MACON, Ga. (November 13) — The Chattanooga Mocs football team suffered from five turnovers and three missed kicks during a 10-6 loss to Mercer in a key Southern Conference tilt on Saturday afternoon inside Five Star Stadium in Macon, Ga.
Following the loss, Chattanooga falls to 6-4 overall and 5-2 in league play. Mercer improves their mark to 7-2 and 6-1 in the SoCon, taking over the top spot from the Mocs heading into the final week.
“They played their butts off [UTC defense]. You give up 10 points in a college football game, you have to find a way to win it,” said head coach Rusty Wright.
“It’s going to happen. It happens to all of them. I’m proud of those kids, I love them. I’ll fight for them. They’ll fight. We just have to handle situations better and understand things better. We have to continue to grow to make things happen.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a highly-anticipated matchup, Chattanooga and Mercer played to a scoreless tie in the opening frame that saw scoring opportunities for the visitors come up empty. The Mocs failed to convert on a 41-yard field goal attempt and turned the ball over on an interception during the first quarter of play.
UTC struck first with 10:55 left in the second quarter when Ailym Ford barreled his way into the endzone from 10-yards out to cap off a 10-play, 70-yard scoring drive. The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful which led to a 6-0 Mocs lead. Mercer responded with a 12-play, 68-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing possession to jump ahead 7-6, a lead they would carry into the halftime break.
The theme of missed opportunities continued for Chattanooga in the second half. Receiving the second half kick, UTC fumbled on its first possession before punting it away and missing on a 22-yard field goal chance on its second and third possessions, respectively, of the third quarter.
The missed field goal was set up by a Ty Boeck interception deep in Mocs territory in which he returned it 85 yards all the way down to the Mercer 10. Two stuffed run plays and a missed throw and catch in the corner of the endzone prompted the field goal attempt.
UTC turned the ball over on its first two possessions (fumble, interception) of the final quarter, and allowed solid field position for the hosts. The Bears converted on a 38-yard field goal with 1:31 left in the game to make it a 10-6 margin. Mercer then recovered the kickoff after causing a fumble on a direct kick into the front line of the UTC return team, denying any chance of a comeback effort.
BY THE NUMBERS
Chattanooga continued its stellar play on the defensive side of the ball, limiting Mercer to just 163 yards of total offense including a mere 56 yards on the ground. UTC posted 285 yards of total offense, led by 171 yards through the air, but turned the ball over five times.
Despite the five turnovers (two INTs, three fumbles), the Mocs defense did not allow a single point to stem from the miscues. Starting quarterback Cole Copeland finished 13-of-25 for 169 yards and two interceptions. Ford led the ground attack with 57 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while Tyrell Price added 83 all-purpose yards on 16 carries and three receptions.
Defensively, Kam Jones led the tackling efforts with 8.0 total including 1.0 for TFL while Boeck followed with 6.5 total takedowns and an interception for 85 yards. The team finished with 3.0 sacks for 42 yards with Ben Brewton leading the way with 1.5 sacks. Jerrell Lawson (1.0) and Jay Person (0.5) added to the sack totals.
RECORDS – CHATTANOOGA (6-4, 5-2) | MERCER (7-2, 6-1)
SERIES – Chattanooga now leads the all-time series 20-11-1.
3 NOTES TO KNOW
– Mercer came into the contest with the seventh-best rushing attack in the country at 234.4 yards per game…42 carries for just 56 yards today…1.3 yards per rush…4th time holding opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground: at North Alabama (38), Western Carolina (46) & at Samford (69).
– Five turnovers (2 INT/3 Fumbles)…just the fourth multi-TO game by the Mocs this season with three vs Austin Peay and two each in wins at North Alabama and against ETSU…-4 in turnover margin after coming into the game second in the nation in the stat (+10)…six total turnovers between the two teams but zero points off TOs for the game.
– Ty Boeck’s 85-yard interception ties for the fourth longest in school history with D.J. Key (Western Carolina-Oct. 15, 2011)…longest return WITHOUT scoring…collected seven tackles.
Check out all the extra info at the notes link at the top of the story.
QUOTABLE
“You can’t turn it over five times against anyone. You just can’t do it. We were going up and down the field and had nothing to show for it. A touchdown and a missed extra point. I was actually pleased at halftime with everything that happened. I didn’t do a good enough job to get them prepared to play in a game like this. You do good things and then you turn it over. You just can’t do that and win.” – head coach Rusty Wright on the miscues, turnovers and missed kicks.
“It’s football, man. We have to understand that. Things like this just happen. You really don’t have control over anything but what you do. You just have to flush the past and flush the mistakes and move on to the next one. If you don’t, it’s tough to overcome anything.” – running back Tyrell Price on the unfortunate miscues.
Check out all we heard at the quotes link at the top of the story.
NEXT GAME – Chattanooga vs. The Citadel, 1:30 p.m. ET | Nov. 20 | 2021 Schedule
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