CHATTANOOGA (Nov. 18, 2017) --  On a blustery day when offensive yards and points were at a premium, one mistake by the ETSU special teams proved the difference between a win and a loss for the Buccaneers against their Southern Conference rivals.

Chattanooga’s Marshall Cooper blocked an ETSU punt early in the second half, setting up the Mocs at the Buccaneers’ 27-yard line and leading to the eventual winning touchdown score, as UTC bested ETSU 10-7 in the season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium.

With the loss, the Bucs finished the year at 4-7 overall, 2-6 in SoCon play, while the Mocs ended the 2017-18 season with a record of 3-8, 3-5.

For the day, the Bucs managed just 116 yards of total offense. Even so, the ETSU defensive unit gave the team a chance, holding UTC to just 238 yards itself and even getting the ball back to the Bucs’ offense for one last drive with just under two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately for the Bucs, there was no magical comeback on this day, as the Mocs’ defense stopped the final ETSU drive from even crossing midfield.

While there were no offensive stars for the Bucs on this day, redshirt junior linebacker Dylan Weigel (Pickerington, Ohio) led the defense with 12 tackles (three tackles for loss). In addition, ETSU had four sacks in the contest by four different players, including redshirt freshman linebacker Blake Bockrath (Loveland, Ohio), redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Nasir Player (Columbia, S.C.), redshirt junior linebacker Trey Quillin (New Albany, Ohio) and freshman linebacker Zack Yancey (Opelika, Ala.).

The Chattanooga defense had just one sack, but did have 12 quarterback hurries on the day, often knocking ETSU junior quarterback Austin Herink (Cleveland) to the ground. On the ground, the Bucs managed just 24 yards on 20 carries, while Herink finished 13-of-37 for 92 yards.           

HOW THEY SCORED

First Quarter

• ETSU 3, Chattanooga 0: The Bucs were first to break through on the scoreboard thanks to the 15 to 25 mph winds that swirled behind junior placekicker JJ Jerman (Seymour). After the ETSU defense stopped the second UTC offensive drive and a poor punt by the Mocs set up the Bucs with good field position, Jerman took advantage of the wind at his back to connect on a 51-yard field goal, matching his career long and marking the second longest field goal in program history. It was the 34^th field goal of Jerman’s career and the second time this year he has connected on a 51-yard kick. He did the same at home against Wofford on Nov. 4.

Third Quarter

• Chattanooga 7, ETSU 3: The second half did not start well for the Bucs, as Marion Watson (Waxhaw, N.C.) had his punt blocked by Cooper and recovered by Alphonso Stewart at the ETSU 27-yard line. Four plays later, UTC quarterback Cole Copeland found wide receiver Joseph Parker for an eight yard scoring pass. The extra point was good, and with 11:35 left in the third quarter ETSU now trailed 7-3.

• Chattanooga 10, ETSU 3: The Mocs extended their lead with the best sustained offensive drive of the contest, moving 63 yards in 13 plays and using 6:11 off the clock. The ETSU defense kept the Mocs out of the end zone, but the result was still a 34-yard field goal by Victor Ulmo with 3:36 left in the third quarter. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The teams combined for 354 yards of total offense (116 by the Bucs/238 by the Mocs), marking the fewest yards combined by two teams in the history of Finley Stadium … The 116 offensive yards marked a season low by the Buccaneers, while marking the lowest since posting 76 last year at Wofford (Sept. 24)
• For the third straight game, the Buccaneer defense held an opponent to under 100 rushing yards (84) and, while totaling nine sacks in their last three games – four vs. Chattanooga, one at Samford and four vs. VMI
• Chattanooga won the time of possession (35:27 to 24:33), while the teams combined to go 8-of-31 on third down
• Chattanooga now leads the all-time series with ETSU 22-18-1, even though the Bucs have won seven of the last 12 contests in the series
• Nasir Player’s sack in the second quarter marked his seventh of the season, putting him fourth on the ETSU single-season list
• With his 12 tackles on Saturday, Weigel moved into a tie for seventh on the ETSU all-time tackle list with 325 for his career. He will be one of the team’s redshirt juniors who will return to the ETSU sidelines for a final season in the fall of 2018
• Redshirt sophomore Anthony Spagnoletti (Bealeton, Va.) set career highs in receptions (4) and receiving yards (54) … Junior tight end Dylan Dockery (Newport, Tenn.) set a career high with four receptions.
• Blake Bockrath set a career high with eight tackles, while freshman Tyree Robinson (Gainesville, Ga.) tied a career best with eight tackles

NEXT GAME UP

The Bucs 2018 schedule will be released in the coming weeks, a slate that will include a Sept. 8 visit to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to take on Tennessee for the first time in program history.