Game #10 - East Tennessee State Buccaneers

For the tenth game of the season, the Cats return to Cullowhee for the annual grudge match, the Blue Ridge Border Battle with the East Tennessee State Buccaneers. Not only is this the Blue Ridge Border Battle, but Hall of Fame Day as well.  

Seven 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 3-4 record against the Bucs since their return to the Southern Conference.

    

     

 

Game #10 -  ETSU Bucs

When: Saturday, November 11, 2023

Time:  1:00 pm (EST) 

Where: Bob Waters Field, EJ Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, NC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network

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

TV/video:  ESPN+

   -announcers: Kyle Rush (pbp), Phil Cox (Analyst)

Live Stats:  WCU Live Stats

Game Notes:       Western Carolina      -      ETSU  

Fan Message Board:  Buccaneer Nation

The Series: This series stretches back to 1932, and Western owns a 26-25-1 record overall in the series. Since the return of football at ETSU, the Cats are 3-4 going into the 2023 contest. Adding to the 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 13-11 in games played in Cullowhee overall. The Cats broke a two-game losing streak to the mountain pirates last year in Johnson City. This game also marks the sixth showdown of the "Blue Ridge Border Battle" with the Bucs capturing three of the first five games in this newly created trophy 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 fifth battle for the Blue Ridge Trophy.

The last game played vs. ETSU:  Nov. 12, 2022 - McCollum’s Walk-Off Field Goal Leads to Rivalry Win - Johnson City, Tenn. –Richard McCollum punched through a game-winning 33-yard field goal as time expired on Saturday afternoon as Western Carolina reclaimed "the Rock" traveling trophy in the Blue Ridge Border Battle with a 20-17 road win over Southern Conference rival ETSU at Greene Stadium.

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, 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 - 1

Kerwin Bell's record vs. ETSU:  1 - 1

Last Season's Record (ETSU):  3-8 overall,  1-4 home,  2-4 away,  1-7 SoCon

This Season's Record (ETSU): 2-7 overall, 2-2 home, 0-5 away, 1-5 SoCon

 

Offensive Formation: Multiple

Defensive Formation: 3-4

In preseason voting by the coaches and media, the Bucs were picked to finish sixth in both polls. ETSU had a total of six players honored. Redshirt senior wide receiver, Will Huzzie; redshirt junior tight end, Noah West; junior defensive back, Sheldon Arnold II; redshirt junior defensive lineman, Max Evans; redshirt sophomore punter, Trace Kelley; and sophomore long snapper, Ryan Phillips were all preseason SoCon second teams. 

The Bucs lost a total of 26 players to the transfer portal since the season ended last year, including many of their most productive players (including 4 All-SoCon players and the starting QB). Added to these difficulties, the Bucs are carrying only 100 players on their active roster this season, due to Title IX difficulties identified by the school. 

Prominent ETSU portal transfers after the 2022 season: Alijah Huzzie (DB) - to North Carolina; Blake Austin (OL) - to Troy; Tavon Matthews (OL) - to Troy; Chandler Martin (LB) - to Memphis;  Rodney Wright Jr. (DL) - to Eastern Kentucky; Tyler Keltner (K) - to Florida State; Erek Campbell (DB) - to Mississippi Valley State; & Davion Hood (LB) - to Temple. 

ETSU injury woos...  ETSU has been bit by the injury bug in several positions this year, but most noticeable at quarterback. The Bucs are down to their fifth-string quarterback William Riddle as starter Tyler Riddell suffered an injury at Jacksonville State before returning two weeks ago at Samford. However, Riddell went down with a leg injury in the first quarter against Mercer and did not return, Riddell’s backup, Baron May, got the start at Austin Peay but suffered a season-ending injury in the second quarter of that contest. From there, third-stringer Timmy Dorsey took over before he got hurt early in the third quarter and never returned, Haynes Eller took over and finished the game.  After Riddell went down against Mercer, Dorsey came in and played until going out early in the fourth quarter – leaving ETSU to go to its fifth quarterback of the season – William Riddle.  

Riddle completed three passes for 28 yards in his collegiate debut.  At Wofford, Riddle went 8-of-12 for 149 yards and one touchdown, while he went 8-for-25 for 46 yards and one interception in his first collegiate at Chattanooga. To go with the injuries to the Bucs’ top three quarterbacks, redshirt senior wide receiver Will Huzzie suffered a season-ending knee injury at Chattanooga, and the Bucs have also been without tight end/wide receiver Cam Lewis all season, while leader and tight end Noah West has been out since the Samford game. The Bucs also dismissed starting wide receiver Einaj Carter from the team three weeks ago. 

What's going right for the Bucs?  Teddy Wilson leads the country with four blocked punts and Sheldon Arnold II ranks sixth with two fumble recoveries and 16th in interceptions per game (0.4). Arnold also ranks 24th in solo tackles (5.2) and 49th in total tackles (8.4), Nate Brackett ranks eighth nationally in punting as he’s averaging 44.1 yards per punt . Brackett’s 70-yard punt against Carson-Newman is tied for the 12th-longest among FCS players this season.

2023 ETSU Statistics (9 games)

Rushing Offense: 1506 yards

Yards per game:  167.3
Yards per rush:  4.3 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 74
TDs rushing: 12
Passing Offense: 982 yards or 109.1 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 11.2 yards
Passing 1st downs: 46
TDs passing: 4
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 198-88-9
Total Offense: 2488 yards or 276.4 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 15 - 10
3d Down Conversions: 29 of 119 (24%)
4th Down Conversions: 8 of 14 (57%)
Field goal attempts  8 - 13
PAT-Attempts: 18 of 18
On-side kicks: 0 - 0
Red Zone Scores: 17 of 25 
Red Zone Touchdowns: 9 of 25 
Punts - Yards: 54 - 2376 - Avg per punt: 44