JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 20, 2025) – After a lightning delay pushed back kickoff two-and-a-half hours, the ETSU football team weathered the storm and knocked off Elon by a score of 26-16 in its final non-conference game of 2025. Saturday's victory propels the Bucs to 2-2 on the campaign.
After the Bucs forced a punt on Elon's first possession of the game, an ETSU interception gave the Phoenix a short field on their next time out. Despite starting at the ETSU 27-yard line, the Buccaneer defense stiffened and held Elon to a 42-yard field goal. That try split the uprights to give the Phoenix the first lead of the contest, 3-0.
Like with Elon's first score of the night, ETSU's first points came via a short field.
William Wells got into the backfield and blocked a punt, which was downed at the Phoenix 23-yard line.
An
Ewan Johnson 35-yard field goal pulled the Bucs back even with 15 seconds to go in the first quarter.
ETSU's next scoring drive came on its first possession of the second half. A pass interference penalty by the Phoenix was quickly followed by a 41-yard strike from
Cade McNamara to
Ephraim Floyd to get the Bucs deep into Elon territory. It looked like Elon might make another stop, but on a 3rd-and-9, McNamara found some space and ran it in for his first rushing touchdown as a Buc.
Elon's offense had a pair of drives that got inside the ETSU five-yard line. A bad snap on a 4th-and-1 closed out one of those drives. The Phoenix bounced back and found an end zone with an eight-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 10-10.
With 46 seconds to go before halftime, the Buccaneer offense found a spark on another long pass from McNamara to Floyd (45 yards). A few plays later,
Jason Albritton ran in his third touchdown in as many games to push the Bucs back on top, 17-10.
As play moved to the second half, the Bucs intercepted their sixth pass of the season to spark another scoring drive.
Mike Jenkins dove at a pass to log his first career interception. After Jenkins' pick, a 20-yard run by
Izay Bridges put the Bucs on their opponent's side of the field. Following a sack, Johnson drilled a career-long 49-yard field goal to grow ETSU's lead to double figures. It is the second consecutive week that Johnson has connected on a career-long field goal.
ETSU's defense caused another turnover on Elon's next possession as
Nick Hunter jumped on a fumble. The Bucs added to their advantage on their first drive of the fourth quarter. ETSU grinded five-and-a-half minutes off the clock to and punched it across the goal line on a five-yard touchdown by
Khalil Eichelberger. That drive by the Bucs consisted of 12 plays and 87 yards. A missed ETSU extra point, however, kept the Phoenix within two scores as the fourth quarter continued.
Elon would cut into the Buccaneer lead with a touchdown of its own. A two-point conversion attempt failed, though, to keep it a 10-point ETSU lead. The grinding nature of ETSU's offense continued in what proved to be its final possession of the contest. Taking the ball with 6:06 to go in the fourth quarter, ETSU converted on a pair of third downs and did not give it back to Elon. A 14-yard reception by
Charlie Browder converted one of those third-down opportunities before Albritton, who had ripped off a 29-yard run earlier in the drive, iced the game with a five-yard run on 3rd-and-4. Three kneel downs later sealed the ETSU win, its 30th in the history of Greene Stadium.
Other Notables on the Bucs
- Floyd had one of the best games an ETSU wide receiver has ever had against the Phoenix. Floyd finished the night with 12 catches for 145 yards. 74 of his 145 yards came after the catch. The Vero Beach, Florida native's reception and receiving yard totals both established new career-highs. Furthermore, the 12 receptions are tied for the third-most by a Buccaneer pass catcher in program history, and it was the most since 2000 when Cecil Moore hauled in 12 passes against Chattanooga. Only Jeff Johnson's 16-catch outing against VMI in 1994 and Hal Morrison's 13 receptions against Maryville in 1953 sit ahead of Floyd's night on Saturday.
- The player tossing Floyd the ball was McNamara. The graduate quarterback finished the evening going 30-for-45 for 267 yards. The 45 attempts are tied for the fourth-most in a game by an ETSU signal caller, while his 30 completions match the program's single-game record from Greg Ryan in 1993 against Georgia Southern.
- With two more turnovers in the win, the ETSU defense has now forced nine turnovers through the first four games of the season. That is an average of over two takeaways per game.
- Thanks in large part to their final two possessions of the game, ETSU held the ball for 34:34 of the 60 minutes on Saturday. That is the most time of possession for an ETSU team since October 14, 2023, vs. Wofford (34:35).
- Saturday's win was ETSU's 30th at Greene Stadium and boosted their overall record to 30-16 at its on-campus venue.
Next Up – The Bucs will open their SoCon schedule next Saturday when they host Mercer. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at Greene Stadium.
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