UTC coach finally yields a smile

photo UTC head coach Russ Huesman (right) shakes hands with Western Carolina head coach Mark Speir after the Mocs defeated the Catamounts 51-0.

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Of all the eye-catching stats the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team rolled up Saturday, the most impressive number was one. But it was a big one.

That's the number of times Mocs coach Russ Huesman allowed himself to smile and enjoy a game with time still remaining on the clock.

Huesman, known for remaining stone-faced even in the late moments of a win, was able to loosen up as the Mocs put the finishing touches on a thorough 51-0 beatdown of the Catamounts and took sole possession of the Southern Conference lead.

"Muhasibi (Wakeel) came up to me with about 11 minutes to go and us ahead 44-0 and said, 'Coach, you can relax and smile here,'" Huesman said afterward. "I went up to some of the coaches with about 3:50 to go, when it was 51-0, and I said, 'OK, I'm going to smile here finally.' That probably shocked them."

QB moving up lists

Mocs quarterback Jacob Huesman continued to move up the program's record book. The junior's 126 passing yards moved him into second place in that category, and he is now just 73 yards shy of overtaking Chris Sanders as UTC's career all-purpose-yardage leader with 7,174 after Saturday's win. Huesman, who averages 221.4 yards of offense this season, is already second in wins as a starter, just two behind that record.

Earlier this season Huesman, who is on the Walter Payton Award watch list for the top offensive player in the FCS, became the first player in program history with 2,000 rushing and 4,000 passing yards.

Tull still climbing, too

As Huesman ascends the team's offensive leaderboard, defensive end Davis Tull is closing in on a couple of national records.

Tull, who has 9.5 sacks in his last seven games and 36 in his career, added one Saturday to move to No. 2 in the SoCon and is half a sack from becoming the league's all-time leader. His total ranks sixth all-time in the FCS, six shy of that record, and he ranks second among active players in the FCS in career tackles for loss (56) and forced fumbles (10).

Mocs morsels

Sophomore kicker Henrique Ribeiro extended his season streak of consecutive field goals to 12 with three Saturday, from 33, 27 and 39 yards. The former Baylor School standout hasn't missed a 3-point attempt this season, and he connected on all six extra points Saturday as well.

The Mocs left the game relatively healthy, although there were a couple of scares. Sophomore running back Derrick Craine, who ran for 74 yards on 12 carries, left the game in the second half with an ankle injury, but X-rays showed no break or damage beyond a sprain. Senior punter Nick Pollard didn't play much in the second half after what looked to be a shoulder injury. The Mocs punted only three times, and Ribeiro had to take care of the last of those as well as the Mocs' final kickoff as Pollard stood on the sideline as a precaution.

"Nick will be fine. They held him out in the second half just to be safe, but he'll be back, no doubt," Coach Huesman said.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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