After a four game losing streak, the ETSU football team snapped back after defeating West Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday, Oct. 21 at Kermit Tipton Stadium.
“I think everyone knew we needed to win this game,” said sophmore tailback Jajuan Stinson (Knoxville, Tenn.). “The past four games have been bad, and looking back at last year we lost games like this. I think we took these guys serious and made sure we got the win.”
The Bucs put on a great performance, recording their highest number of touchdowns this season with five. With these five touchdowns the team ended the game with a total of 323 yards compared to Wesleyan, which had only 30 rushing yards.
ETSU finished with 421 total yards, and Wesleyan finished with 199.
Sophomore quarterback Austin Herink (Cleveland) kicked things off for the Bucs as he broke a tackle to secure the first touchdown of the game for the Bucs. This was the first score by the Buccaneers in the first quarter all season. Herink went on to score another touchdown in the first quarter, and he ended the game with two touchdowns, 42 yards rushing and also went 9-of-14 for 93 yards passing.
Stinson was another key player Thursday night on offense. Stinson scored the last touchdown in the first half for the Bucs, giving them 21-7 to close out the second quarter. He continued to put up numbers for the team, and he ended with a career-high 127 yards on 11 carries.
The team did a good job spreading the ball. Four players scored for the Bucs, and multiple players were able to hit the field and make big plays.
“We have three or four running backs,” Torbush said. “We just have to do a little better job on protection. I think Coach (Erik) Losey has done a really good job.”
The ETSU defense did not shy away in this big game either. Wesleyan fumbled the ball three times, two of those for a loss, and the Bucs scored on two of the recoveries. The Bucs also had three sacks.
The Bucs are now 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
“Great feeling,” Torbush said. “The score gives our kids something to grow on, and we know we have a tough stretch getting ready to come and we have an awfully tough football team getting ready to happen in Citadel.”
The Bucs will travel to Charleston, South Carolina to take on The Citadel on Saturday, Oct. 29. The Citadel is currently 6-0 overall and undefeated in SoCon play. They lead the SoCon standings.
