JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 7, 2023) – Being held to a season-low 126 yards of total offense and losing two of its quarterbacks, the ETSU football team suffered a 24-6 setback to Mercer in front of 9,756 fans on Homecoming Saturday at Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium. 
 
ETSU, who lost starting quarterback Tyler Riddell with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, saw backup Timmy Dorsey go out early in the fourth quarter – leaving the Blue & Gold to go to fourth-string quarterback William Riddle. Entering Saturday, the Bucs were already without backup Baron May as he suffered a season-ending injury last month at Austin Peay. 
 
The Buccaneer defense and special teams did their job in keeping ETSU in the game as they held Mercer to 17 points and 280 yards through the first three quarters, but the Blue & Gold couldn't capitalize on two blocked punts and two fumble recoveries. Overall, the Bucs were limited to 45 yards passing on seven completed passes and totaled just 81 yards on the ground. Mercer finished with 388 yards of total offense – 317 yards through the air with Ty James finishing with 14 receptions for 285 yards and two touchdowns. 
 
Individually, ETSU defensive back Sheldon Arnold II – the reigning Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week – tied a career-high with 12 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Linebacker Stephen Scott also tied a career-high with 12 hits, while fellow linebacker Teddy Wilson blocked two punts, finished with three tackles and generated a forced fumble. 
 
With the loss, ETSU moved to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play, while Mercer – who won for the first time in four games played in Greene Stadium – improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in SoCon action. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter
No scoring plays 
 
Second Quarter
Mercer 3, ETSU 0: After both teams were held scoreless and combined for 99 yards of offense in the first quarter, Mercer struck first when Reice Griffith connected on a 33-yard field goal to cap off a 15-play, 70-yard scoring drive.  
 
Mercer 10, ETSU 0: The Bears recorded the first touchdown of the afternoon when Carter Peevy scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper, making it 10-0 with six minutes left in the half. The Bucs stopped Mercer on the first two plays from the goal line, but the Bears got the push on third down to find the end zone. 
 
Mercer 17, ETSU 0: Mercer tacked on one more score right before halftime when Peevy hit James for a 30-yard score at the 1:02 mark of the frame. 
 
Third Quarter
Mercer 17, ETSU 3: ETSU finally got on the board with 11:43 left in the third quarter when Ewan Johnson made a 44-yard field. The Bucs had great field position when Wilson posted the first of his two blocked punts and Trevor Thompson recovered at the Mercer 20-yard line. Unfortunately, the Bucs lost seven yards on the drive when Dorsey threw an incomplete pass to Jaylen Frierson and Zach Borisch was stopped for no yards on second down. From there, Dorsey was sacked for the loss of seven yards, forcing ETSU to settle for three points. 
 
Mercer 17, ETSU 6: The Bucs continued chipping away at their deficit, but again, moved into the red zone and had to kick a field goal. After starting at the Mercer 45-yard line, the Bucs moved down inside the 20 but couldn't find pay dirt. Facing a 1st-and-10 from the Mercer 14-yard line, ETSU moved to the Bears' six. But on 4th-and-2 with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter the Bucs kicked the 23-yard field goal – making it an 11-point game. 
 
Fourth Quarter
Mercer 24, ETSU 6: Despite the Bucs blocking another punt early in the fourth quarter and having great field position at the Mercer 23-yard line, ETSU's drive came away empty when Johnson missed a 40-yard field goal. On the Bears' ensuing possession, Mercer scored on a 50-yard reception to James with 6:32 left in the contest. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• With the crowd of 9,756, ETSU has now posted 26 sellout crowds in 35 games
• ETSU dropped to 23-12 all-time in Greene Stadium, while it was the Bucs' first-ever home loss to Mercer 
• The Bucs' 45 passing yards marked their fewest since throwing 43 yards in last season's finale at Mississippi State
• The 126 yards of total offense was the lowest Buccaneer output since being held to 105 yards at Vanderbilt on Nov. 23, 2019
• Chris Hope recorded his 100th career tackle as he entered the day with 99 hits and finished Saturday with six tackles
• Stephen Scott posted his fourth career double-digit tackle game – two of them coming this season … Sheldon Arnold II now has two double-digit tackle games for his career 
• Teddy Wilson now has three blocked punts this season and has accomplished the feat in both of ETSU's home games 
• Both teams combined to 6-for-32 on third down … ETSU was 3-of-18 and Mercer was 3-for-14

 
NEXT GAME UP
ETSU wraps up its two-game homestand next Saturday when the Bucs host Wofford at 3:30 p.m. 
 
For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football page.