MACON, Ga. (Nov. 2, 2024) – The No. 23 ETSU football team threw for a single game school record 459 yards on the road at No. 12 Mercer on Saturday afternoon but four costly turnovers, a blocked punt returned for the touchdown, and 10 penalties proved too much to overcome as the Bucs fell to the Bears, 37-31. Saturday's loss moved ETSU's overall record to 5-4 and 3-2 in SoCon play.
Saturday's Standouts – As mentioned earlier, the Bucs threw for a single game school record 459 yards.
Jaylen King started the game and finished with 192 yards, but
Gino English came in the game midway through the third quarter and finished with 267 yards and two touchdowns on a 14-for-19 day through the air.
ETSU's pass catchers had a banner day with three receivers going over 100 yards.
AJ Johnson set new career-highs with 10 catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
Ephraim Floyd also hauled in six passes for 112 yards and
Hakeem Meggett also went over the century mark receiving with 108 yards on four receptions and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Bucs held Mercer to 292 yards on the day offensively, which was their third-lowest of the season. ETSU totaled four sacks, which is its second-most of the season.
Zach West tallied two of the four for his second multi-sack game of the season.
Nick Hunter added 1.5 sacks and
William McRainey added 0.5 sacks. McRainey also had a team-high with 12 tackles bringing him just four shy of 400 for his collegiate career.
Ray Coney also had a career-high 10 tackles in the contest.
How it Happened
First Quarter
Mercer 3, ETSU 0: An interception by King derailed ETSU's first offensive drive of the day and set the Bears up deep in ETSU territory. Defending a short field, the Buccaneer defense responded with a third-and-out to set up a Mercer field goal try. The Bears' Reice Griffith connected on a 36-yard try to give the home team the first lead of the contest.
ETSU 7, Mercer 3: The Bucs wasted little time in answering the Bears' score. King connected with Meggett perfectly in stride on a 68-yard pass to put ETSU back in front. Meggett, who was averaging over 20 yards a catch so far in 2024, and his 68-yard reception was a new career-long for the senior wide out.
ETSU 14, Mercer 3: A mix of good defense and special teams by the Bucs set ETSU up with a short field on its next scoring drive. Starting at Mercer's 46-yard line, King hit
Xavier Gaillardetz on a 36-yard pass to put the Bucs in the redzone for the first time. ETSU then found paydirt on a fourth-and-one rush from English to make it 14-3 Bucs with 2:02 to go in the first quarter.
Second Quarter
ETSU 14, Mercer 10: ETSU's defense continued to play well as the game moved to the second quarter but a perfect punt by Mercer pinned the Bucs at their own one-yard line. Backed all the way in their own territory, a costly ETSU fumble on its first play of the drive was recovered in the end zone by the Bears to close the gap to four points, 14-10.
Mercer 17, ETSU 14: Mercer continued to gain momentum via its defense as Marques Thomas picked off King and returned it for 25 yards for a touchdown. All 17 points of Mercer's points to that point in the game came off an ETSU turnover.
Third Quarter
Mercer 24, ETSU 14: As the second half began, ETSU's defense looked like it may get off the field as it had the Bears at a third-and-16. However, a seven-yard pass was helped by a 15-yard personal foul to extend the drive for Mercer. With an extra opportunity, the Bears took advantage of another mistake by the Bucs and connected on their first offensive touchdown of the afternoon on a 34-yard pass.
Mercer 31, ETSU 14: Mercer's next score came via its special teams unit. The Bears, who had come close on a few ETSU punts earlier in the game, broke through on this attempt as they blocked one and returned it for 20 yards for another Mercer touchdown. It was the first time that the Bucs have had a punt blocked since September 8, 2018, against Tennessee.
Mercer 31, ETSU 21: English, who entered the game at quarterback for the Bucs midway through the third quarter, was able to get ETSU's offense in rhythm for the first time since the opening quarter. Another long pass to Meggett, this one for 31 yards, put the Bucs in Mercer territory. A few plays later English found Johnson on an 18-yard touchdown pass. It was Johnson's fourth in the last four games to bring his total to the season to a team-high six receiving touchdowns.
Fourth Quarter
Mercer 34, ETSU 21: Another Buccaneer interception, their third of the game, gave the Bears another drive starting in ETSU territory. Starting a drive at ETSU's 29-yard line, the Blue and Gold defense again stiffened and held the Bears out of the end zone. A 36-yard field goal, however, extended Mercer's lead back to 13 points, 34-21, with 12:44 to go in regulation.
Mercer 34, ETSU 28: With time clicking down in the fourth quarter, English continued to spark the Bucs. The senior signal caller got things rolling with an eight-yard rush and then completed a 14-yard and 33-yard pass to Johnson and Floyd to put the Bucs deep into Mercer territory. English then found Johnson for his second receiving touchdown of the game to make it a one score game again, 34-28.
Mercer 37, ETSU 28: Mercer took over with just under six minutes to go in the fourth quarter and burned over four minutes off the clock. The drive got the Bears within field goal range and their kicker came through on a 31-yard attempt to push the Mercer lead back to nine with 1:55 remaining.
Mercer 37, ETSU 31: Needing two scores, the Buccaneer offense moved quickly into field goal range. Deep passes to Floyd and Johnson along with a short run by English gave the Bucs that chance.
Ewan Johnson then drilled a 44-yard try to pull ETSU back within six points, 37-31, with 45 seconds to go.
After the Johnson field goal, the Bucs then lined up for an onside kick. It looks like ETSU recovered an onside kick not once but twice. However, penalties by ETSU on both of those plays negated both of those recoveries and gave Mercer the ball back for one final kneel down to finish off the win.
Other Notables on the Bucs
· Johnson's 162 yards were the most by a Buccaneer pass catcher since the program returned in 2015. Johnson and his six receiving touchdowns are tied for the most since the return of the Buccaneer program with
Will Huzzie who had six in 2022.
· On the kicking side, Johnson made his first 40-plus yard field goal to get the Bucs within one score late in the game. The 44-yard make matched a career-long by ETSU's sophomore kicker as he also made a 44-yard kick in last season's matchup with Mercer.
· Even with the punt block,
Nate Brackett had a good day punting for the Bucs. Brackett averaged 45.8 yards a kick with four of the six being downed inside the 20-yard line. Additionally, two of Brackett's six tries were over 50 yards.
· ETSU's kick return team also had its best outing of the season with a season-high 149 yards.
Khamran Laborn had six of the seven returns for 131 yards with his longest being 33 yards.
· With the record-setting passing day by the Bucs, they averaged 18.4 yards per completion. Overall, ETSU averaged 6.4 per play.
Next Up – The Bucs will return home next Saturday when they host longtime rival Western Carolina in the annual Blue Ridge Border Battle. Kickoff between the Bucs and Catamounts is set for Noon from Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium.
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ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.
