Box Score
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The VMI Football team traveled to Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon, falling to the nationally-ranked Chattanooga Mocs 41-13.
The Mocs, who are currently ranked No. 9 in the FCS Coaches Poll, No. 10 in the FCS Stats Perform poll, and boast one of the better defenses in all of FCS, limited VMI to just a special teams touchdown (
Jahleel Porter, 98-yard kickoff return) in the first half and a
Collin Shannon rushing touchdown in the third quarter.
Shannon – a true freshman – got the nod under center after injuries sidelined
Collin Ironside and
Seth Morgan, totaling 157 yards to go with his first touchdown at the collegiate level. VMI now drops to 1-5 and 0-3 in Southern Conference play, while preseason-league favorite Chattanooga improves to 5-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in SoCon action.
Key Stats
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Collin Shannon is the first true freshman quarterback to start a game since Reece Udinski (11/11/17 vs. Wofford), going 15-of-20 for 157 yards with a rushing touchdown
- Freshman
Jahleel Porter's return is first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2015 (Greg Sanders vs. Wofford)
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Isaiah Lemmond hauls in career-best six catches, totals 68 yards
- Eight Keydets register a catch, 26 players record a tackle
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Geoffrey Speight,
Aladdin Elroumy and
Eric Weaver all record tackles for loss
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Stone Snyder leads team with eight tackles, carries the ball once offensively
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Jack Culbreath punts seven times for 292 yards (41.7 average)
How it Happened
The teams traded possessions to start the game, with Chattanooga ultimately breaking through late in the first quarter.
Jahleel Porter answered on the ensuing kickoff, taking the ball 98 yards for the score to knot the game up at 7-7. The Mocs would take control after a 72-yard touchdown in the air and 62-yard run, adding a field goal and touchdown right before the break to make the score 30-7.
The Keydets came out firing in the second, as Shannon lofted a deep ball down the sideline that was reeled in by
Andre Cooper to set up Shannon's first touchdown of his career via a five-yard rush. The Keydets would fail to convert the two-point conversion as the Mocs chewed up the clock and added 11 more points to win 41-13.
What's Next
The Keydets return to Foster Stadium for the first of a two-game home stand on Saturday (October 22), hosting Furman at 1:30 p.m.
