JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 12, 2024) – The ETSU football team trailed Samford by two touchdowns with a little over 10 minutes to go in the third quarter but Buccaneers rallied to knock off the Bulldogs, 31-28, on Saturday afternoon from Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium. With Saturday's win, the Buccaneers improve to 4-3 on the season and 2-1 in SoCon play.
Saturday's Standouts – Wide receiver
AJ Johnson led the Buccaneer receiving corps for the second straight week with seven receptions for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was Johnson's first career 100-yard receiving game and the first by a Buccaneer receiver this year. Johnson was the favorite receiver of quarterback
Jaylen King. King threw for career-high 268 yards and three touchdowns. King also was ETSU's leading rusher in the win with 80 yards.
Defensively, the Buccaneers put quite a bit of pressure on the Bulldogs with seven total sacks. ETSU also had nine additional tackles for loss in the win.
Zach West and
Nick Hunter both had two sacks, while
Ray Coney and
Damon Early had one a piece. Coney and
William McRainey were the leading tacklers for the Bucs with seven stops each with West (six tackles),
Cam Sims (five tackles) and
Teddy Wilson (five tackles) not far behind.
How it Happened – The Buccaneers started the contest with the ball on Saturday. ETSU drove the ball 70 yards on eight plays, but Samford's defense stopped the Bucs with just five yards to go before the endzone. After a short pass to begin the drive, Samford connected on an 89-yard touchdown pass to gain the early lead on the Bucs.
Following a couple of scoreless drives, the Bucs would knot the score at 7-7 with 3:11 to go in the first quarter. The big play came on the touchdown as King found
Hakeem Meggett on a 30-yard pass. Meggett hauled in the pass at the Bulldogs' 10-yard line and then took it the rest of the way. It was Meggett's first touchdown in a Buccaneer uniform and also his first since April 10, 2021 vs. Tusculum.
Samford used another quick strike to regain the lead on its following possession. Passes of 12 and 11 yards got the drive going before a deep 41-yard pass moved the Bulldogs back in front, 14-7. As the game moved into the second quarter, the Bulldogs' passing attack continued to thrive. A short five-yard completion turned into a 23-yard touchdown for the Bulldogs to push their lead to 21-7 with 12:55 to go before halftime.
The Bucs cut into the Bulldog advantage with a quick-hitting drive themselves late in the first half. A 15-yard run by King was followed by a 30-yard catch by
Ephraim Floyd and 15-yard touchdown reception by Johnson to make it a one-score game again, 21-14, with 2:07 to go before halftime.
Samford made it a two-score game again with another touchdown toss in the third quarter. This one was from seven yards out and made the score 28-14 Bulldogs. Roughly three minutes later, the momentum swung back into ETSU's favor as King found Johnson on a 75-yard touchdown pass. It was the longest pass of King's career and the longest reception of Johnson's, and the score moved to 28-21 Samford with 6:48 to go in the third.
In a drive going from the end of the third quarter and into the beginning of the fourth, the Bucs used almost seven minutes to drive deep into Bulldog territory. Unfortunately, the Bucs had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by
Ewan Johnson to make it 28-24 with just over 14 minutes remaining.
The Buccaneer defense would step up late to give the Blue & Gold a chance late to take its first lead. A three-and-out possession by Samford that lost them 12 yards of field possession was followed by a short punt and a 15-yard penalty to set the Bucs up at Samford's 33-yard line with 3:56 to go.
A pair of runs by
Devontae Houston totaled 11 yards before King and Johnson connected on another big gain (31 yards) to get the Bucs inside the five-yard line. After a few plays, the Bucs would break through as
Gino English would sneak it in from a yard out to give ETSU the 31-28 lead.
With just 1:46 to go in the game, the Buccaneer defense stepped up again forcing the Bulldogs to turn the ball over on downs. The big play on Samford's final drive was an eight-yard sack by
Dailen Howard and McRainey. Without all three timeouts, the Bulldogs could not stop the clock so ETSU took three kneel downs and finished off the 31-28 comeback win.
Other Notables on the Bucs
· The rally by the Bucs on Saturday marked the first time since December 4, 2021 against Kennesaw State in the FCS playoffs that ETSU has trailed in the fourth quarter and have come back and won.
· Saturday's victory was the Bucs' fourth on the 2024 season passing the win total from each of the past two seasons (three).
· Johnson's 146-yard receiving day was the most receiving yards by a Buccaneer pass catcher since the program came back in 2015 passing Drake Powell's (2016 at Mercer) and
Will Huzzie's (2019 vs. The Citadel) 143-yard outings.
· The seven sacks by the Buccaneer defense were the most by the team since they totaled eight against the Bulldogs in the spring game between the two programs in February 2021.
· Saturday also marked ETSU's first win over the Bulldogs since September 25, 2021, 55-48, in overtime. It is ETSU's fourth win all-time against Samford.
Next Up – The Bucs won't take the field next Saturday as it is their bye week. ETSU will return to action on October 26 when they visit Wofford. Kickoff from Spartanburg is set for 2 p.m.
For more information on Buccaneer football, visit
ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.
