On Sept. 6, the ETSU Buccaneers made their way to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to play against the Tennessee Volunteers, the No. 15 school in college football this season. Despite the tough matchups, the Bucs fought their way to the very end of the game, falling 72-17.
The first quarter did not start out great for the Buccaneers, scoring zero points to the Vol’s 24. Despite having their backs against a wall, ETSU was able to score in the second quarter. The Vols had a bad snap, causing them to fumble. Defensive back Ryan Barrett picked up the ball and turned over control to the Buccaneers. This allowed quarterback Cade McNamara to throw to tight end Taharin Sudderth for the touchdown. Ewan Johnson completed the kick for the extra point. By the end of the first half, it was 7-48, with the Vols taking a massive lead.
The third quarter of the game started out more positively for the Buccaneers, with Ewan Johnson completing a 41-yard field goal, making the score 10-48. The Buccaneers defense got into the groove this quarter, and held back the Vols more than the first half. The third quarter ended with a score of 10-62. ETSU stopped the Vols during their first drive in the fourth quarter, making them kick a field goal. The Buccaneers came back and scored another touchdown, with running back Jason Albritton rushing 20 yards and Ewan Johnson successfully kicking the extra point. The Volunteers did score one more touchdown before the end of the game, making the final score 17-72, with an overwhelming win for UT.
At the post-game press conferences, both Coach Will Healy from ETSU and Coach Josh Heupel from UT talked about how they felt their teams performed in this game. Coach Healy said, “We got our rear end kicked by a really, really good football team and well-coached football team,” acknowledging the point difference in the final score. Coach Heupel said that they “kicked a few more field goals than we wanted to though,” expressing his dissatisfaction with how the game was played.
ETSU continues their football season on Sept. 13 in a game versus the University of West Georgia at their home stadium in Carrollton, Georgia. Make sure to tune in on ESPN+ or in-person to see how the Buccaneers play this weekend against the Wolves.
For more information on future Buccaneer football games, you can go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.
