UTM went into Finley stadium in front of the 11th largest crowd in Mocs history and came away with the 31-21 win.
“They’ve got their aquarium, but we got the win,” were head coach Jason Simpson’s words after the win.
The team opened the game by forcing the Mocs to an early 3-and-out, but a fumble by Abou Toure would give UTC the ball back on their own 18-yard line.
The combination of Neal and Favre racked up 66 passing yards with Jeremy Butler being on receiving end with 58 of those yards. DJ McNeil ran for 43 yards on eight carries and scored the lone touchdown of the half.
The problem for UTM wasn’t moving the ball, but the direction the ball was being moved. Â Penalties were prevalent throughout the half with three holding calls and one defensive pass interference totaling 40 yards of penalties before the half.
Along with the penalties, a call that was originally ruled a catch and fumble that would have moved the Skyhawks inside the 20-yard line was ruled incomplete positioning them back at midfield.
After only seeing Favre for a few drives in the first half he received a large portion of playing time and was instrumental in the Skyhawks win.
On the team’s second offensive possession Favre drove the team down the field and ran the ball in himself on a play action boot for the 13-yard score. A few series later Favre would connect with wideout Chris Thompson in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.
The rushing attack of McNeil and Trent Garland were the Skyhawks main weapons in the game. The duo  totaled 150 of UTM’s 289 yards on the ground with McNeil leading the way with 134 yards, a career high, and scoring one touchdown.
“His [Garland’s] arms are as long as his legs,” said Simpson about his tailback. “It’s hard to knock him on his feet. You know, he’s a jack of all trades and he catches the ball and the guy can play football. I made a bad decision by not offering him a scholarship out of high school. I had one of my coaches say, ‘Coach, this guy can play, but I don’t know what he is.’ Luckily, we got him to Martin and he walked on. He deserved two scholarships tonight.”
McNeil also crossed the 1,000 yard mark for his career and his touchdown, the 15th of his career, moved him into 7th place in school history.
Neal and Favre combined to go 9-of-27 for 162 yards with one touchdowns and one interception.
Butler led the receivers with 10 catches and 91 yards, but Chris Thompson scored the groups lone receiving touchdown and finished the game with four catches for 40 yards.
However, the stat that stands out is the 9 penalties for 105 yards. Especially when the team only had 57 more passing yards.
Despite the penalties the Skyhawks escaped Chattanooga with a victory and will head back to Martin to prepare for their road trip next week against #19 Boise State. Kickoff is set for 2 P.M. To stay updated on UTM sports follow us on Twitter @pacersports and like us on Facebook at The Pacer.
