CHATTANOOGA – Gardner Webb’s Andrew Harmon kicked a game-winning 27-yard field goal through the west end uprights with only six seconds remaining Saturday night for a 26-24 victory.
“The kids played hard,” UTC head coach Donnie Kirkpatrick said. “We had a chance to win all the way to the end. We had good plays on both sides of the ball. Just not enough. This was our best offensive outing of the year.”
Chattanooga (0-4) remained winless on the season. The Mocs had scored 10 unanswered points prior to the drive including a career-long 34-yard field goal from Patrick Shutters that put the Mocs ahead for the first time since late in the first quarter.
Gardner Webb (3-1) began its final drive with just 48 ticks on the clock.
On third down and nine, quarterback Jeremy Martin connected with receiver Dan Swartz down the left side on a 41-yard completion, placing the ball at the Chattanooga 9-yard line with 21 seconds remaining. Martin’s next two pass attempts into the end zone would fall incomplete. Harmon, who had a 25-yard attempt in the second quarter blocked, knocked the ball through the uprights for the score.
UTC had one last chance after the kickoff, but Justin Barnes’ pass completion to Jeremy Grier went for nine yards to end the game.
Chattanooga’s Bernard Snowden tackled Martin for a one-yard loss on a fourth-down play, and the Mocs took over on downs with 2:41 to play. However, a Justin Barnes pass to Maurice Wilson on third-and-two fell incomplete and UTC was forced to punt with just over one minute remaining in the game.
Chattanooga drove to the Bulldog 11-yard line on its second possession in the first quarter when lightning forced the game into a 45-minute weather delay. After a brief warm-up period, the Mocs’ took two plays to put the ball in the end zone for the first score of the game. Barnes connected on an eight-yard pass to Wilson, putting Chattanooga up 7-0 at the 7:37 mark.
The Bulldogs scored late in the first quarter on a 16-yard pass to Darin Bradford at 34 seconds of the initial quarter, but the snap for the PAT was over the holder’s head. Martin would complete an 18-yard pass to William Andrews late in the second half, and his four-yard TD catch at 11:48 of the third period lifted the Bulldogs to a 20-7 lead after a two-point pass play.
Chattanooga outscored Gardner Webb in the third quarter 14-11. UTC’s Cortez Rankin hauled in a 71-yard pass from Barnes, a career long for both players. The Bulldogs’ Harmon kicked a 32-yard field goal at 3:33 of the third quarter, increasing its lead to 23-14.
The Mocs open Southern Conference play next Saturday hosting Georgia Southern at Finley Stadium.
Furman 17
Richmond 7
RICHMOND, VA. – Billy Napier threw for 219 yards and rushed for 27 yards and a key fourth quarter touchdown to lead NCAA I-AA seventh-ranked Furman to a win over 22nd-ranked Richmond at University of Richmond Stadium.
Napier, a senior from Chatsworth, Ga., and the Southern Conference’s top rated passer, completed 19-of-26 passes to pace Furman’s offense, but it was his 1-yard sneak into the end zone with 10:38 left in the game that broke open a 10-7 contest and gave the Paladins a 17-7 lead. Furman’s decisive drive covered 69 yards in 10 plays and included a 32-yard run by tailback Toreico O’Neal to the Spiders 3-yard line.
“It (O’Neil’s run) was a draw play and he bounced it outside and used his speed to make a big time play to get it down close, and we punched it in,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb.
The key fourth quarter score came two possessions after the Paladins stopped Richmond on downs as the Furman 1. Trailing 10-7, the Spiders’ Danny Young picked off a Billy Napier pass and returned it 11 yards to the Paladins 34. Three plays later quarterback D’Arcy Wills connected with Dan McNair for 20 yards to the Furman 8. Two rushes by Lee Williams and a run by Wills moved the ball at the 1, but Wills was stopped a foot short of the goal line on fourth down.
“That was the biggest play of the game,” said Lamb. “Obviously it changed the momentum of the game a bit because we were sputtering a bit on offense. After that play our offense was able to move it out far enough to punt it.
“Furman has a very good defense and they played very well, but we were inside the one-yard line and came away with zero, and we missed a field goal,” said Richmond head coach Jim Reid. “If we execute, we could have been more productive and had a possible 17 points on the board.”
In the first meeting between the Paladins and Spiders since 1977, Furman grabbed an early 7-0 after taking the opening kickoff and moving 71 yards in 11 plays for a 4-yard touchdown run by tailback Hindley Brigham.
Wofford 14
Georgia Southern 6
STATESBORO, Ga. – Senior halfback Jesse McCoy rushed for a game-high 114 yards and scored both Terrier touchdowns, the last on a fourth-down, one-yard pitch from quarterback Jeff Zolman with 3:55 to play, to lift Wofford to a 14-7 Southern Conference victory over Georgia Southern Sept. 21 at Paulson Stadium.
The Terriers’ first-ever win at Paulson Stadium also snapped a string of 29 consecutive regular season home wins and 20 straight SoCon home victories for Georgia Southern (1-2, 0-1), who last dropped a league contest Nov. 2, 1996 to ETSU.
McCoy’s 114 rushing yards was the most by an Eagle opponent since Furman’s Louis Ivory gained 122 in the two school’s regular season meeting last Nov. 3. Zolman added 74 yards on the ground, 54 coming on a pivotal third-and-three play from the Wofford 43-yard line midway through the fourth quarter which highlighted the Terriers’ game-winning drive.
The Terriers’ combined rushing effort of 269 yards ran past the Eagles’ 234, making it the first time in 75 games that GSU’s offense had been out-rushed by an opponent other than Furman.
Western Carolina 37
The Citadel 34
Charleston, S.C.–Western Carolina rode the efforts of junior quarterback Brian Gaither to survive conference foe The Citadel, 37-34, in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon in Johnson Hagood Stadium.
Gaither posted a stellar day as he rushed six times for 20 yards and a score, while also compiling 247 yards on eight-of-16 passes and another score.
“We have to give credit to our quarterbacks, they did a great job,” Western Carolina head coach Kent Briggs said. “These tight games make our team tougher and we will mature much faster when we are faced with a strong opponent teaching us how to play under pressure.”
The Bulldogs scored the game-winner following a plethora of penalties and a 69-yard drive on 11 plays to finish scoring at 37-34. The drive ended when Klein connected with wide receiver Bud Pough on a 30-yard completion.
“The loss was very disappointing, but there was not a problem with effort,” Citadel head coach Ellis Johnson said. “The players don’t need to get down on themselves if anything they might be playing too hard.”
Banks, who hauled three passes for 131 yards and a score, led the Catamounts offensively. With his performance, he moved into the SoCon’s All-Time Top-10 list. In a game of big plays, 10 players hauled in passes of over 20 yards with each team having five.
Appalachian State 29
Liberty 22
BOONE, N.C. – Joe Burchette made his much anticipated debut by completing touchdown passes of seven and eight yards to lead No. 4/5 Appalachian State University to a 29-22 victory at Liberty on Sept. 21.
Burchette, who entered midway through the second quarter, found Daniel Bettis wide open in the end zone to finish 7-of-18 for 99 yards in his first action of the season.
With the score deadlocked at 22-22, the second errant long snap of the game by the Flames gave the Mountaineers the ball at the Flames’ seven yard line. Burchette needed three plays to find Bettis for his first career TD. Mark Wright’s point after kick with 3:00 left in the game made the final margin.
Sean Jackson led all players with 151 yards rushing on 18 carries. It marked Jackson’s second career 100-yard rushing day. Jackson also registered App. St.’s 29th straight win with a 100-yard rusher.

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