Game #10 - ETSU Bucs

    
For the tenth game of the season, the Catamounts hit the road and will travel over Sam's Gap to face the ETSU Bucs in the annual gridiron grudge match, the "Blue Ridge Border Battle" to be held this year at Greene Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn.

Six seasons ago, Western and the Bucs revived their series that started back in 1932, but abruptly ended in 2003 when the Bucs eliminated football. The Cats own a 2-4 record against the Bucs since their return to the Southern Conference.




Game #10 - ETSU Bucs

When: Saturday, November 12, 2022

Time:  1:00 pm (EST) 

Where: Greene Stadium, Johnson City, TN
Radio: Catamount Sports Network

-announcers:  Gary Ayers,  (play-by-play); Daniel Hooker (color)

TV/video:  ESPN+

-announcers: Keith Brake (pbp), Mark Hutsell (color
Live Stats:  ETSU Live Stats

Game Notes:       Western Carolina      -      ETSU  

Fan Message Board:  Buccaneer Nation

The Series: This series stretches back to 1932, and is tied up at 25-25-1. Since the return of football at ETSU, the Cats are 2-4 going into the 2022 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 11-14-1 in games played in Johnson City overall. The Cats have dropped the last two games to the mountain pirates.  This game also marks the fifth showdown of the Blue Ridge Border Battle with the Bucs capturing three of the first four games in this newly created rivalry game …

The Trophy: The two campuses are separated by just 112 total miles and share a common border through the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 2018 the mountain rivalry was dubbed the “Blue Ridge Border Battle”, consisting of a trophy that includes a two-tiered wooden pedestal adorned on opposite sides by the two school’s respective logos and the moniker of the football rivalry series. Atop the trophy is a rock that was taken from the Appalachian Trail on the North Carolina – Tennessee border in the heart of the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains. This will be the fourth battle for the Blue Ridge Trophy. The Bucs claimed the inaugural meeting for the new trophy with a thrilling triple-overtime victory, 45-43, winning the trophy at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium in 2018. WCU captured the overtime win in 2019 before ETSU secured the trophy again in the spring of 2021.

The last game played vs. ETSU:  Nov. 13, 2021 - Western Carolina Drops Home Finale, Rivalry Game to ETSU - Western Carolina overcame a pair of first-half turnovers with big plays in both the passing game and on special teams on Saturday afternoon to head to the halftime locker room even with No. 11/12 East Tennessee State in the home finale at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. However, the high-octane Catamounts were held off the scoreboard in the second half as the Buccaneers ground out a 56-35 win to retain the traveling trophy in the "Blue Ridge Border Battle."

Head Coach: George Quarles - On Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021 George Quarles was introduced as the 19th Head Coach in Buccaneer football history. Quarles arrives in Johnson City from the staff at Furman for the last five seasons, serving as the Associate Head Coach. In addition to operating as the Associate Head Coach, Quarles has also held the Offensive Coordinator slot and the Quarterbacks coach each of the last four seasons. During his time with the Paladins, Quarles oversaw two FCS Playoff appearances in both 2017 and 2019, in addition to a share of the regular-season SoCon Championship in 2018.

George Quarles's record vs. WCU:  0 - 0

Kerwin Bell's record vs. ETSU:  0 - 1

Last Season's Record (ETSU):  11-2 overall,  7-0 home,  4-2 away,  7-1 SoCon. 

This Season's Record (ETSU):  3-6 overall, 1-3 home, 2-3 away, 1-6 SoCon

 

Offensive Formation: Multiple

Defensive Formation: 3-4

The defending SoCon champions were picked to finish second this season in the SoCon by the league coaches and media, and ETSU senior running back Jacob Saylors was named SoCon Preseason Player of the Year. Saylors was one of 10 Buccaneers to earn preseason honors, he was joined by quarterback Tyler Riddell (Tampa, Fla.), offensive lineman Tavon Matthews (Woodbridge, Va.), wide receiver Will Huzzie (Duluth, Ga.), defensive lineman Jalen Porter (Gallatin, Tenn.), defensive back Mike Price (Stockbridge, Ga.) and placekicker Tyler Keltner (Tallahassee, Fla.) on the first team lists. Offensive linemen Fred Norman Jr. (Rossville, Ga.) and Joe Schreiber (Chanhassen, Minn.), along with defensive back Alijah Huzzie (Franklin, Ga.) earned second-team honors. 

Unfortunately for the Bucs, the season hasn't worked out as well as the promise of those preseason accolades.  The Bucs are currently in 8th place in the conference standings, with a 1-6 conference record. The Buc's lone conference win is over VMI.  The Bucs come into the game losers of 4 of their last 5 games and are riding a 3 game losing skid.  However, the Bucs are coming off a bye week, giving them two weeks to prepare for the visiting Catamounts. One bright spot in the Bucs' offense has been Jacob Saylors who leads the SoCon in rushing,  already rushing for over a thousand yards, Saylors is averaging over 121 yards per game.  

2022 ETSU Statistics (9 games)

Rushing Offense: 1550 yards

Yards per game:  172.2
Yards per rush:  5.0 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 106
TDs rushing: 75
Passing Offense: 1950 yards or 216.7 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 7.0 yards
Passing 1st downs: 83
TDs passing: 15
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 151-280-12
Total Offense: 3500 yards or 388.9 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 10 - 2
3d Down Conversions: 38 of 118 (32%)
4th Down Conversions: 6 of  12 (50%)
Field goal attempts  16 - 21
PAT-Attempts: 35 of 38
On-side kicks: 0 - 0
Red Zone Scores: 24 of 30 (80%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 15 of 30 (63%)
Punts - Yards: 38 - 1602 - Avg per punt: 59.3