ETSU football kicked off the season this past Saturday when they traveled to Boone, North Carolina, to take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
A rough start for the Bucs resulted in a 42-7 loss to the Mountaineers.
The first half didn’t bode well for the Bucs. Several penalties cost the Bucs yards and even points. Starter quarterback senior Chance Thrasher (Suwanne, Georgia) was taken out of the game due to injury. Red shirt freshman Trey Mitchell (Knoxville, Tennessee) stepped up in the quarterback position for the rest of the game.
On the Appalachian State side of the ball, the Mountaineers punched it in twice before the closing half, once in the first and again in the second quarter.
The Mountaineers capitalized on the Bucs’ penalties to hold them to a 14-0 lead as the first half concluded.
The Mountaineers took possession and control in the opening of the second half and took well advantage of it, going 75 yards in three and a half minutes to push their lead to 21-0.
The Bucs answered to the score with one of their own when Mitchell finished seven for seven on the drive and connected with sophomore tight end Nate Adkins (Knoxville, Tennessee) with a five-yard passing touchdown.
The Mountaineers extended their lead to five scores before closing out the game with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Zac Thomas to Thomas Hennigan, a 15-yard rush by Jalen Virgil and a Jacob Huesman 17-yard touchdown pass to Christian Wells.
The Bucs had a good start overall, but penalties halted them from getting points on the board. They were able to get to midfield but weren’t able to punch it in to score.
The injury to Thrasher and the penalties affected the flow for the Bucs.
“We need everyone to play well due to the injuries,” said head coach Randy Sanders.
Despite the loss, Sanders is optimistic about the season.
“We looked like a young football team today that made a number of mistakes, but we got to keep fighting,” says Sanders.
The Bucs return to Johnson City this weekend when they host the Shorter Hawks on Sep. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
