CONTRIBUTED BY ETSU ATHLETICS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  – The ETSU Buccaneers football team fell victim to weather and three turnovers as ETSU suffered a 24-17 loss at Samford on Saturday afternoon in Birmingham, Ala.

With the loss, ETSU falls to 2-6 on the season and 0-5 in Southern Conference action, while the Bulldogs improved to 4-4 on the season and 3-2 in league play.

Samford jumped on the board first with an 8-play, 46-yard drive following an ETSU interception. The Bulldogs started the drive on the ETSU 46 and punched the ball in with a Jay Stanton 2-yard scamper for the early 7-0 advantage.

The ETSU offense woke up in the second quarter, outgaining Samford 154-54, while also outscoring the Bulldogs 14-0. The Bucs hopped on the scoreboard following a Trey Mitchell (Knoxville) touchdown pass to Jawan Martin (Decatur).

Martin’s touchdown reception was set up by the previous play, a 44-yard trick play pass from Malik McGue (Johnson City) to Braxton Richburg (Hoschton, Ga.). Martin’s touchdown reception was the second of his career as it knotted the game at seven apiece.

The Bucs took the 14-7 lead near the end of the first half after Mitchell punched in a 1-yard quarterback sneak, his first career rushing touchdown. Mitchell’s touchdown capped off a 6-play, 64-yard drive that was highlighted by 54 yards on the ground from Quay Holmes (Powder Springs, Ga.).

Holmes nearly crossed the plane himself with a 41-yard carry down to the Samford three, breaking a plethora of tackles before being pushed out. Two plays later, Mitchell put the Bucs on top after calling his own number.

The Bulldogs flipped the script on the Bucs in the third quarter, scoring 10 unanswered points of their own and outgaining the Blue & Gold, 135-18. Samford drove down the field on the opening drive of the second half before having to settle for a field goal to cut the ETSU lead to 14-10.

Samford took the lead on its third drive of the second half as Chris Oladokun found Michael Vice for a three-yard touchdown pass for the 17-14 advantage. On the Bulldogs’ touchdown drive, Oladukon was responsible for 36 of Samford’s 43 yards.

ETSU drew even in the fourth quarter thanks to a 15-play, 62-yard drive that was capped off by a 30-yard field goal from Tyler Keltner (Tallahassee, Fla.). The Buccaneer field goal was set up by four straight completions by Mitchell for 44 yards, including a 21-yard dime to Keith Coffee (Miami, Fla.) to make defenders miss in order to get inside the red zone.

Samford scored on the ensuing drive to take the lead for good as Jocquet Jiles scored on a 1-yard rush up the middle to cap an 8-play, 54-yard drive with 6:17 remaining in the game.

Trailing 24-17, the Bucs were unable to come away with points on their final two drives, first recording a three-and-out followed by a fumble on the final drive of the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

First Quarter

• Samford 7, ETSU 0: The Bulldogs struck first in their opening drive, taking the ball 46 yards on eight plays following an ETSU turnover. Samford’s touchdown was a two-yard punch from Jay Stanton for the early 7-0 advantage.

Second Quarter

• ETSU 7, Samford 7: The Bucs drew even to open the second quarter following an 8-play, 80-yard drive. The Bucs’ touchdown was set up by a 44-yard trick play from Malik McGue to Braxton Richburg all the way down to the Samford one. The very next play, Mitchell found Martin wide open in the endzone for the equalizer, a one-yard strike.
• ETSU 14, Samford 7: ETSU took the lead with just 2:33 remaining in the first half following Trey Mitchell’s 1-yard quarterback sneak up the gut. Mitchell’s touchdown scamper was set up by 54 yards rushing on three carries from Quay Holmes, including a 41-yard carry down to the Samford 3-yard line. Two plays following the big run, Mitchell punched it in for his first collegiate rushing touchdown.

Third Quarter

• ETSU 14, Samford 10: The Bulldogs wasted no time in marching down the field on the opening drive of the second half, putting together a 6-play, 50-yard drive that lasted just 2:12. Washington took the ball 45 yards on the first play from scrimmage to start the half, eventually leading to a redzone appearance. The ETSU defense stood tall, forcing a 42-yard field goal from Fineran.
• Samford 17, ETSU 14: Samford reclaimed the lead following a three-yard touchdown pass from Oladokun to Michael Vice, taking the three-point lead. Oladokun was responsible for 36 of Samford’s 43 yards on the drive.

Fourth Quarter

• ETSU 17, Samford 17: ETSU evened the game at 17 apiece as Tyler Keltner buried a 30-yard field goal attempt. Keltner’s field goal capped off a 15-play, 62-yard drive that was highlighted by a 17-yard pass from Mitchell to Holmes and a 21-yard reception by Keith Coffee.
• Samford 24, ETSU 17: The Bulldogs captured the lead for the third time in the game as Jocquet Jiles carried the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown run. The touchdown drive lasted just 3:19 and featured eight plays for 54 yards.

 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• With the loss to Samford, ETSU falls to 1-6 all-time in the series and 0-3 when playing the Bulldogs in Birmingham, Ala.
• The Bulldogs outgained ETSU 328-319, including 194-93 on the ground … The Bucs put up 226 yards in the air, outgaining Samford by 92 yards in the passing category.
• ETSU allowed seven first-quarter points for the fifth consecutive game, falling behind 7-0 after the conclusion of the opening quarter … The Bucs are being outscored 35-3 against FCS opponents in the first quarter.
• Artevius Smith (Birmingham, Ala.) hauled in his fourth interception of the season prior to the end of the first quarter … Smith now has four interceptions in the last five games, including three against SoCon opponents.
• The Bucs turned the ball over twice in the first quarter for the first time since Oct. 3, 2015, when they coughed the ball over two times against Saint Francis … The Bucs dropped that contest to the Red Flash, 58-9.
• ETSU finished the game with three turnovers, the first time since Oct. 27, 2018, against Western Carolina.
• The Bucs put up 14 unanswered points in the second quarter, shutting out Samford in the second frame by the score of 14-0 … This is the second consecutive game that ETSU pitched a shutout in the second quarter, outscoring Chattanooga 13-0 on Oct. 17.
• The Bucs held Samford to 141 yards of offense in the first half, the second-fewest first-half yards gained by the Bulldogs this season … Samford tallied just 133 yards in the first half against Furman.
• ETSU allowed just 87 yards of offense in the opening quarter, snapping a string of four consecutive games allowing 100+ yards in the first quarter.
• The Bucs collected only 96 yards of offense in the second half, including just 18 yards in the third quarter for the second-lowest yards gained in a quarter this season.
• Keltner missed a 47-yard field goal in the first half of Saturday’s game, snapping a streak of six consecutive field goals made … The Florida native redeemed himself later with a 30-yard attempt that sailed through the uprights.
• Mitchell finished the game 19-of-33 with 182 yards and one touchdown, while also recording one touchdown run.
• Nate Adkins (Knoxville) led the Bucs in receiving following a career game of five catches for 55 yards.
• The ETSU defense recorded a season-high 87 tackles in Saturday’s loss, led by Colton Lakes (Loveland, Ohio) with a career-high 11 tackles … Both Zack Yancey (Opelika, Ala.) and Artevius Smith finished with 10 tackles apiece.
• ETSU is now 0-5 when scoring less than 20 points this season.
• This was the fifth game of the season for the Bucs decided by seven points or less. ETSU is 1-4 in those contests.

NEXT GAME UP

The Bucs will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 2 when ETSU welcomes The Citadel into Johnson City. The showdown will serve as Homecoming and will be kicked off at 3:30 p.m. inside William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium.