Samford defensive back William Bryant tackles UTC wide receiver Bryce Nunnelly during Saturday night's game at Finley Stadium. Nunnelly finished with 108 yards on five catches.For the third straight game, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team jumped out to a double-digit lead.
For the third straight time, the Mocs had to hold on to win - but they did.
UTC built a 17-0 first-half lead Saturday against Samford, ranked 17th in the Football Championship Subdivision and favored in the preseason to win the Southern Conference, but they had to sweat out a final pass in the end zone that fell incomplete in what turned out to be a 27-20 win in front of 10,469 at Finley Stadium.
It was UTC's fifth consecutive win and sixth in its past seven games, a streak that started with last season's 23-21 win over the then-No. 8 Bulldogs in Birmingham, Alabama. The Mocs will travel to East Tennessee State (3-1, 2-0) for another big SoCon clash next Saturday in Johnson City.
"It's a great environment," UTC coach Tom Arth said. "What this game really represents is a lot of guys looking out for each other. It was a complete team win. In so many ways. Offensively, we got out to a great start and put some points on the board. Defensively, we created some key takeaways.
"We had a hard time running the football towards the end of the game, so we ended up putting our defense in some tough situations, but they continued to respond. They certainly responded with great effort at the end. They continued to fight and found a way. In the end, it's a real testament to that group and to that team in what playing for each other means to them. That's the thing I'm most proud of. This group is playing for each other."
UTC junior quarterback Nick Tiano threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns, but the Mocs' offense sputtered some after a first quarter in which it had 180 yards on 22 plays. UTC finished with 364 yards of total offense, 73 fewer than the high-octane Bulldogs' attack. Tyrell Price finished with 45 yards on 23 carries and added 61 receiving yards.
Bryce Nunnelly had 108 yards on five catches, all in the first half. It was his fourth consecutive game with at least that many receiving yards.
The UTC defense - which was on the field for 89 plays - forced four turnovers, including three interceptions. Two came in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs were trying to come back.
"Coach said we had to have it," defensive lineman Derek Mahaffey said. "No excuses. We're built for it and work so hard every day for this. We told Coach we weren't coming out. We were staying in the game because we feel as if we're the best defensive line unit in the nation. We had to have it."
Tiano and Nunnelly hooked up on the game's first drive for a 55-yard scoring pass, as Nunnelly was wide open running through the Samford defense for his fourth score of the season. Victor Ulmo kicked a 23-yard field goal on the next possession, and then the Mocs used a 13-play, 99-yard drive to go up 17-0 after Tiano found Price on a screen pass.
The 6-foot, 220-pound junior running back did the rest of the work, shaking off a tackle, breaking a couple of others and lunging into the end zone for his sixth score of his first UTC season.
The drive started after linebacker Marshall Cooper forced a Samford fumble at the UTC 1-yard line that was recovered by Hawk Schrider.
Samford and quarterback Devlin Hodges rallied back, scoring 13 consecutive points to cut the lead to 17-13 in the third quarter. The Mocs responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive, with Tiano finding Joseph Parker on a 46-yard completion downfield before the quarterback plunged in on a 5-yard run to help make it 24-13.
Ulmo hit his second field goal of the game 19 seconds into the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs' Hodges - who finished 44-of-62 passing for 362 yards - hit Chris Shelling for his lone touchdown pass to help cut the lead to 27-20.
UTC then ended the Bulldogs' following drive with a Kareem Orr interception, but Samford drove downfield in the final 99 seconds before a final pass in the end zone was thrown too high.
"It's great to get a win against a great team," Tiano said. "We're jumping out to these big leads, but we have to figure out a way to keep it going for the rest of the game. We need to quit making it so close and putting pressure on our defense."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.