BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The home opener for Chattanooga after road trips to Tennessee and Georgia State, the conference opener for Mercer and the Mocs, and both teams ranked in the FCS Top 25; everything you could ask for in a college football showdown. The Bears would not wander into a trap on the road on this day. UTC had chances, but Mercer would hold Chattanooga to just 19 yards rushing in addition to not allowing a single 3^rd down conversion (0 for 12) as the Bears won 10-3 Saturday night at Finley Stadium.

Both teams traded punts on the first 5 offensive possessions.  Mercer’s third offensive possession didn’t result in a punt. Kameron Brown intercepted Bears’ quarterback DJ Smith’s pass at the Mercer 49 with 5:04 left in the quarter. UTC couldn’t take advantage of the early turnover as a 3-yard loss on a Reggie Davis carry on 2^nd and 10 forced a 3^rd and 13 that wasn’t converted, forcing another punt. Chase Artopoeus did connect with John McIntyre for 32 yards to get to the Mercer 38 on the final play of the quarter, going into the second quarter tied 0-0.

Chattanooga would get inside the red zone on two Davis runs and a 5-yard completion from Artopoeus to Sam Phillips down to the Mercer 16-yard line, making it 3^rd and 2. Davis was stuffed on the 3^rd and short, forcing a 34-yard field goal attempt by Jude Kelley but that was blocked. Mercer would go on an 11 play, 82-yard drive to get their first points of the night, coming on a 9-yard Brayden Smith touchdown run on 3^rd and 6, giving Mercer a 7-0 lead with 5:55 left in the second quarter. The Bears would convert on a 4^th and 1 to keep the drive alive. The Mocs would answer right away, getting 65 yards on a Artopoeus to Chris Domercant completion down to the Mercer 10 on the first play of the possession. Artopoeus would be sacked for a loss of 7 yards on 3^rd and goal from the Mercer 7-yard line, setting up a 32-yard field goal attempt, which Jude Kelley would nail to cut the Bears’ lead to 7-3 with 3:24 left in the half.

After trading punts to begin the second half, Smith’s 13-yard punt return setup Mercer with field position inside UTC territory at the Mocs’ 45-yard line with 6:39 left third quarter. Mercer was unable to get anything going and John McConnell’s 41-yard punt was downed inside the 5-yard line, where UTC would take over at their own 3-yard line. Artopoeus appeared be sacked, fumbled the football, and was recovered by Marques Thomas who raced in for a touchdown. The play went to review and the officials ruled it incomplete, allowing the blue and gold faithful to breathe a little easier.  The third quarter ended the same way the first quarter did: with either team scoring.

Mercer would eat over 5 minutes off the clock to begin the final 15 minutes, and just over 7 total minutes as the Bears drove down to the UTC 28-yard line after runs by Dwayne Rush and Micah Bell in addition to a Smith completion to Apollos Cook. The drive stalled and the Bears had to settle for a 48-yard Reice Griffith field goal attempt, which was no good with 9:43 remaining. Myles Redding would intercept Artopoeus pass on the following possession, giving Mercer the ball just inside midfield at the UTC 46 with a chance to make good on the missed field goal. The Chattanooga defense would keep Mercer out of the end zone after the Bears got inside the UTC 20-yard line, but Griffith would connect on a 35-yard field goal with 5:30 left on the clock to give the visitors from Macon, Georgia a 10-3 advantage. Artopoeus threw a dart to Sam Phillips for a 40-yard pickup down to the Mercer 32-yard line. UTC would go for it on 4^th and 4, but a pass meant for McIntyre fell incomplete. Mercer would punt it back to Chattanooga with just under a minute left, giving the Mocs a final chance to get an early advantage in the Southern Conference title race. After Artopoeus was sacked on 2^nd and 2 and a 10-yard loss, he found Phillips two plays later on 4^th and 12 for 13 yards but that was final bright of this hard-fought battle.

“I knew it was going to be one of those type games”, Chattanooga head coach Rusty Wright said. “It was going to be tight, physical, and all that… and it was”.

“When you’re 0 of 12 on third down, I’m not sure you can win a football game”, Wright continued. “And we still had an opportunity to win a football game. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that, honestly. We’ve got to get it figured out.”

Chattanooga falls to 0-3 to begin the season for the first time since 2017. The Mocs have a bye week next week before hosting Portland State at 7pm on September 28^th at Finley Stadium. Mercer improves to 3-0 and will host The Citadel on September 21.