The Buccaneers shocked fans on Saturday night by taking the victory over Georgia Southern with 19-16 as the final score.
“This has to go down as one of the greatest nights in East Tennessee State athletics,” said head coach Paul Hamilton.
“I’m so proud of Matt Wilhjelm and happy for him.”
Quarterback Matt Wilhjelm, who ranks fifth in the SoCon for passing, got a total of 63 yards passing from wide receiver Cecil Moore and finished the game with 104 passing yards.
The first quarter was treacherous for ETSU, as a 37-yard field goal was made by GSU’s Scott Shelton at 8:12, and another 27-yard goal at 2:18 gave Georgia Southern the lead.
An incomplete pass by Wilhjelm to wide receiver Charvin Clark added to the pressure, as GSU took the lead.
Georgia Southern and their fans expected to come home victorious.
They were in for quite a shock.
Wilhjelm’s running play gained enough yardage in the quarter, and a pass to wide receiver Tim Turner, who was stopped on the 19-yard line, got the first down. During the second down with 11 yards to go, Moore made the famous catch in a surprising play.
Perhaps one of the biggest stars on the field that night was Moore, who caught a pass from Wilhjelm at the 3-yard line, scoring the first six points for ETSU with 13:28 remaining in the quarter.
Another catch from Moore would put ETSU in the lead at 12-9, despite his 15-yard penalty for unnecessary diving into the end zone.
“I was trying to get in the end zone, not celebrate,” Moore said of the penalty.
Despite the loss of yardage, Moore hustled past a group of GSU defensive linesmen and made the touchdown.
GSU’s defense, which forced 13 turnovers this past season alone, just couldn’t hold back ETSU any longer.
The Bucs defense came on stronger than ever, preventing the Eagles from getting to the endzone and catching up for the lead.
Defensive back Tony Tiller, a sophomore from Lithonia, Ga., intercepted the ball in the third down and again on the 20-yard line.
“Our defense won the game,” said Wilhjelm. “We were fortunate.”
With this delay in yardage, Georgia Southern lost possession of the ball after missing a field goal kick on fourth down. Sophomore safety Montreal Harkley led the Bucs with 12 tackles.
Running back Corey Carter had the ball from a yard and scored six more points for the Bucs, making the score 19-9. GSU tried to come back still, and quarterback J.R. Revere made a touchdown at 4:34, pushing the score up to 19-16.
GSU had plenty of fumbles to deal with, including three from replaced quarterback Melvin Cox. By the time the score had reached 19-16, there was no time for the Eagles to come back and there were no timeouts to regroup with.
The game was over, and the Buccaneers had one of their most impressive wins in the history of ETSU football.
ETSU had a total of 182 yards in 60 plays that night, Wilhjelm completed six completed passes and no interceptions.
There were seven punts with a total of 293 yards, and 41.9 yards averaged for each punt. With only one fumble that night against GSU’s five, the Bucs have definitely set a new standard.
“I’m looking forward to playing the rest of the year with this football team,” Hamilton said.
With a few changes to the upcoming schedules, the Bucs will travel to Charleston Southern on Nov. 3
The Bucs then travel to Wofford on Nov. 17, and take on Chattanooga for the homecoming game on Nov. 10.
Notes: Defensive back Gerald Sensabaugh was named the Southern Conference Freshman Player of the Week for his play in ETSU’s upset of the Eagles.

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