The ETSU football team is gearing up for another weekend of Southern Conference football this weekend as they travel to Charleston, S.C., Saturday to face The Citadel (1-4) at 2 p.m.
The Bucs hold a 14-8 advantage in the series against the Bulldogs that began in 1966 and has a 7-3 advantage over the last 10 years. In Charleston, the Bucs hold a slight 6-5 lead.
The last six out of eight times the teams met, the Bucs came out victorious including the last three contests. This game will be Parents’ Day at The Citadel and the Bulldogs have a 24-23 record in such games.
The Bucs are coming off a 29-10 loss to Appalachian State last week and are 2-1 in the conference.
“We haven’t exactly been tearing it up on offense this year,” said ETSU head coach Paul Hamilton.
Hamilton was disappointed in the loss, especially after two big wins over VMI and Western Carolina. The Bucs rushed for more than 200 yards in each of those games.
“Appalachian came in and played with a lot of emotion like we knew they would,” Hamilton said. “You can’t give that good a team as many opportunities as we did. They took advantage of those and knocked the ball in the end zone.
“Our kids played hard. I wish we wouldn’t have put our defense on such a short field.”
He did say, however, with QB Jatavis Sanders at the wheel, the team has improved.
“Jatavis has brought stability,” Hamilton said. “He’s very consistent and making good decisions. He’s done a fine job handling the good situations and handling the bad.
In three games starting as wide receiver, Sanders caught 33 of 65 passes for 385 yards and he also rushed for 115 yards.
“It’s a sense of maturity that we’ve needed,” Hamilton said. “He’ll get better every week and when we go to the stadium now, we know what we’re going to get.”
The Citadel took a break from conference play last week to play Mountain West affiliate Wyoming. The Bulldogs fell to the Cowboys in a 34-30 shootout.
The Bulldogs led for the majority of the second half before losing it on a five-yard scamper by Cowboy QB Casey Bramlet with 41/2 minutes left.
Bulldog QB, Jeff Klein, completed 24 of 47 passes for 335 yards against Wyoming and has, in five games, connected on 87 of 175 passes for 1,235 yards this season.
“Their quarterback is one of the best passers in I-AA,” Hamilton said.
On the receiving end, wide receiver Scooter Johnson caught 36 passes for 482 yards, an average of 96.4 yards a game.
“Scooter Johnson makes this a different team,” Hamilton said. “This is an outstanding offensive football team.”
The Bucs will use their ball-control offense, that leads the league in time of possession, to eat up the clock, while the Bulldogs have been almost automatic in the red zone this season scoring on 14 of 17 attempts, earning them a second place ranking in the conference.
The Bucs and their second place-ranked red zone defense, will look to make it difficult for the Bulldogs.
On the season, the Bucs have stopped the opposition 63 percent of the time they have been in the red zone.
Hamilton, who is from the Charleston area, said he hopes to make an impression on them.
“I grew up there, my dad coached there, I played some high school football games in Johnson Hagood Stadium and played there in college while playing for Appalachian State,” Hamilton said. “The Citadel people are special to me: Ellis Johnson, Les Robinson. I wish them the best each year. I hope we can go down there and be the best team we can be.”
ETSU assistant head coach Jeff Bleamer will also be returning to the Johnson Hagood Stadium where he stood on the home sideline from 1987-1996 as the Bulldogs’ offensive line coach.

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