Georgia Southern running back J.J. Wilcox sped around the left side for a 12-yard gain on the first snap of the game.
But he lost the ball – out of bounds.
Despite the gain, the play was a harbinger of events to unfold later in the game at Finley Stadium.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defense had another opportunistic day on the field. It wasn’t like the Mocs’ last five games in which they forced at least three turnovers, but the one time they took the ball from GSU proved to be pivotal in their 35-27 win over the 18th-ranked Eagles.
Eagles reserve back Robert Brown saw a hole in the line and headed for it, but UTC’s Chris Donald popped the ball out and it bounced to Chris Lewis-Harris.
It was the third break in five snaps for UTC, which in that time took the lead, grabbed momentum and got the ball back.
J.J. Jackson scored four plays later on a toss around the left side, and UTC led 28-20.
“We had the lead at halftime, and this is hard to swallow,” GSU quarterback Jaybo Shaw said. “We didn’t have the ball much in the third quarter, and when we did, we put it on the ground in a terrible spot.”
Penalty-assisted
Penalties on the Georgia Southern defense helped lead to both of UTC’s first-half touchdowns.
On a third-and-10, receiver Joel Bradford drew a pas-interference penalty on Derek Heyden. The Mocs scored five plays later.
In the second quarter, Roderick Tinsley hit quarterback B.J. Coleman late, which helped move the Mocs to the GSU 9-yard line. Erroll Wynn scored three plays later.
Tinsley also helped give UTC another seven points in the third quarter when UTC missed a field -goal trial but he roughed the holder on the play for an automatic first down. Coleman scored on the very next play.
Fans in stands
Eventually, the Finley Stadium stands were nearly filled with 17,414 fans – including a couple thousand rooting for the Eagles.
That’s the largest crowd to see a UTC game since Finley Stadium opened 13 years ago. Some of the fans should have arrived a little bit earlier.
At kickoff, more than 100 fans were in line on the south side of the stadium and even more were in line for tickets at the First Tennessee Pavilion. A traffic jam even began on U.S. 27 at the Main Street exit.
More of Mora
Former Dalton High School kicker Adrian Mora, now a junior at GSU, scored the first three points of the game on a 37-yard field goal. He added a 33-yarder on the last play of the first half. He also hit all three of his extra-point attempts with former Dalton coach Ronnie McClurg in attendance.
Extra points
The UTC softball and women’s golf teams received their SoCon championship rings prior to kickoff. It was the second time Saturday for the softball team, which had its Blue-Gold game. … UTC suffered two delay-of-game penalties in the first half. … UTC’s 10-point deficit early in the second quarter was its largest hole of the year. … Wynn started the second half at running back after Keon Williams started the game.