The Buccaneer football team will try to climb over the .500 plateau for the first time this season when it faces Chattanooga this weekend in Memorial Center.
It will be ETSU’s Homecom-ing game when the Mocs come to town and the Bucs (4-4, 2-3) will be looking to extend their winning streak to three, after victories over No. 2 Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern the past two weekends.
ETSU shut out Charleston Southern, 26-0, last Saturday, but missed some opportunities offensively, scoring less than 30 points for the first time in five games against CSU.
“It was a good win for us, to go down there and get on the bus (with the record) 4-4 with three games to play,” said head coach Paul Hamilton. “I’m not completely pleased with the way we played as a team, offensively we hurt ourselves with some mistakes.”
The Bucs will also need to fill a void that has been left in their kicking game with the injury to senior Con Chellis.
“I’m concerned about the kicking game,” said Hamilton of the Bucs trying to operate without Chellis, who has been unable to practice with a hip flexor injury.
“We’ve lost 15 points in the last two games with our kicking game.”
ETSU lost its Homecoming contest last year against Wofford, 35-31, but the Bucs hope to avoid that disappointment this season against the Mocs (2-6, 1-5).
“We played a good football team, losing to Wofford last homecoming,” Hamilton said. “It was a tough loss.
“Emotionally their team (Chattanooga) will be ready to play and enthused to play against us.”
The Bucs overcame a 15-3 halftime deficit in last year’s contest against the Mocs to score 24 straight points and hold on for a 24-22 victory.
Chattanooga, like ETSU, has been hit hard by injuries this season and has lost some close games, as Hamilton believes the Mocs’ record does not reflect their team.
“I feel sorry for their team, they’ve been hit worse than us (with injuries),” he said. “They have good athletes and they will play with a lot of emotion.”
With the depth of the teams in the Southern Conference one injury to a key player can make the difference in a winning or losing record in the conference. The Mocs are coming off a 20-17 double overtime loss to The Citadel last weekend, which gives each SoCon team at least one conference victory.
“The teams are so good even the one without good records. Injuries and the loss of players (makes for) a fine line between winning and losing,” Hamilton said.
Senior tight end Nick Hendrickson said, “It’s one of the toughest conferences in Division I-AA, you have to come to play hard every week.”
The Buccaneer offense will have to continue the improvements it has made over the last two weeks with the victories over Georgia Southern and CSU.
“We’re coming around (offensively),” Hendrickson said. “We’re a lot better than we were earlier in the season and we just have to keep improving.”
ETSU still may have to do without several key players due to injury, including Chellis, defensive lineman Brandon Calton, linebacker Andrew Foerster and preseason all-conference team member Ocasio Cofield.
Cofield, who has been unable to play due to a neck injury, has still been an important part to the Buccaneer defense even on the sidelines.
“He’s resided himself as a leader and he’s been there helping out Gerald (Sensabaugh),” Hamilton said.
Sensabaugh, last week’s Southern Conference Freshman-of-the-Week, has stepped in at Cofield’s position at safety and has been a pleasant surprise to the Buccaneer defense.
“He’s (Sensabaugh) a very mature athlete for a freshman,” Hamilton said. “He’s probably a I-A football player.
“I think Gerald Sensabaugh is one of the best freshmen in I-AA football, he plays with great maturity on the field.”
Saturday’s game will be the 37th meeting between ETSU and Chattanooga, with the Mocs holding a 19-16-1 advantage in the series. The Bucs, however, have won the last two meetings and seven of the last nine games.
The Bucs also sport a slight advantage in games played in the MiniDome against Chattanooga with a 6-5 record and Hamilton still believes his team has room for improvement before the season is over.
“I think this football team can get better,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best game as a team yet.”
The kickoff for Saturday’s Homecoming contest is set for 2 p.m.

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