Senior day at Greene Stadium didn’t end in the celebration that the graduating Bucs were hoping for as the Blue Ridge Border rival Western Carolina Catamounts joined the weather to rain on a struggling Bucs team, 20-17.

Four straight losses for the Bucs heading into the final game of the season is not a stat line that anyone anticipated following last year’s historic season, but that is how the year has unfolded for ETSU.

Entering the day with three devastating losses in a row, the Bucs were hoping for a larger presence for a defense that has had difficulty preventing opponents from scoring. In their three-game slide, the Bucs have been outscored 158-119.

It was the Catamounts that would strike first in the 2022 Blue River Border Battle on the opening drive. With rain playing a significant part throughout the game, the Bucs followed up the WCU score with a three-and-out possession that couldn’t have gotten worse until ETSU punter, Trace Kelley (Gallatin, Tenn.), bobbled the snap due to a wet ball and would be forced to throw the ball away, turning it over in Bucs territory.

The Bucs defense took to the short field but stood firm and gave the offense a chance to turn the game around after forcing a turnover on downs themselves.

The following drive for the Bucs would prove important as the RB Jacob Saylors (Jasper, Tenn.) would put the Bucs on the board after a 20-yard rushing touchdown and tie the game 7-7.

The second quarter didn’t have much offensive success on either side, but it was the Bucs defense that controlled the quarter early by forcing two consecutive turnovers, one of which would help to give the Bucs a 14-7 lead off a three-yard run by Jawan Martin (Decatur, Tenn.).

Western Carolina would add three to their total and enter the half trailing the Bucs 10-14.

The third quarter was another defensively dominated quarter as neither team would score.

The fourth quarter of play started fast for the Catamounts as they quickly scored to take a 17-14 lead only 32 seconds into the fourth. The following drive for the Bucs ended with what could’ve been a costly turnover by RB Jawan Matin. The Bucs defense would take to the field and force a three-and-out to give the offense another opportunity to score.

In what would eventually shake out to be nearly an eight-minute drive for the Bucs would end in controversy when quarterback Tyler Riddell (Tampa, Fla.) was brought down in the backfield following a critical third-and-goal in the closing minutes of the game. The play was not without drama though, as there was an obvious no-call facemask penalty against the Catamounts on Riddell. The Bucs would have to settle for the tie on a 31-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Keltner (Tallahassee, Fla.).

The Bucs defense took back to the field looking for another stop, but this time it wouldn’t happen as the Catamounts were able to advance the ball into field goal range and kick the game-winning 33-yard field goal as time expired, dropping the Bucs to a (3-7) record and giving Western Carolina a (5-5) record as well as their first Blue Ridge Border Battle victory since the 2019-20 season.

Bucs senior running back, Jacob Saylors, playing in his final home game for the Bucs put up 172-yards on 32 carries and one touchdown. The effort brings Saylors to a career rushing total of 3,808 yards, placing him third in school history, behind Quay Holmes (4,264) and Brandon Walker (4,095). With 1,264 rushing yards on the season and 15 touchdowns, Saylors has been a staple in the Bucs locker room since 2018, and the record books prove that sentiment. While former Bucs running back, Quay Holmes’, single-season rushing record (1,553) seems slightly out of reach, Saylors does hold the record for most yards in a single game (266) and he is only 289-yards shy of tying the record set just last season.

With one game remaining this season for the Bucs, Saylors will have to do so on the road against a (6-4) Mississippi State Bulldogs team. The Nov. 19 game will be streamed live on the SEC Network+ and ESPN+ with kick-off scheduled at 12 p.m.

For more information on ETSU Bucs football, visit www.ETSUBucs.com/football.

(Will Rowland/East Tennessean)