UTC Mocs' Board, Borishade relish dual 100-yard day

UTC receiver Xavier Borishade runs for extra yards after making a catch on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn., on the way to a 31-17 win over the Citadel.
UTC receiver Xavier Borishade runs for extra yards after making a catch on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn., on the way to a 31-17 win over the Citadel.

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive coordinator Jeff Durden entered last week's game against The Citadel expecting the 20th-ranked Bulldogs to emphasize stopping the Mocs' potent rushing attack.

UTC wide receivers C.J. Board and Xavier Borishade were given a number of opportunities, and they took advantage.

The duo combined for 10 catches for 223 yards and a touchdown in the Mocs' 31-23 victory, which sealed the program's second consecutive trip into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs by virtue of the Southern Conference's automatic bid. The Mocs will find out their playoff fate Sunday, but first they have a date Saturday with a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent, 16th-ranked Florida State.

"It's been a long time coming," Board said of the passing eruption. "Jake (quarterback Jacob Huesman) played a great game. It's up to him and the line, and they blocked well, so it was awesome.

"It always feels good to know you have two receivers playing really well."

Both made key catches, with six of their grabs going for first downs and a seventh - a 75-yard completion from Alejandro Bennifield to Borishade on the game's first play - going for a score.

"I feel the way we prepared, even if that play hadn't worked, not much would have changed," Borishade said. "It would have been second-and-10 and we would have taken it to them. I feel we knew the defense (Citadel) played, they see run all the time, so we wanted to win on the perimeter, whether it was blocking or catching passes. They switched defenses a lot, but Coach Durden is a great coach and he trusts us to do what we have to do.

"If we passed, we were ready to go make a play."

Board finished with 116 yards and Borishade with 107, becoming the first pair of UTC teammates to go over 100 receiving yards in the same game since Clint Woods and Blue Cooper did so in a 2008 game. That was against NAIA member Cumberland, though; the stakes were much higher in Saturday's win.

"Those guys are playmakers, man," quarterback Huesman said. "When you see Xavier take one 75 yards on the first play, that's absolutely huge. C.J. made some great catches on third downs. Those are dependable guys, dependable guys. If you give them a chance in space, they'll make something happen, and they showed it today."

Huesman's 57-yard completion to Board, which set up a touchdown, was as perfect a pass as the 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior has thrown all season. The second he threw the ball, he said he knew it was, at the very least, a first down.

"Right before the play, we said in the huddle that if they give a Cover-2 look, to run the play this way instead of what we were going to run," Huesman said. "Sure enough, the corner played hard and the safety was over the top and I was like, 'C.J. is getting this ball.' When I let it go, I knew it was a first down. He made a great play on the ball with strong hands on it."

They've been the team's top two receiving options this season, with Board leading the team with 33 catches for 413 yards and a pair of scores while Borishade had a team-high 436 yards on 30 receptions with three touchdowns.

Durden credited the offensive coaching staff for being prepared for everything the Bulldogs might throw at UTC. It started with establishing the interior, which gave the Mocs opportunities to win battles on the perimeter, which they did.

"This goes to the kids," he said. "They believed in it, they executed it and they took care of the ball. We had one drive in which we didn't - it seems we can't play a ballgame without making a mistake late; we choose one drive to not show up - but if we can eliminate that, we'll make some noise in these playoffs because we still have some goals to accomplish."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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