Box Score
LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Football hosted SoCon preseason No. 2 ETSU on Saturday afternoon, scoring 14 points in the second half but falling to the Bucs 44-21.
VMI now falls to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play, while the Bucs improve to 3-3 on the season and 1-3 in conference play.
"Proud of the way the team fought back," said Head Coach
Scott Wachenheim. "I thought we got off to a fast start, but then ETSU captured momentum and it took us a while to get it back in the second half."
Standout Stats
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Leroy Thomas hauls in first touchdown of the year, rushes for another
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Aidan Twombly catches season-high four catches,
Andre Cooper reels in four catches for 53 yards.
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Korey Bridy rushes for season high 22 attempts, 82 yards with 33 yards on kick returns
- Five players recorded seven or more tackles,
Evan Eller and
Alex Oliver each total 10
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Christian Dunn registers a sack,
Charles Dixon forces a fumble
How it Happened
The Kedyet defense opened the game with a three and out and on the ensuing possession, a
Hunter Rice rush and facemask penalty set up a Korey Bridey scamper from the 12 -yard line a VMI jumped in front 7-0. ETSU answered right back and would later capitalize on an interception as Jacob Saylors scored a 23-yard touchdown to put ETSU in front 14-7. The Bucs added two field goals before hitting … down the sideline to take a 27-7 lead into half.
They Keydets opened the second half with a bang, as Morgan threw a strike to
Leroy Thomas for his first touchdown of the season. After the Bucs extended their lead to 34-14, Thomas took an end around and rushed in his second touchdown of the game to make the score 34-21 with 12 minutes to play, as the Bucs would tack on 10 more points and take the game 44-21.
Catching up with Coach
On the Record and Effort
"You are what you are, but I worry more about the process and how we are improving. Our team never says dies, our team fights until the very last play. There's a lot to be proud of in how we played, just the results haven't come our way. We'll keep loving each other, playing hard and look to find a to win next week."
On the Focus moving Forward
"While I think we can compete for the SoCon title, and our players did as well, sometimes it leads to playing tight. I've been trying to shift the focus to just taking it one play at a time."
What's Next
The Keydets return to the road next Saturday, visiting preseason No. 1 Chattanooga. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
