CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Oct. 20, 2023) – The ETSU football team will look to bring The Rail back to Johnson City. 
 
After winning the trophy in the first edition of the rivalry game back in 2018, the Buccaneers have dropped three straight Rail Rivalry games to Chattanooga. On Saturday, ETSU looks to snap the streak and return the trophy back home when the Bucs take on No. 20 Chattanooga at Finley Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. 
 
THE RAIL RIVALRY 
Date: Saturday, Oct. 21
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn. | Finley Stadium 
Teams: ETSU (2-4, 1-2) vs. #20 Chattanooga (5-2, 4-1)
Weather: 78° | Sunny | Winds W @ 13 mph 
Live Video: ESPN+
TV Crew: Pete Yanity (pbp); Jared Singleton (analyst) 
Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON
Radio Crew: Jay "Voice of the Bucs" Sandos (pbp), Mark Hutsell (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline) 
Live Stats: GoMocs.com
Twitter: @ETSUFootball
 
ABOUT THE BUCS 
THE RAIL RIVARLY 
Saturday marks the fifth edition of the Rail Rivalry, which began in 2018 when the Bucs won 17-14 in Greene Stadium … Since that win, Chattanooga has won the last three trophy games … The Rail, which is made from a former railroad tie that once connected Johnson City and Chattanooga, was produced and constructed in tandem by ETSU's Assistant Director for Grounds/Landscaping Sean Morris and Science Hill High School instructor Brent Sluder. Weighing 108 pounds – which represents the halfway point of the 216 miles that separate Johnson City and Chattanooga – and measuring five feet, seven inches in length – to represent the 57 years since the teams' first meeting in 1961 – The Rail incorporates not only the wood of the railroad tie, but steel in honor of the rails that connected the ties on the track. The Rail also includes stars in the state of Tennessee to represent Johnson City and Chattanooga. In addition, the logos of both athletic programs are included on The Rail.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEK'S WIN 
ETSU cruised to a 41-10 win last week over Wofford … The Bucs rushed for a season-high 236 yards, while ETSU's offense did not turn the ball over, marking the first time this season they accomplished that feat … Bryson Irby rushed for a career-high 137 yards and scored one touchdown … Defensively, the Bucs allowed a season-low 177 yards, including lows in both rushing (63) and passing (114) … It also marked just the second time in 12 chances ETSU defeated Wofford, while the 41 points marked the most by the Bucs in a win over the Terriers since scoring 45 in a 21-point victory back on Nov. 7, 1998.
 
SEARCHING FOR RANKED WIN
ETSU is searching for its first win over a ranked team since defeating No. 4 Kennesaw State 32-31 in the second round of the FCS Quarterfinal back on Dec. 4, 2021 … The Bucs have dropped their last three games over ranked teams. 
 
STOPPING THE RUN 
In the last two games, ETSU's defense has allowed just 134 rushing yards as the Bucs held Mercer to 71 yards and Wofford to 63 … In those two games, opponents are averaging just 67 yards on the ground with one touchdown … Opponents have tallied 64 rushing attempts in the last two games, averaging just 2.1 yards per carry.
 
BRYSON'S BREAKOUT GAME 
ETSU junior running back Bryson Irby had a breakout game at Samford … Irby rushed for 126 yards on 16 carries with three touchdowns … Irby became the first ETSU running back to rush for three touchdowns since Jacob Saylors accomplished the feat last season at Wofford, while Irby's 70-yard touchdown run marked the longest run by a Buccaneer since Quay Holmes ripped off a 74-yard run against Mercer on Nov. 16, 2019 … Last week, Irby rushed for a career-high 137 yards and one touchdown and was not tackled behind the line of scrimmage in 17 carries … Over his last three games, Irby has not been tackled behind the line of scrimmage and is averaging 97.3 yards per contest and totaled four touchdowns. 
 
BUCS IN THE FCS RANKINGS 
Teddy Wilson ranks second nationally with his three blocked punts and Sheldon Arnold II ranks fourth with his two fumble recoveries and sixth in interceptions per game (0.5) … Arnold also ranks 32nd in solo tackles (5.0) and 46th in tackles for loss (1.2) … Nate Brackett ranks eighth nationally in punting as he's averaging 44.0 yards per punt … Brackett's 70-yard punt against Carson-Newman is tied for the eighth-longest among FCS players this season … Stephen Scott ranks 44th in total tackles (8.5), Bryson Irby is 37th in rushing yards per carry (5.42) and 39th touchdowns (5) and Ewan Johnson is 31st in field goals per game (1.00) and 47th in field goal percentage (.667).
 
BARRAGE OF BUCCANEER BLOCKED PUNTS
ETSU has blocked four punts this season with three of them coming in the last two weeks ... Linebacker Teddy Wilson has three of the Bucs' four blocks with Trey Foster getting in on the fun last week vs. Wofford ... Wilson got his first blocked punt in the home opener against Carson-Newman, which led to Ray Coney falling on the ball, resulting in a touchdown ... ETSU ranks second nationally with the four blocked punts -- trailing New Hampshire's five.
 
PERSONAL MILESTONES
A pair of Buccaneers reached personal milestones at Austin Peay as linebackers Zach West and Stephen Scott notched their 100th career tackles … Zach West landed right on the number with his two hits against the Govs, while Stephen Scott – who posted a career-high 12 tackles at Austin Peay – has 129 for his career … Chris Hope and Sheldon Arnold II both registered their 100th career tackles against Mercer … Hope entered that game with 99 and now has 109 career hits, while Arnold needed 12 to land on the milestone … The Buccaneer defensive back tied his career high with 12 hits against the Bears to land right at 100 … Arnold now has 109 career tackles … Max Evans is two tackles away from registering his 100th career tackle. 
 
