CHARLESTON, S.C. (Sept. 28, 2024) – After battling the effects of Hurricane Helene yesterday, the ETSU football team was able to pull together and defeat The Citadel by a score of 34-17 Saturday evening. With the victory, ETSU improves to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in SoCon play. It is the first time the Bucs have started a conference schedule 1-0 since 2021.
Saturday's Standouts – ETSU's offense was again powered by its running game. The Bucs ran for 308 yards on 40 attempts (7.7 average) with four rushing touchdowns.
Bryson Irby, who only played the second half, gained 126 yards on 14 carriers (9.0 average) with a touchdown for his second 100-yard rushing game of the season.
Khamran Laborn also provided a spark for the Bucs with 117 yards on just five carries (23.4 average) with two rushing touchdowns. It is the first time the Bucs have gone over 300 yards rushing since October 29, 2022 vs. Wofford when they ran for 325.
Defensively, the Buccaneers shined as well holding The Citadel to just 12 first downs and 269 total yards on the day. The Buc defense forced two turnovers, had an interception returned for a touchdown and had a pair of sacks.
Nick Hunter accounted for the two sacks, while
Jimmy Bowdry returned the interception back for touchdown. Furthermore,
Ray Coney set a new career-high with nine tackles with
William McRainey (eight tackles)
Zach West (six tackles),
Chris Hope (five tackles) and
Jayvon Henderson (five tackles) not far behind.
How it Happened – The two teams did not do much in their first few offensive possessions on Saturday. ETSU moved the ball better than the Bulldogs but The Citadel's defense stiffened and stopped the Bucs on fourth down on their first two possessions. The Bulldogs would eventually score the first points of the game with a 32-yard field goal from Ben Barnes with 7:25 to go in the opening quarter.
Trailing for the first time since its game vs. North Dakota State two weeks ago, the Buccaneer offense started to get some things clicking as the second quarter started. Two big runs from Laborn of 26 and 20 yards got big chunks of yards for the Bucs and his 20-yard scamper found the endzone to give the Blue & Gold their first lead of the day, 6-3. It was Laborn's second straight game with a rushing touchdown. The Citadel, who was tied for the national lead in blocked kicks, added one more to its resume by blocking the extra point try by ETSU to keep the score, 6-3.
The Buccaneers would add to their advantage with more great work from their running game. 50 of its 68 yards on its next offensive drive came on the ground, including a 14-yard touchdown scramble by
Jaylen King to extend ETSU's lead to double digits, 13-3.
ETSU had two more offensive possessions in the first half, but both ended in interceptions. The Bulldogs, however, did not take advantage of the Buccaneer miscues and the score remained 13-3 ETSU after 30 minutes of action.
After turning the ball over just twice in the first four games, the turnover bug continued to bite ETSU. A fumble derailed their first drive of the second half and then an interception brought the second one to an abrupt end. Unlike the first half, The Citadel was able to take advantage of a turnover and run the ball in from a yard out to make it a one score game again, 13-10.
It looked like the Bulldogs may pull even with the Bucs King's third interception of the night, but Citadel's kicker lost his footing on a 34-yard field goal try and
Cam Sims blocked it to keep ETSU in front, 13-10.
It remained a three-point game between the Bucs and Bulldogs entering the fourth quarter. Following three punts to begin the frame, the Buccaneer offense found its groove again with the running game. Irby, who entered the game as the SoCon's leading rusher, gained 32 yards on the ground, while King was able to find
Hakeem Meggett and
Karim Page with passes for 35 and 18 yards, respectively. The big play, however, once again came from Laborn as he broke through for a 40-yard touchdown run for his second score of the contest to push ETSU's lead back to double digits, 20-10.
Being back down by 10, The Citadel tried a screen pass with its first play on its new drive but it was picked off and returned for a touchdown by
Jimmy Bowdry. It is Bowdry's first interception as a Buc and his second of his career. It is the second interception return for touchdown for ETSU this year (
Nick Hunter vs. UVA Wise).
The Bulldogs did score their second touchdown of the game in their following possession, but the Bucs answered promptly. An onside kick attempt from Citadel failed, which gave ETSU a shorter field to work with to start the drive. Irby then took it all the way from 57 yards out on the first play of the possession to eliminate any momentum the Bulldogs got from their last score.
ETSU's defense, which played great all game, forced The Citadel to turn the ball over on downs and then the Bucs were able to run out the rest of the clock and clinch the 34-17 victory.
Other Notables on the Bucs
· After winning against both Elon and The Citadel on the road, it is the first time ETSU has won back-to-back road games since 2021 when they defeated Furman (17-13) and Western Carolina (56-35) in consecutive road trips.
· With four more rushing touchdowns in Saturday's win over The Citadel, the Bucs have now rushed for four touchdowns in each of the past three games bringing their season total to 15. That was also the team's rushing touchdown total from the entire 2023 season.
· In a big play on special teams,
Xavier Gaillardetz reeled off a 46-yard punt return. It was not only the longest punt return by a Buc this season but also it set a new career-best for Gaillardetz.
· In the third quarter, the Bucs blocked their first kick of the 2024 season as Sims was able to block a Bulldog field goal try. ETSU also blocked a field goal in last season's matchup vs. The Citadel and that block was by
Max Evans.
· Coney's nine tackles on Saturday matches the most tackles by a Buccaneer defender this season. Hope and
Jaden Woods both have nine-tackle games so far in 2024.
· The pair of 100-yard rushers in Irby and Laborn are a first for ETSU since November 13, 2021, against Western Carolina when former Buccaneers Jacob Saylors and Quay Holmes ran for 266 and 212 yards, respectively.
Next Up – ETSU will return home next Saturday to host longtime rival Chattanooga. Kickoff for that matchup is set for 3:30 p.m. from Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene Jr., Stadium. Tickets are still available for Saturday and can be purchased
HERE.
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