No. 23 Chattanooga Ends Three-Game Series Losing Streak to Furman in Emphatic Fashion

Chattanooga's Intercepts Furman's Fun and Ends Three-Game Losing Skid in Emphatic Fashion 

As thrilling as last Saturday was for Furman was in Charleston in the thrilling 17-16 come-from-behind win over arch-rival The Citadel, the Paladins were reminded of their youth and just how much things have changed in 2024 when the preseason SoCon favorite Mocs were in town Saturday afternoon for a key home league contest.

No. 23 Chattanooga showed why it was the preseason SoCon favorite on Saturday afternoon, taking on a Furman team, which now with 37 of its 44 players gone from that team that defeated the Mocs twice last season, was a shell of its 2023 self-Saturday afternoon, as Chattanooga delivered a 41-10 beatdown of the defending Southern Conference champion Paladins Saturday afternoon Paladin Stadium.

With the win, Chattanooga improves to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference play, while the Paladins fall to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in league play. The Mocs snapped a three-game skid in the series against the Paladins and matched its largest margin of victory in the 55 all-time meetings between the two programs (defeated Furman, 45-14, in Greenville in 1979) as well as recording their ninth all-time win at Paladin Stadium, which is the most by any current or former Southern Conference member.

The Paladins dropped just their third SoCon game in their last 20 league contests and dropped to 10-5 in their last 15 games against ranked opposition. It marks Chattanooga’s first win over at Paladin Stadium since the spring of 2021, defeating Furman 20-18 on that occasion. The Paladins also lost a 13-3 contest to the Mocs in the fall of 2021, which had marked Chattanooga’s last win in the series until Saturday’s result.

The 31-point home loss to a conference foe marked the largest margin of defeat at home in a decade since Samford recorded a 45-0 win over Furman at Paladin Stadium on Homecoming (Oct. 25, 2014) of the 2014 season. It was Furman’s largest margin of defeat suffered against a SoCon foe since 2015, when the Paladins dropped a 48-10 contest on the road at Western Carolina (Nov. 7, 2015)

While Chattanooga is a mature, sound football team on both sides of the football, it certainly didn’t need the aid of five Paladin turnovers in the contest, including four in the opening half of play, including three INTs. The Mocs would convert three of those four turnovers into points, taking a big 20-3 lead to the break.

The Mocs won their third-straight game, including second in succession, as Chattanooga also went on the road to get a 17-10 win over No. 23 ETSU last week to appear in the STATS Perform Top 25 this week at the same poll position.

Chattanooga’s defense smothered Furman’s offense all afternoon, and it was particularly impressive defending the Paladin passing attack, holding Furman to just 103 yards through the air and picked off Paladin quarterbacks four times, including returning one 47 yards for a score. Furman’s 103 yards passing was the lowest total of the season

The Paladins, who ran for just 28 yards last week in a 17-16 win over The Citadel, which was the lowest since 1975, rushed for 130 yards in Saturday’s setback to the Mocs. All told, the Mocs held a 443-233 advantage in total offense.

Leading the Mocs offensively was quarterback Chase Artopoues, who registered 17-of-25 passes for 232 yards, with one TD and no INTs. Artopoues rushed for a touchdown in the win.

Artopoues’ favorite target in the passing game was Javin Whatley hauled in 10 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. His biggest play of the day came on Chattanooga’s second possession of the third quarter, as he hauled in a 71-yard scoring catch from Artopoues on a wheel route to break the game wide open in favor of the Mocs, giving Chattanooga a 34-3 lead.

Chattanooga, which rushed for 199 yards in the contest, was led on the ground by Reggie Davis, who finished with 93 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

Trey Hedden had his most difficult day as the Furman starting quarterback, as the true freshman signal-caller from Tampa, FL, completed the day by connecting on 5-of-10 passes for 33 yards and three INTs. Carson Jones, who came into a game against Chattanooga now in two separate seasons for two very different reasons, finished his day connecting on 7-of-10 passes for 70 yards, with one INT.

