QBs click together in Mocs' 35-0 win

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga had little trouble picking up its first win of the football season Thursday night at Finley Stadium. In their home opener, the Mocs moved the ball at will against Glenville State, while the defense hardly budged in a 35-0 win.

The score was 21-0 at the end of a near-perfect first half for the Mocs, who were playing in front of an announced crowd of 9,077. Then Marquis Green took the spotlight with two second-half touchdown runs.

"I thought it was a solid game all the way across the board," coach Russ Huesman said.

Quarterback Terrell Robinson was back in uniform after being held out last week following his decision to quit the team and then return. Jacob Huesman, meanwhile, got the start at quarterback for the second straight game.

Robinson spent some time at quarterback but primarily played receiver, finishing with two catches for 52 yards and a touchdown and six carries for 24 yards, and he completed four of seven passes for 37 yards. Jacob Huesman threw his first career interception but also ran for 46 yards on seven carries and was 16-of-26 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns.

"Winning is fun. Scoring 35 points is fun," Jacob said. "It's been a tough couple of weeks at the beginning of the season, and we needed this."

Robinson declined to speak with the media after the game.

The Mocs (1-2) finished with 477 yards of offense to just 78 for Glenville State (1-2). It was the fewest yards allowed by a UTC defense since 1987.

"I didn't know they had 17 rushing yards and 61 passing yards" said linebacker Wes Dothard, while looking up at the scoreboard. "That's unbelievable."

Green was beaming after the game.

"We're just trying to open up the offense and get this thing rolling," he said. "We've been working on this since this summer, and it's time to execute."

UTC's first drive began at the Pioneers' 49-yard line after defensive end Josh Williams recovered a fumble. On second-and-5 at the 44, Huesman was at quarterback and Robinson was lined up out wide, where he easily got behind the defense and Huesman hit him down the right sideline for Robinson's first receiving touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The two quarterbacks continued to play together during UTC's second drive, which started at the GSU 42 after another quick defensive stop. On second down at the 27, Huesman handed the ball to Robinson, who pitched it to Green for an 8-yard gain.

On the next play, Huesman took the snap and handed it to Robinson, who then threw it back to Huesman for 9. The quarterbacks' first completions of the game were to one another; Huesman's second touchdown pass was to tight end Faysal Shafaat, a 10-yarder that put UTC up 14-0 with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

A sack by end Davis Tull, his second of the season, ended Glenville State's third possession and was the first sack allowed by the Pioneers this season. UTC started its third straight drive in Pioneers territory following a short punt, at the 36, and went up 21-0 on a 1-yard Keon Williams run.

After three drives, Huesman was 4-for-5 passing for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Robinson was the quarterback for the fourth drive and scrambled for a first down on third-and-4.

UTC had 151 yards on 21 plays in the opening quarter and held the Pioneers to 20 yards on 14 plays.

The Mocs' most impressive drive of the first half didn't yield any points. They went 97 yards in 21 plays -- the drive chewed up a little more than nine minutes -- only to come up empty after three plays at the Pioneers' 1. The last was an attempted fade pass from Huesman to Robinson.

Defensively, the Mocs gave Glenville State no shot. The Pioneers had three first downs and 36 yards in the first half. By the end of the third quarter it was four first downs and 63 yards in 37 plays, while UTC's defense had forced six punts and two turnovers.

UTC will return to Scrappy Moore Field on Sunday and begin preparing for next Saturday's homecoming game against No. 7 Appalachian State.

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