SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Nov. 11, 2024) – The Southern Conference announced that ETSU's Zach West and Ewan Johnson were named the Conference's Defensive Player of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively, on Monday afternoon.
 
West had one of his best games of his collegiate career in ETSU's 24-21 win over No. 22 Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon. West racked up a career-high 3.5 sacks, eight tackles, forced a fumble and recovered another. The Boone, N.C. native's 3.5 sacks were tied for the third-most ever by a Buc and the most by an ETSU player over the past three seasons. Furthermore, both his forced fumble and fumble recovery led directly into points for the Bucs as they picked up a key conference victory in the annual Blue Ridge Border Battle. West is up to 8.5 sacks this season, which is just 1.5 sacks shy of tying the single-season program record of 10 set by James Russell in 1994 and 1996.
 
Johnson, who earns his second weekly honor from the SoCon this season, went a perfect 4-for-4 on his kick attempts in last week's 24-21 win over Western Carolina. Johnson made a 40-yard field goal to give the Bucs the early 3-0 lead in the first quarter and then went a perfect 3-for-3 in PAT attempts.
 
The Bucs will be back in action this Saturday when they host Furman in Johnson City. Kickoff between ETSU and Furman is set for Noon.   
 
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