JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 22, 2022) – An energized crowd of 10,327 filled William B. Greene Jr. Stadium as the Bucs took on SoCon rival and the No. 15 ranked Samford Bulldogs in their homecoming game.
Although the Bucs would put plenty of points on the board and QB Tyler Riddell (Tampa, Fla.), would have a career day, the Bulldogs would prevail as winners in the high-scoring meeting between the two foes, 55-45.
Entering the day, the energy was clearly in favor for the hometown Bucs, who were celebrating homecoming in front of a packed house. Fans knew this would be a challenge for a struggling ETSU team heading into the game with a (3-4) record.
Samford has been on quite the tear as of late, with their only loss of the season coming at the hands of another team of Bulldogs, the Georgia Bulldogs, in a 33-0 loss in early September. Samford hasn’t looked back since their loss, however, winning four straight games heading into their match-up with the Bucs.
The first quarter of play saw a closely contested game with both teams putting 10 a piece on the board, but it was in the second quarter that things started to slip away from the Bucs.
Samford outscored the Bucs 24-14 in the second quarter, and it was that 10-point difference that would come back to haunt the Bucs at the final whistle.
The third quarter would see the Bucs outscored again, this time by seven, following a quick start to the half for the Bulldogs to make the score 41-24 early on. The Bucs would answer on their next possession, a 75-yard drive for the Bucs on the back of QB Tyler Riddell. The drive would be capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass to WR Will Huzzie (Duluth, Ga.) to make the score 41-31.
As the fourth quarter approached, things seemed to be grim for the Bucs who had hoped to have a homecoming victory, and the Bulldogs never allowed the Bucs to gain the lead. With a little over eight minutes of regulation, the Bucs were able to close the gap following two scoring drives. Both drives would pad Riddell’s stats as he would add two more passing touchdowns to his numbers on the night and the Bucs were suddenly alive again, down three, 48-45.
It would be moments later that Samford would finally answer the Bucs on a one-yard run late in the fourth to extend their lead back to 10, where it would remain 55-45.
Dropping to (3-5) on the season in front of a capacity crowd is certainly not what the Bucs were looking for, but there were many positive signs for the Bucs, especially in the passing of Riddell who would throw 25/43 for 389-yards along with five touchdowns and one interception.
Receivers Will Huzzie and Isaiah Wilson (Norcross, Ga.) were Riddell’s primary targets on the evening with eight and seven catches respectively. Huzzie would end the day with 128-yards and three touchdowns. Wilson would gain 122-yards by air, with his longest being for 47-yards.
The Bucs will next travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on the (1-6) Wofford Terriers on Oct. 29. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+. For more information on the ETSU Bucs football team, visit www.etsubucs.com/football.
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