By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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Chattanooga will play New Hampshire in the FCS quarterfinals Friday night.

Fresh off a convincing 35-13 victory over Indiana State in the FCS playoffs, Chattanooga has advanced to play on the road at number one-seed New Hampshire this Friday night.

On to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season, the Wildcats boast an 11-1 record, with their lone loss coming back in August to Toledo. Since that point, the winners of the Colonial Athletic Association have only been played within 18 points three times. Dating back to 2013, New Hampshire has gone 17-2 in its last 19 games, falling only to the Rockets and defending national champion North Dakota State.

The Wildcats, a team with great balance, rank second in the CAA in both scoring offense at 37.6 points per game and scoring defense at 20.5.

One of the most productive at his position in the country, receiver R.J. Harris leads the offense with 87 catches for 1,311 yards and 13 touchdowns. New Hampshire has a couple of different backs who can make plays in Jimmy Owens and Nico Steriti. Both Sean Goldrich and key reserve Andy Vailas have been effective at quarterback. The offensive line has paved the way for a unit that has compiled the conference’s most rushing scores, with Steriti leading the league in points per game.

Deep and versatile defensively, the Wildcats are tied with two other league teams at the top with 37 sacks this fall. Lineman Cody Muller, who also has four fumble recoveries, tops the unit with nine. Linebacker Akil Anderson leads the team with 70 tackles. Safety Keith Parkinson has three interceptions, while fellow defensive back Casey DeAndrade has eleven pass break-ups. Of New Hampshire’s last nine opponents, not one of them has scored over 24 points.

Head coach Sean McDonnell’s Wildcats routed Fordham 44-19 last weekend. New Hampshire outgained the Rams 544 yards to 330, compiling 28 first downs compared to 15. Steriti ran 14 times for 110 and four touchdowns and threw a 34-yard pass. Tackle Matt Kaplan had 3.5 of the defense’s nine sacks, while end Brian Ciccone added two. Cornerback Dougie Moss had an interception in his first career start. The Wildcats outscored Fordham 30-7 over the outing’s final 33:07.00

“I thought it was a really, really good effort by the team,” McDonnell explained. “The way our defensive line played today, I was really proud of the way the kids played. It started with Matt (Kaplan) and the guys up front.”

After winning at home last weekend, the Mocs must travel to Cowell Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire. Impressively, the Wildcats have lost just once at home since early November of 2010.

History has already been made for Chattanooga, which recently won its first postseason game ever, but the Mocs want more. A victory over New Hampshire would move head coach Russ Huesman and company to the final four to face the winner of Eastern Washington and Illinois State. Friday night’s game will kickoff at 8pm on ESPN2.