Mocs win again at home
Cooper has big day in fourth-quarter comeback
Clay Chavis
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Sports
|
After a disastrous start, which included two early turnovers, the Mocs were able to ride the arm of B.J. Coleman, a sophomore from Chattanooga, and the feet, hands and toes of fifth-year senior Blue Cooper, from Rome, Ga., to a come-from-behind win.
Coleman threw for 248 yards, but it was Cooper's day to shine. Cooper grabbed 16 of Coleman's 22 completions for 148 yards.
"He's just a ball player," Mocs' Head Coach Russ Huesman said. "He's just tough as nails. I'll take 100 Blue Coopers out there."
The Mocs started the game with a shovel in their hands and an inability to stop digging themselves further and further into a hole.
Down 13-0, UTC had already fumbled and had a costly interception, but coach Huesman said he never thought the Mocs were out of the game.
"I told the radio guys, 'we're going to win,'" Huesman said. "Mark it down, we're going to win this game."
The Mocs were able to chip away at the early deficit and trailed 20-18 with 12:55 remaining in the final quarter.
That is when UTC went to work.
Western Carolina was held to a three and out and Coleman took control. The Mocs marched 77 yards on 16 plays for the go-ahead touchdown.
Freshman tailback Chris Awuah, from Marietta, Ga., scampered in from six yards out to put the Mocs up for good. Awuah ran for only 29 yards on the day, but the last six were the ones that counted the most.
The UTC defense kept the game within reach, despite the turnovers from the offense.
Once again, the defense was led by defense end Josh Beard, a senior from Lincolnton, Ga.
Beard had six tackles, including another sack that brought his season total to 10.5.
The Mocs were also helped out by the other defensive end, freshman Josh Williams, from Griffin, Ga., who also had a sack to go along with his six tackles.
The day belonged to Blue Cooper, however. Both his 16 receptions and 148 receiving yards were career highs.
"When it's like this and you're just scrapping for every yard and you can pull it out, it feels better than beating somebody 100 to nothing," Cooper said.
The Mocs now shift focus to their next opponent, the powerhouse Appalachian State.
The Mocs will try to reach upward to the six win mark when they play the Mountaineers in Boone Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Appalachian State is tied atop the Southern Conference standings with Elon, with an overall record of 6-2 and a 5-0 conference slate.
