 17 carries Saturday. Fellow transfer Schumann gained 98 yards on five catches. Between them, they accounted for 205 of UTC’s 274 offensive yards, with Lalin also having 9 receiving yards on four catches.
It was not a one-night oddity. Lalin has 290 of the Mocs’ 458 rushing yards after handling 60 of their 117 carries so far this year. Schumann has 212 of the Mocs’ 352 receiving yards after making 11 of their 27 catches. With Lalin’s five receptions, the two of them have produced 523 of UTC’s 810 yards, right at 65% of the production.
UTC has five touchdowns this season, including two from Lalin and one from Schumann, and kicker Jude Kelley has 20 of the Mocs’ 50 points.
The help has been hard to find on that side of the ball, and Wright offered one explanation after Saturday’s setback. Half his team, he said, is “sick and hurt and everything else.”
The backfield Lalin shared in the season-opening win at West Georgia on Aug. 27 no longer exists. TJ Worthy got nine carries that night but has not played since. Journey Wyche, who did not dress for the opener, ran for 113 yards in UTC’s home loss to Tennessee Tech on Sept. 5, then managed 17 on 10 carries Saturday against the Colonels (1-2).
Lalin carried 30 times in the opener and has not had fewer than 13 in either game since.
(READ MORE: Heavy workload in opener no issue for UTC’s Lalin)
The list of available receivers started short and got shorter. Returning players Taylor Crumedy and Josh Williams have yet to play a snap, and neither has transfer Will Jackson-Linkhart, who could be used at receiver or tight end. Jaden George missed the first two weeks with a hand injury and made his season debut in the starting lineup Saturday, when he was targeted three times but did not have a catch. John McIntyre started against Tennessee Tech and suffered a lower-body injury that could keep him out a month.
Eight players have caught a pass for UTC this season. Three of them have already missed a game. Schumann has been targeted 21 times, more than than a third of everything quarterback Battle Alberson has thrown.
“You’ve just got to stay consistent,” Lalin said. “Whatever the team needs me to do, me and Ashton, we’re going to be there and try to do it.”
Their production has moved together, up or down. Both cleared 100 all-purpose yards at West Georgia. Both went quiet against Tennessee Tech, when UTC did not score a touchdown. Both hit 98 on Saturday.
“It’s fun hyping my brothers up,” Lalin said. “When he makes a big play, I’m going to hype him up. When I make a big play, he’s going to hype me up.”
Schumann does not describe his current situation as added weight.
“I don’t think there’s too much pressure,” he said. “We just do our job to the best of our abilities, and we trust our coaches that they’re going to get the right play call in.”
Both of UTC’s explosive passing plays belong to him. His 72-yard touchdown on the second snap of the second half at West Georgia flipped the game. His 59-yarder Saturday put the ball at the Eastern Kentucky 5 and set up Alberson’s keeper for a 17-16 lead, the only time the Mocs were in front. Lalin’s touchdown came three minutes earlier, 27 yards up the middle on fourth-and-1.
The lead did not survive the weather. A 30-minute lightning delay sent both teams to the locker room, and the Mocs did not score again. They gained 17 yards in the fourth quarter, all on the ground, and Eastern Kentucky went 79 yards in nine plays for the winning touchdown with 3:48 to play.
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When neither Lalin nor Schumann has produced something big, UTC has been forced to settle. The Mocs have scored on eight of nine trips into the red zone but reached the end zone on only three of those. They converted 10 of 17 third downs in the opener and are 3-of-13 in each game since.
“You’ve got to take it on the chin and use this as motivation,” Lalin said. “It’s a long season, and we’ve got a lot of ball left.”
That includes at least nine games to complete the regular season, eight of those against SoCon opponents starting with Saturday’s visit from Wofford (2-1, 1-0). Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Finley Stadium, where the winner will break a 16-16 tie in the all-time series between the Mocs and the Terriers.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.