The ETSU Bucs football team went on the road to face Samford with a chance to have a 5-5 record and build some momentum for their season finale.
In his press conference Monday, Head Coach Carl Torbush said he felt it would be a great test facing Samford to see how far his team had gotten this far in the season.
“We are nearing the end of the season, and I think it gives us a chance to see how much improvement we have made on both sides of the ball,” said Torbush.
In the first quarter, the Bucs running game was nonexistent, averaging one yard per carry, and finishing the quarter with just eight rushing yards.
Quarterback Austin Herink (Cleveland, Tennessee) was accurate for the quarter, completing six of eight passes for 60 yards. However, he ended the quarter with an interception.
Samford’s passing game was able to shred through the Bucs secondary, completing 11 of 14 passes for 84 yards. That passing attack was able to score two touchdowns to give Samford a 14-0 lead to end the first quarter.
The Bucs second quarter defensively was not much better as Samford’s passing attack was able to continue its success, completing eight out of 12 passes for 176 yards for a pair of touchdowns.
Herink struggled, throwing his second interception on the day that was returned for a Samford touchdown. However, Herink bounced back and was able to throw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Haddon Hill (Knoxville, Tennessee) but the Bucs still went into the half trailing 35-7.
At the half on Samford’s side, they had completed 19 of 26 passes for 260 yards and four touchdowns. For the Bucs, their defense could not get nearly enough pressure, only getting one sack against Samford.
The defense was key in the third quarter for they did not allow Samford to get anything going offensively. The Bucs offense continued to struggle, but on 12 rushing attempts for the quarter, they got less than a yard per rush. Two fumbles also hurt the Bucs on the offensive side of the ball.
Samford maintained the lead going into the fourth quarter.
With less than three minutes remaining, Samford scored a four-yard touchdown to lead 42-7.
The Bucs loss dropped their record to 4-6, with one more game remaining on their schedule. The Bucs will close the season at Chattanooga on Saturday, Nov. 18.