HUZZIE REACHES THE 2K MARK 
Speaking of personal milestones, ETSU redshirt senior wide receiver Will Huzie made history in the Bucs' win over Carson-Newman as he became just the third Buccaneer receiver to eclipse the 2,000 receiving yard mark for a career … Huzzie has now totaled 2,2203 receiving yards in 44 career games with the Bucs … B.J. Adigun (1994-97) is the all-time Buccaneer leader with 2,802 receiving yards and Cecil Moore (1999-02) is second with 2,488 yards … Huzzie also has 167 receptions, which rank second all-time … Huzzie six catches to break B.J. Adigun's school record of 172 … In his 44 games played, Huzzie has posted 18 touchdown receptions … The Duluth, Ga. native needs one more touchdown catches to move into the top three Buccaneer leaders and nine to break Adigun's record of 26.
 
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA

• The Mocs are 5-2 overall and 4-1 in SoCon play after winning at Mercer 22-10 on Saturday 
• Chattanooga is ranked No. 20 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and No. 21 in the STATS Perform FCS Top 25 
• The Mocs have finished .500 or better over the last five seasons … Chattanooga is 17-9 at home since the start of the 2018 season 
• As a team, the Mocs are averaging 34.9 points per game and allowing 23.3, while Chattanooga is posting 430.3 yards per contest (143.6 rushing/286.7 passing) … The Mocs are allowing 365.6 yards (147.7 rushing/217.9 passing)
• Chattanooga's defense has forced 11 takeaways (five INTs/six fumble recoveries), while its offense has turned the ball over eight times (six INTs/two fumbles) 
• The Mocs are outscoring their opponents 137-68 in the first half, but are only plus-12 in the second half (107-95) 
• Chattanooga is led by UCLA transfer Chase Artopoeus at quarterback … Artopoeus is completing 64.4 percent of his passes (141-219) and has thrown for 1,950 yards and 15 touchdowns … Artopoeus has thrown touchdown passes to seven different players 
• Jamoi Mayes leads the Mocs in receiving yards (645), while he and Sam Phillips each have 40 receptions … Phillips has 414 receiving yards and four touchdowns, while Javin Whatley has a team-high six touchdowns to go with his 32 receptions and 584 receiving yards 
• On the ground Ailym Ford and Gino Appleberry have shared time in the backfield with Ford pacing the Mocs with 119 carries for 485 yards and four touchdowns … Appleberry has 68 carries for 295 yards and three touchdowns 
• The Mocs have scored two defensive touchdowns this season with Kameron Brown having a 78-yard return and Alex Mitchell scored on a 38-yard return – both coming in the win at Samford 
• Mitchell leads the team with 44 tackles, while Ben Brewton has a team-best four sacks … Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Jay Person has 34 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four hurries and two forced fumbles 
• As a unit, Chattanooga has totaled 47 tackles for loss, 20 sacks, 18 hurries and seven forced fumbles 
• The Mocs rank third nationally in red zone offense (.970), defensive touchdowns (2) and first downs offense (166), fourth in red zone defense (.643), fifth in time of possession (33:48), eighth in fewest penalties per game (4.14), 10th in passing efficiency (159.72), 11th in passing offense (286.7), 12th in passing yads per completion (14.13), 14th in fumbles recovered (6), 16th in scoring offense (34.9), 17th in total offense (430.3), 23rd in kickoff returns (22.53) and 29th in completion percentage (.645)

 
SERIES HISTORY 

• Saturday marks the 46th all-time game in the series with Chattanooga holding a 25-19-1 lead 
• Chattanooga won last year's meeting in Johnson City 24-16, marking its third straight win in the series 
• ETSU's last victory in the series came in 2018 when the Bucs won 17-14 
• The Bucs are searching for their first win in Chattanooga since Nov. 11, 2000 when ETSU won 24-22 
• ETSU won five straight in the series from 1992-96, while the Bucs scored the most single-game points in the series with a 68-7 victory in 2003 where the Bucs scored 48 first-half points

 
COVERAGE
The Buccaneer Sports Network (BSN) will provide ETSU fans with complete pregame, in-game and postgame coverage on the Bucs' flagship station WXSM-AM 640 and affiliate station 104.9 FM NASH ICON. Click herefor live audio. 
 
BSN begins its pregame programing one hour and 30 minutes prior to kickoff with the 30-minute Tennessee Lottery Tailgate Show, followed by the Pregame Show presented by Lafayette Heat & Air, which will lead up to 30 minutes prior to kickoff. The Appalachian Orthopedic Countdown to Kickoff will then lead into the final moments before kickoff.     
 
The broadcast team of "Voice of the Bucs" Jay Sandos, analyst Mark Hutsell and sideline reporter Robert Harper will provide ETSU fans all the information they need to complement their game-day activities.
 
At halftime, the crew will have the Mr. Electric Halftime Show, while fans can tune into the Mullican Flooring Post Game Show for a full wrap up, with game statistics, players and coach interviews and other post-game information. 
 
Saturday's game will also be broadcast on ESPN+ with the team of Pete Yanity (play-by-play) and Jared Singleton (analyst) on the call.
 
UP NEXT
ETSU remains on the road as they head to Greenville, S.C. to take on No. 3 Furman at 2 p.m.
 
For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.