Game #9 - ETSU Bucs

     


For the ninth game of the season, the Cats travel to Johnson City, TN to face the Bucs of East Tennessee State University in the 2020-21 edition of The Blue Ridge Border Battle.

Four seasons ago, Western and the Bucs revived the series that started back in 1932, but abruptly ended in 2003 when the Bucs eliminated football.








Game #9 - ETSU Bucs

When: Saturday, March 27 at 1:00 pm
Where:  William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium, Johnson City, TN
Radio: Catamount Sports Network  
-announcers: Gary Ayers, PxP, Daniel Hooker - Analyst

Pregame Show:  CSN pregame show starts 1 hr prior to kick-off

TV/video:  ESPN+
-announcers:  Mike Gallagher PxP & Mark Hutsel -Analyst

-Saturday's game will be broadcast on the Nexstar affiliates with three stations – WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville), WMYT (Charlotte), and WWCW (Roanoke, Va.)  WSPA's sports director Pete Yanity and former Wofford All-American lineman Jared Singleton have the call.

Live Stats:  ETSU live stats

Tickets:  ETSUTickets

ETSU Fan Message Board:  Buccaneer Nation  

Game Notes:  Western Carolina   -    ETSU

The Series: This series stretches back to 1932, with the Cats holding a slim 25-23-1 lead. Since the return of football at ETSU, the Cats & Bucs are tied, 2-2 going into the 2020 contest. Adding to the newfound rivalry between the two mountain teams, the Bucs pulled off a 2 point, 3 overtime win, 43-45 in the initial Blue Ridge Border Battle trophy contest held in Johnson City in 2018.  The Cats are 11-13-1 in games played in Johnson City and are 19-10 overall in games played as Southern Conference games. 

Mark Speir holds a 2-2 record vs. ETSU.

Randy Sanders holds a 1-1 record vs. WCU

The last game played vs. ETSU:  September 9, 2019 - Rock Solid! Catamounts Outlast ETSU in Overtime, 23-20 - Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina redshirt senior Nate Mullen plowed in from one-yard out in overtime as the Catamounts celebrated claiming the traveling trophy in the “Blue Ridge Border Battle” for the first time with a 23-20 victory over East Tennessee State in Southern Conference action at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. Trailing by three after Tyler Keltner converted a 42-yard field goal in overtime, WCU used two Caleb Ferguson receptions of 13 and six yards, as well as a five-yard rush to move to the one-yard line. Mullen then rushed off the right side for the game-winning touchdown, setting off the wild on-field celebration.

Head Coach: Randy Sanders - Sanders was named ETSU football head coach on Dec. 17, 2017, becoming the 18th head coach in program history. Sanders, a Morristown, Tenn. native, has spent the last 29 years coaching on the Football Bowl Subdivision level, which includes stints as offensive coordinator at Tennessee, Kentucky and most recently Florida State. 

This Season's Record (ETSU):  2020-21 record - 2-1 overall, 2-1 SoCon, 1-1 home, 1-0 away

Last Season's Record (ETSU):  2019 record -  8-4 overall,  5-1 home,  3-3 away,  6-2 SoCon. 

Offensive Formation: Spread Option
-2019 Offense: 20.1 ppg. (101st in FCS)
Defensive Formation: 3-4
2019 Defense: 26.2 ppg. (46th in FCS)
Starters Returning/Lost: 17/5
Offensive Starters Returning/Lost:  9  / 2
Defensive Starters Returning/Lost:  8 / 3
Special Teams Starters Returning/Lost:  3 / 3


TOP RETURNING OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
-RB Quay Holmes (206 rushes, 1143 yards, 7 TD, 16 rec. 134 yards, 1 TD); -QB Trey Mitchell (148 cmp., 1,616 yards, 11 TD); -RB Jacob Saylors (112 rushes, 653 yards, 4 TD, 16 rec., 150 yards)

TOP RETURNING DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
-LB Zack Yancey (69 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 5 QB hurries, 1 Forced Fumble); -LB Donovan Manuel (64 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 5 PBU, 2 QB hurries, 1.0 sacks, 1 INT); -LB Colton Lakes (59 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 4 PBU, 2 QB hurries, 0.5 sacks)

The Transfer Portal:  The Buccaneers added 11 transfers in the offseason, including five players late in the 2020 calendar year. Six of the 11 transfers came from FBS programs: Charlie Cole (Army), Carson Flake (Western Kentucky), Jay Harrison (Buffalo), Austin Lewis (Liberty), Mike Price (Appalachian State) and Juwan Ross (Old Dominion). The Bucs also added Colby Smith (Erskine) and Garrett Jennings (Eastern Kentucky). Rounding out the transfers are a trio of JUCO competitors: Timmy Dorsey (Laney College), Brock Landis (Blinn College) and Joe Schreiber (Iowa Western CC). 

Six Buccaneers were named to the 2021 Spring Preseason All-SoCon Teams.  Five of the six Bucs were named to the Preseason First Team All-SoCon: Nate Adkins (Offense), Blake Bockrath (Defense), Quay Holmes (Offense), Tyree Robinson (Defense) and Tre’mond Shorts (Offense). Rounding out the preseason accolades is sophomore kicker, Tyler Keltner, who was named to the Preseason Second Team All-SoCon Offense.

Coming off a win in Charleston, the Bucs were able to capitalize on 3 Citadel turnovers, scoring 21 points off those turnovers, enabling the Bucs to pick up a road victory.  The Bucs totaled just 223 yards of offense, as redshirt freshman QB Tyler Riddell threw a couple of touchdown passes finishing the game with 182 yards passing. 

2020-21 ETSU Statistics  (3 games)
Rushing Offense: 265 yards
Yards per game: 88.3yards
Rushing 1st downs: 107
TDs rushing: 4
Passing Offense: 580 yards or 193.3 per game
Passing 1st downs: 20
TDs passing: 3
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 51-87-2
Total Offense: 845 yards or 281.7 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 6 - 3
3d Down Conversions: 14 of 41 (34%)
4th Down Conversions: 0 of 3 (0%)
Field goal attempts  3 - 4
PAT-Attempts: 8 of 8
On-side kicks: 0-0
Red Zone Scores: 8 of 10 (80%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 5 of 10 (50%)
Punts - Yards: 17 - 686 - Avg per punt: 40.4 yards