The ETSU football team went up against Murray State in their season opener at home in William B. Greene Jr. Stadium Aug. 30. This long-awaited game between old rivals quickly heated up, but ended in a massive win for the Buccaneers with a final score of 45-17.

Before the game, Andy Fisher, the associate director of athletic communications, said, “This is the first time they’ve played each other since I believe the ’80s, so it’ll be kinda new-age meets old-age, a blast from the past thing.” This game was a huge trademark for older ETSU and Murray State fans, which fueled competitive feelings that have been suppressed for over 40 years. 

ETSU started the game off strong with two touchdowns in the first quarter, the first being run by Khalil Eichelberger, the second being run by Devontae Houston. The Buccaneers held off Murray State by not allowing them any points in the first quarter.

In quarter two, Murray State put their first points on the board with a field goal. ETSU responded with not only a field goal of their own, but a touchdown thrown by Cade McNamara to Jeremiah Harrison. The first half of the game ended with a score of 3-24, allowing ETSU to show off their prowess early in the game.

Taylor Robertson/East Tennessean

Murray State started off quarter three with a bang. They scored two touchdowns, closing the score to 17-24 with ETSU still in the lead. In the middle of the third quarter, ETSU gained their footing back with two more running touchdowns. The first was scored by Houston who ran for 7 yards, and the second was scored by Eichelberger who ran for one yard. By the end of the third quarter, ETSU had re-widened their lead to 17-38.

The fourth quarter of the game kicked off with ETSU quickly scoring another touchdown, ran by D’Marius Rucker for 2 yards. 

ETSU football will be back next week in an underdog game versus University of Tennessee Knoxville, playing at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. You can tune into this game either on ESPN+ at 3:30 p.m.

For more information on future Buccaneer football games,  go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.

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