2008 Woodie Awards
Lopez's field goal lifts Mocs past Georgia Southern 27-26
Stefan Hunt
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: Sports
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By Stefan Hunt
Sports Editor
Esteban Lopez kicked a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the game between UTC and Georgia Southern, and quarterback Matt Lopez came off the bench for a struggling Antonio Miller to lead Chattanooga to a thrilling 27-26 victory over the SoCon powerhouse last Saturday at Finley Stadium.
Chattanooga's victory ended a nine-game losing streak to the Eagles, and gave the Mocs their second win in 20 games against the six-time national champions.
"To beat a program that is established like Georgia Southern is special for this program, this city, this university and me personally," an emotional Rodney Allison said.
GSU has owned the Mocs in the past, and it looked like this year would be no different after Miller threw his second interception that allowed the Eagles to take an early 12-0 lead.
The Eagles' kicking game would fail them, though, as they missed their first extra-point attempt, and Chris Davis blocked the second.
Then Allison inserted the senior from Clinton, Tenn., to try to give his offense a jump-start.
"I had to make a change," Allison said. "That's a decision I made myself. I thought we needed a spark."
A spark is exactly what Lopez provided. Chattanooga had momentum going into halftime after Lopez hit Michael Johnson on an 11-yard fade route in the left corner of the end zone to trim the deficit to 12-7.
Senior running back Eldra Buckley, who was bottled up for the majority of the first half, scored from 59 yards out at the 9:51 mark in the third quarter to give UTC its first lead at 14-12. The senior from Charleston, Miss., ran for 101 yards on 20 carries to push his consecutive 100-yard games to seven.
The Eagles regained the lead when Travis Clark threw a short pass to Jayson Foster, who turned it into a 34-yard touchdown to give GSU the lead. The Eagles would tack on a two-point conversion to push the lead to 20-14.
Unlike past Chattanooga teams that would have wilted under pressure, Lopez and company calmly drove back down the field and regained the lead after Lopez found Michael Gilmore for a 13-yard score. The drive was highlighted by a 44-yard pass from Lopez to Johnson.
Sports Editor
Esteban Lopez kicked a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the game between UTC and Georgia Southern, and quarterback Matt Lopez came off the bench for a struggling Antonio Miller to lead Chattanooga to a thrilling 27-26 victory over the SoCon powerhouse last Saturday at Finley Stadium.
Chattanooga's victory ended a nine-game losing streak to the Eagles, and gave the Mocs their second win in 20 games against the six-time national champions.
"To beat a program that is established like Georgia Southern is special for this program, this city, this university and me personally," an emotional Rodney Allison said.
GSU has owned the Mocs in the past, and it looked like this year would be no different after Miller threw his second interception that allowed the Eagles to take an early 12-0 lead.
The Eagles' kicking game would fail them, though, as they missed their first extra-point attempt, and Chris Davis blocked the second.
Then Allison inserted the senior from Clinton, Tenn., to try to give his offense a jump-start.
"I had to make a change," Allison said. "That's a decision I made myself. I thought we needed a spark."
A spark is exactly what Lopez provided. Chattanooga had momentum going into halftime after Lopez hit Michael Johnson on an 11-yard fade route in the left corner of the end zone to trim the deficit to 12-7.
Senior running back Eldra Buckley, who was bottled up for the majority of the first half, scored from 59 yards out at the 9:51 mark in the third quarter to give UTC its first lead at 14-12. The senior from Charleston, Miss., ran for 101 yards on 20 carries to push his consecutive 100-yard games to seven.
The Eagles regained the lead when Travis Clark threw a short pass to Jayson Foster, who turned it into a 34-yard touchdown to give GSU the lead. The Eagles would tack on a two-point conversion to push the lead to 20-14.
Unlike past Chattanooga teams that would have wilted under pressure, Lopez and company calmly drove back down the field and regained the lead after Lopez found Michael Gilmore for a 13-yard score. The drive was highlighted by a 44-yard pass from Lopez to Johnson.
