The first top-25 matchup in William B. Greene Stadium history saw record attendance and a Bucs homecoming victory as the No. 18 ranked VMI Keydets fell to No. 14 ranked ETSU 27-20.
After a weeklong homecoming celebration, the (7-1) Bucs were welcomed by a crowd of 10,416 on Saturday. The weather was all but perfect for this battle between the two ranked teams.
The first half of the game saw the Bucs pull a demanding lead after two early touchdowns from running back Quay Holmes (Powder Springs, Ga.) his 11th and 12th of the year, and a 2-yard pass by quarterback Tyler Riddell (Tampa, Fla.) to full back Jawan Martin (Decatur, Tenn.), giving him his first touchdown of the season.
The Keydets found the uprights just before the half and enter the break trailing the Bucs 21-3.
VMI was first to strike in the second half on a one-yard run, to make the score 21-10. The Bucs hot offense simmered in the third quarter, unable to advance the ball, they were forced to punt on their first two possessions of the quarter. The Bucs kicker, Tyler Keltner (Tallahassee, Fla.) found the scoreboard for the Bucs early in the fourth, stretching the lead to 14.
After chipping away at the early lead, VMI suddenly found themselves back in the game after a fourth-quarter drive with 9:00 minutes remaining in regulation ended with an 8-yard rushing touchdown to bring the Keydets within one score. The Bucs then utilized the ground and pound power of Holmes and Jacob Saylor (Jasper, Tenn.), both having stand-out games they were able to help the Bucs advance the ball for another Keltner field goal to give the Bucs a two-score lead with 5:38 to go.
The Bucs defense took the field and held VMI to only a field goal and maintained a 27-20 lead with VMI planning an onside kick.
The crowd was electric and the special teams’ squad was visibly excited as they took the field with one task remaining: securing the ball. Once the ball left the kicker’s foot, there was a moment of silence in Johnson City until it was clear that the Bucs recovered the kickoff and moved to (8-1) on the season.
The Bucs are now tied with Chattanooga for first place in the SoCon standings, with the tiebreaker going to Chattanooga due to their win over the Bucs in October.
Up next, the Bucs will travel to face the (3-6) Western Carolina Catamounts on Nov. 13 to close out their road schedule.
