LEXINGTON, Va. (Nov. 23, 2024) – The ETSU football team used three field goals, a rushing touchdown by Bryson Irby and the defense did not allow a touchdown to outlast VMI in its regular season finale on Saturday afternoon, 16-9. With the victory, the Bucs close out the campaign with a record of 7-5 overall and 5-3 in SoCon play.

Stat Standouts – Freshman quarterback Baylor Hayes made his first collegiate start on Saturday. Hayes, who was the first true freshman quarterback to start for the Bucs since November 20, 1993, completed 15 of 25 passes for 119 yards and completed at least one pass to seven different receivers. Hayes also ran for 15 yards in the win.

Speaking of running the ball, the Bucs ran for 195 yards against the Keydets. The Bucs ran for over 100 yards in 11 of 12 games this season. Devontae Houston led the charge with 104 yards on 18 carries, while Irby closed out his career as a Buc with 53 yards and the team's lone touchdown.

Defensively, Ray Coney led the charge with eight tackles with two pass breakups. Coney finishes his sophomore campaign with 96 tackles, which is the most for a Buc defender in 2024. William McRainey was not far behind with seven tackles. Ty Anderson (six tackles), Tywan Royal (five tackles) and Willie Harris (five tackles) rounded out ETSU's top tacklers on the day.

How it Happened
First Quarter
VMI 3, ETSU 0 – After ETSU won the toss and deferred to the second half, the Keydets started the contest with the ball. VMI quarterback JoJo Crump completed a pass for 14 yards and then reeled off a 39-yard run to put the Keydets into Buccaneer territory. Caden Beck then connected on a 39-yard field goal to give VMI the early 3-0 lead.
 
ETSU 3, VMI 3 – Following a three-and-out by each offense, the Buccaneer offense got things going with its second drive of the game. ETSU, which came into the game as the SoCon's best rushing team, got things going on the ground. Hayes got things started with a nine-yard rush and then Houston ripped off a pair long runs totaling 39 yards to get the Bucs on VMI's side of the field for the first time. The drive would stall in the red zone, but the Bucs still got points as Ewan Johnson connected on a 22-yard field goal to knot things up at 3-3.
 
Second Quarter
ETSU 10, VMI 3 – Both defenses stepped up and forced multiple stops as the game progressed into the second quarter. ETSU suddenly got a burst of momentum as Parker Self blocked a VMI punt to set the Bucs up at the Keydets' 17-yard line. Five of ETSU's next six plays were rushing plays and the last was a one-yard touchdown run by Irby to give the Bucs their first lead of the game, 10-3. It was Irby's first touchdown since September 28 at The Citadel and 14^th of his ETSU career.

ETSU 13, VMI 3 – After the game-opening field goal by the Keydets, the Buccaneer defense forced VMI to punt for the sixth straight time to give ETSU a chance to extend its lead before the half. Hayes hooked up with Houston on a pair of passes totaling 12 yards. Houston then added 11 more rushing to push the Bucs into Keydet territory. Completions to Xavier Gaillardetz and Ephraim Floyd set the Bucs up with a first-and-goal chance at VMI's four-yard line. ETSU's next pass was incomplete but Johnson kicked his second field goal of the game, this one from 20 yards out, to push the Bucs' advantage to double digits, 13-3.
 
Third Quarter
ETSU 16, VMI 3 – ETSU opened the second half with the football and put together an 11-play, 49-yard drive to add to its lead. 22 receiving yards by Karim Page and 16 more rushing yards by Houston set up the Bucs with another field goal try from Johnson. This attempt, which was 40-yarder, was again good for Johnson to push ETSU's lead to 16-3 with 10:20 to go in the third quarter. It was Johnson's third 40-plus yard field goal of the season.
 
ETSU 16, VMI 6 – The next score came from the Keydets. VMI grinded out a 12-play, 45-yard drive that burned over six minutes off the clock that ended in a 48-yard field goal from Beck to close the Buccaneer lead back to 10, 16-6, with 4:15 to go in the third.
 
Fourth Quarter
ETSU 16, VMI 9 – In a drive that started at the end of the third quarter, VMI made it a one-score game again on their next possession. Beck again delivered with a 48-yard field goal to close the gap to seven points, 16-9.
 
There was not another score down the stretch. It looked like the Bucs would go for it on fourth down but instead Hayes punted for 62 yards to pin the Keydets at their own two-yard line. ETSU's defense stepped up and turned the Keydets over on downs twice during the fourth quarter and finished off their seventh victory of the season.  
 
Other Notables on the Bucs
·       The win was ETSU's seventh of the season. The 2024 Bucs are the 11^th team in school history to reach seven wins and the first since the 2021 team and it surpasses the win total for the program over the last two seasons combined (six wins). Additionally, ETSU's Head Coach Tre Lamb tied for the second-most wins in a season by a first-year head coach matching Paul Hamilton's seven wins in 1997. Only Randy Sanders' 2018 season where he led the Bucs to eight victories ranks higher.
·       Irby played his final game in an ETSU uniform on Saturday. Irby crossed 1,500 career rushing yards in Saturday's win over VMI and he finishes his ETSU career with 1,527 yards.
·       Houston topped 100 yards rushing for the second straight game and sixth time in his career on Saturday. Houston racked up 648 yards (5.4 yards per carry) despite missing two games in his first season with ETSU.
·       With his three field goals on Saturday, Johnson tied for the second-most field goals ever in a game by an ETSU kicker. It was the most field goals made in a game by a Buc kicker since Tyler Keltner booted a school record four field goals in 2022 vs. Mercer.
·       In a bounce back season, the Bucs had several team statistics that rank among the top 10 best in the program's history. Some of those marks in rushing yards (3^rd – 2,330), rushing yards per attempt (3^rd – 4.8), total offense (3^rd – 4,877), yards per play (3^rd – 5.9), yards per game (3^rd – 406.4), rushing defense (3^rd – 110.5), first downs (4^th – 240), punting average (T-4^th – 41.8), opponent's yards per carry (T-4^th – 3.0), passing yards (5^th – 2,547), rushing yards per game (6^th – 194.2), points per game (6^th – 27.6), field goals made (T-6^th – 13), passing yards per game (9^th – 212.3), and pass attempts (10^th – 339).
·       ETSU limited the mistakes well in Saturday's win with one turnover and one penalty. The one penalty matched a season-low for the Bucs.
·       It is the second time this season that the Bucs have not allowed a touchdown with the first occurring vs. UVA Wise in September. The last time the Bucs held a Division I opponent out of the end zone was on September 24, 2022 vs. Robert Morris in a 45-3 win and it was the first time vs. a SoCon opponent since November 2017 vs. VMI (24-6).
·       Saturday's win improves ETSU's all-time record vs. VMI to 19-11. Furthermore, it was ETSU's fourth straight win over the Keydets in Lexington.
·       ETSU's defense allowed just 62 passing yards in the win over VMI. It is the lowest passing yard total by an ETSU opponent since October 9, 2021 when the Bucs held The Citadel to 54 yards through the air.
·       Saturday was the fourth road win for ETSU this season, which is the most for the Bucs since 2021 when they won four as well. In comparison the Bucs won just two games away from Johnson City in the last two seasons combined.

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