Bucs drop first defeat of season to 15^th-ranked Paladins

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 13, 2021) – It truly was a tale of two halves in Saturday’s 17-13 loss to No. 15 Furman on Saturday at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium. The Bucs (1-1) carried a 10-0 advantage into the locker room, only to get outscored 17-3 by the Paladins (3-1) in the second half. To compliment the four-point loss, the Bucs were plagued with penalties as ETSU amassed 13 penalties on the day for 103 yards, including 12 in the second half that went for 93 yards.

ETSU jumped out to the early 7-0 lead in its second drive of the game as Quay Holmes (Powder Springs, Ga.) capped off an 8-play, 82-yard drive with his third touchdown of the season. The Georgia product received a big block and was off to the races with a 20-yard scamper for the ETSU touchdown.

The Bucs extended their advantage in the second quarter with 38 seconds remaining in the half as Tyler Keltner (Tallahassee, Fla.) split the uprights with a 38-yard field goal to give ETSU the 10-0 lead at the break.

Furman raced out of the locker room and scored 17 unanswered points to take the 17-13 lead into the final quarter of play. The Paladins put together 111 yards of offense in the third quarter, compared to just 74 yards by the Bucs. The big difference, the penalty yards for the Bucs, racking up 70 yards of penalties in the third quarter.

The Bucs cut the deficit to just four early in the fourth quarter as Keltner connected on his second field goal of the game, this time a 30-yard chip shot for the 17-13 score in favor of the Paladins.

ETSU’s defense came up big again, making a goal-line stand with less than three minutes to play, putting the ball back in the hands of the offense and trailing by four.

Tyler Riddell (Tampa, Fla.) connected with Juliun Lane-Price (Mosheim, Tenn.) for the 16-yard pass on the first play of the drive, but that was all the Bucs could muster as ETSU was hit with a costly penalty on third down that put the Bucs at 4^th and 15. ETSU was unable to complete the pass to extend the game, turning the ball over to the Paladins as Furman escaped with another narrow victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter

• ETSU 7, Furman 0: The Bucs struck first on their second possession of the game, taking the ball 82 yards on eight plays for the 7-0 lead. Riddell was a perfect 4-for-4 on the drive with 50 yards passing, leading to Holmes 20-yard touchdown scamper for his third touchdown of the season.

Second Quarter

• ETSU 10, Furman 0: ETSU extended its lead late in the second quarter, completing a 9-play, 25-yard drive that ate 4:25 off the clock. The drive was completed by Keltner’s 38-yard field goal to give ETSU the 10-0 advantage heading into the locker room.

Third Quarter

• ETSU 10, Furman 7: The Paladins trimmed the ETSU lead to just three points after Devin Wynn crossed the pylon following an 11-yard touchdown run.
• Furman 14, ETSU 10: Furman scored another touchdown run after yet another ETSU penalty kept the Paladins’ drive moving. Furman took its first lead of the game following a 5-yard touchdown punch from Wynn.
• Furman 17, ETSU 10: The Paladins scored their 17^th consecutive point after a 47-yard field goal off the foot of Axel Lepvreau.

Fourth Quarter

• Furman 17, ETSU 13: The Bucs cut the Furman advantage to just four points at the beginning of the fourth quarter after Keltner connected for his second made field goal of the contest, this time a 29-yard chip shot. Keltner’s field goal polished off a 10-play, 64-yard drive.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• With the loss, the Bucs fall to 8-27 all-time against Furman.
• ETSU held the Furman offense in check, shutting out the Paladins in the opening 30 minutes of play.
• The Bucs’ first-half shutout was the first time that ETSU shut out an opponent since Gardner-Webb on Oct. 6, 2018.
• Holmes rushed for 67 yards and one score, passing George Searcy for 6^th all-time in rushing yards in ETSU history
• After only collecting one penalty for 10 yards in the first half, the Bucs were hit with 12 penalties for 93 yards in the second half.
• The 13 penalties for the Bucs are the most since picking up 13 penalties for 142 yards against VMI on Sept. 14, 2018.
• The ETSU defense held the Paladins to just 96 yards of offense in the first half, while the Buccaneer offense picked up 178 yards.
• ETSU’s offense stalled in the second half, totaling 119 yards, including just 45 in the final 15 minutes.
• ETSU’s defense collected 66 tackles on the afternoon, led by Mike Price (Stockbridge, Ga.) with a career-high 10 tackles.
• For the second consecutive game, Donovan Manuel (Ellenwood, Ga.) picked off the opposing quarterback, returning this one for 22 yards.
• Riddell finished the game 22-of-35 with 207 yards in the air and one interception – the redshirt freshman was 11-of-12 at the half for 120 yards.
• Lane-Price put together another good game in the receiving core, hauling in four catches for a team-best 78 yards.

NEXT GAME UP
ETSU will be making its first road trip of the season on March 20 when the Bucs travel to The Citadel for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Charleston, S.C.

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.