Ja’Keith Hamilton was Furman’s leading wideout, with four receptions for 28 yards, while the Paladins were led on the ground by Myion Hicks, who posted 67 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Defensively, Chattanooga got INTs from Freeman, D’Arco Perkins-McCallister, Jeremiah Batiste, and Josh Battle. The Mocs nine tackles from leading tackler Alex Mitchell, which included half-a-tackle-for-loss. Mocs senior defensive end Chris Victor spent most of his afternoon in Furman’s backfield, registering four of the team’s seven tackles-for-loss and had the Mocs lone sack of the day.

Furman was led defensively by linebacker Evan DiMaggio, who posted a game-high 14 tackles, including half-a-tackle-for-loss. Raleigh Herbert finished with seven tackles, as the Paladins failed to record a sack in a game for the first time this season and had just one tackle-for-loss the entire game.

The Paladins saw the Mocs score 24 of their 41 points off turnovers, and it was Furman’s first five turnover day since the COVID-19 spring season of 2021, which saw the Paladins turn the ball over five times in a 20-18 home loss to Chattanooga.

Furman returns to Paladin Stadium looking to rebound from Saturday’s loss to the No. 23 Mocs, as it will face a Western Carolina (3-3, 2-0 SoCon), who comes in off to a strong start to league play and won two-straight, with kickoff set for 2 p.m. EST. Chattanooga will return to Finley Stadium to host Wofford in a 1:30 p.m. EST kickoff.

How It Happened:

Chattanooga got on the board first in the opening quarter thanks to Furman’s second first quarter INT, driving the ball 55 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead on Chase Artopoeus’ 3-yard scoring plunge with 7:55 left in the first quarter.

Furman would respond on the ensuing drive on a 37-yard field goal by Ian Williams, as after driving 32 yards in nine plays to make it a 7-3 contest with 4:07 left in the opening frame. The Paladins were set up in great field position after a 47-yard kickoff return by Colton Hinton. The Mocs would carry that lead into the second 15 minutes of action.

Chattanooga got on the board with a field goal of its own early in the second quarter, as Jude Kelley connected on a 42-yard field goal to make it a 10-3 Mocs lead following a 10-play, 42-yard drive with 11:03 left in the half.

The Mocs picked off Trey Hedden’s off the half a minute later, as Jeremiah Batiste gave UTC the ball at the Furman 45. For the second time on the afternoon, the Mocs would turn a Furman turnover into points, as Kelley came on to boot his second his second field goal from 24 yards out with 4:26 remaining in the half to make it a 13-3 contest.

Furman’s fourth turnover of the half came with a little over three minutes remaining in the half, as Grant Robinson had the ball forced from his grasp by UTC’s Quay Wiggles and the ball was recovered by the Mocs edge linebacker Joseph Barkhole at the Paladin 31. The Mocs would cap the drive in the end zone, as Justus Durant found the painted area for a 14-yard scoring run to make it 20-3 with 1:55 left in the contest.

The Mocs got the ball to start the second half and drove the ball 75 yards in eight plays to increase their lead to 27-3 with 11:37 remaining in the game, as the drive was capped by a Reggie Davis 2-yard scoring run.

The onslaught continued on Chattanooga’s second drive of the half, as Artopoues tossed his first scoring pass of the game, connecting on 71-yard scoring pass to Javin Whatley on a wheel route to make it a 34-3 game with 9:06 remaining.

On Furman’s next offensive possession, Carson Jones was picked off by defensive end Marquise Freeman and after a momentary pause, Freeman realized he had batted and intercepted the pass all in one motion and absorbed the Carson Jones pass and returned it 47 yards for a score with 6:32 left in the third quarter and made it a 41-3 Mocs lead.

It was the first defensive lineman to record a touchdown against Furman since 2003, when Clemson’s J.J. Howard finished off a 19-yard pick-six in the end zone for a score. It was also the first time since Nov. 6, 2021, that the Paladins have had an INT returned for a score against them, as Western Carolina’s Jacob Harris picked off a Hamp Sisson pass and finished it off with a 53-yard scoring return.

The Paladins got into the end zone for the first time in the game, with the Mocs having most of their second stringers in the game by that point, as Hicks scored on a 1-yard plunge to make it a 41-10 contest with 8:59 remaining. Hicks’ scoring run concluded a 14-play, 95-yard drive.   The Hicks rushing score would end up setting the final margin.