JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 20, 2025) – After a lightning delay pushed back kickoff two-and-a-half hours, the ETSU football team weathered the storm and knocked off Elon by a score of 26-16 in its final non-conference game of 2025. Saturday’s victory propels the Bucs to 2-2 on the campaign.
After the Bucs forced a punt on Elon’s first possession of the game, an ETSU interception gave the Phoenix a short field on their next time out. Despite starting at the ETSU 27-yard line, the Buccaneer defense stiffened and held Elon to a 42-yard field goal. That try split the uprights to give the Phoenix the first lead of the contest, 3-0.
Like with Elon’s first score of the night, ETSU’s first points came via a short field. William Wells got into the backfield and blocked a punt, which was downed at the Phoenix 23-yard line.
An Ewan Johnson 35-yard field goal pulled the Bucs back even with 15 seconds to go in the first quarter.
ETSU’s next scoring drive came on its first possession of the second half. A pass interference penalty by the Phoenix was quickly followed by a 41-yard strike from Cade McNamara to Ephraim Floyd to get the Bucs deep into Elon territory. It looked like Elon might make another stop, but on a 3rd-and-9, McNamara found some space and ran it in for his first rushing touchdown as a Buc.
Elon’s offense had a pair of drives that got inside the ETSU five-yard line. A bad snap on a 4th-and-1 closed out one of those drives. The Phoenix bounced back and found an end zone with an eight-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 10-10.
With 46 seconds to go before halftime, the Buccaneer offense found a spark on another long pass from McNamara to Floyd (45 yards). A few plays later, Jason Albritton ran in his third touchdown in as many games to push the Bucs back on top, 17-10.
As play moved to the second half, the Bucs intercepted their sixth pass of the season to spark another scoring drive. Mike Jenkins dove at a pass to log his first career interception. After Jenkins’ pick, a 20-yard run by Izay Bridges put the Bucs on their opponent’s side of the field. Following a sack, Johnson drilled a career-long 49-yard field goal to grow ETSU’s lead to double figures. It is the second consecutive week that Johnson has connected on a career-long field goal.
ETSU’s defense caused another turnover on Elon’s next possession as Nick Hunter jumped on a fumble. The Bucs added to their advantage on their first drive of the fourth quarter. ETSU grinded five-and-a-half minutes off the clock to and punched it across the goal line on a five-yard touchdown by Khalil Eichelberger. That drive by the Bucs consisted of 12 plays and 87 yards. A missed ETSU extra point, however, kept the Phoenix within two scores as the fourth quarter continued.
Elon would cut into the Buccaneer lead with a touchdown of its own. A two-point conversion attempt failed, though, to keep it a 10-point ETSU lead. The grinding nature of ETSU’s offense continued in what proved to be its final possession of the contest. Taking the ball with 6:06 to go in the fourth quarter, ETSU converted on a pair of third downs and did not give it back to Elon. A 14-yard reception by Charlie Browder converted one of those third-down opportunities before Albritton, who had ripped off a 29-yard run earlier in the drive, iced the game with a five-yard run on 3rd-and-4. Three kneel downs later sealed the ETSU win, its 30th in the history of Greene Stadium.
Next Up – The Bucs will open their SoCon schedule next Saturday when they host Mercer. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at Greene Stadium.
