ETSU geared up for home battle against Paladins

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 12, 2021) – The Buccaneer Football squad is finally back in action after a 20-day hiatus from game play due to the bye week and the postponement of last week’s contest against Wofford. The Bucs are now set and ready for their second home game of the season, this time against the Paladins of Furman. ETSU (1-0, 1-0) will welcome Furman (2-1, 2-1) into William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

SATURDAY SHOWDOWN
Date: Saturday, March 13
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Greene Stadium
Teams: Furman (2-1) at ETSU (1-0)
Weather: High: 60; Low: 44; Overcast
Game Notes: ETSU | Furman
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: WXSM Radio
Radio Personnel: Jay “Voice of the Bucs” Sandos, Don Helman (color analyst), Robert Harper (sideline)
Twitter: @ETSUFootball
Game Sponsor: Zaxby’s

Picking up Where He Left Off
In ETSU’s season-opening win over Samford, star running back Quay Holmes did not miss a beat after the long delay to the season. The redshirt-junior tailback rushed 19 times for 125 yards and two scores. Holmes successfully crossed the line of scrimmage each run as the Bulldogs’ defense failed to bring home the power back in the backfield. Holmes posted a team-high 22-yard rush to go along with his century-mark performance. Both of Holmes touchdowns were 1-yard punches to cap off ETSU drives. The Georgia product also put up 53 yards in kick return offense on two attempts, pushing his all-purpose yardage to 178 yards for the game.

Sacked Lunch
The Buccaneer defense came to life after spotting Samford a 14-0 advantage in the first quarter. The Bucs turned it into gear and sacked the Bulldogs’ quarterback eight times, marking the first eight-sack performance since pulling down Reece Udinski (VMI) eight times on Sept. 14, 2018. Donovan Manuel led the charge with 2.0 sacks, complimented by nine total tackles. After allowing 14 points and 159 yards in the first quarter, ETSU yielded just three points and 161 yards of offense in the final three quarters of play.

It's Been Awhile
The Bucs initially had a 455-day hiatus to begin the spring 2021 season and started the year off with a thrilling 24-17 win over Samford. The Bucs then took a week off due to the scheduled bye week for the Blue & Gold. ETSU was then set to square off against Wofford on March 6, but found out that they wouldn’t be traveling to Spartanburg, S.C. due to COVID opt outs and injuries within the Wofford squad. ETSU’s second game of the season will come a full three weeks after the season-opening win over the Bulldogs.

All Gold
The Bucs will be wearing all gold uniforms tomorrow and are encouraging the fans and supporters to do the same. ETSU holds a perfect 4-0 record when donning the all-gold uniforms. The Bucs last defeated Austin Peay by the final of 20-14 on Sept. 21, 2019 when wearing the coveted gold.

Pounding the Paladins
Furman has been a tough matchup for the Bucs in ETSU history, owning the series with a 26-8 advantage over the Bucs. The last time the Paladins made the trek to Johnson City, Tenn., history was written! ETSU trailed 27-6 before Coach Sanders made the decision to insert the captain, Austin Herink, into the game. Herink orchestrated the largest come-from-behind win in program history, scoring 23 unanswered points for the 29-27 victory. The win sparked the Bucs’ season and pushed ETSU to its first-ever Southern Conference Championship. ETSU is 6-10 all-time against Furman when playing in Johnson City, but have lost seven of the last 10 in the series matchup.

Furman enters the game with a 2-1 overall record, with the lone blemish coming in a 14-13 defeat at the hands of VMI. The Paladins have put up the offensive numbers, scoring 35 points against Western Carolina in a 35-7 win and 44 points against Samford in a come-from-behind 44-37 victory on March 6. Furman is led by Hamp Sisson at quarterback after Darren Grainger transferred to Georgia State. The Paladins also display an explosive backfield with the duo of Devin Wynn and Devin Abrams. Wynn is pacing the team with 305 rushing yards and two scores

Coverage
The Buccaneer Sports Network (BSN) will provide ETSU fans with complete pregame, in-game and postgame coverage on the Bucs’ flagship station WXSM-AM 640 and affiliate station 104.9 FM NASH ICON.

The BSN begins its pregame programing one hour and 30 minutes prior to kickoff with the 30-minute-long Tennessee Lottery Tailgate Show, followed by the Randy Sanders Pregame Show brought to you by Blue Cross & Blue Shield which will lead up to 30 minutes prior to kickoff. The Appalachian Orthopaedic Countdown to Kickoff will then lead into the final moments before kickoff.     

The broadcast team of “Voice of the Bucs” Jay Sandos, color analyst Don Helman, sideline reporter Robert Harper, and studio host Mike Gallagher will provide ETSU fans all the information they need to complement their game-day activities.

At halftime, the crew will have the Zaxby’s Halftime Show, while fans can tune into the Ferguson Enterprise Post Game Show for a full wrap up, with game statistics, players and coach interviews, and other post-game information.  

Saturday’s game will also be broadcast on ESPN+ with the team of Mike Gallagher (play-by-play) and Mark Hutsell (color) on the call.

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!

For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football page.