EMORY, Va. - The Emory & Henry football team (1-1, 0-0 ODAC) is set to play the Buccaneers of East Tennessee State (0-3) this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the team's first game against the Bucs since 1954. The Wasps lead the overall series 10-9. After a twelve-year hiatus, the Bucs brought back their football program this season and joined the Southern Conference. Coming off a tough 30-13 loss last week, the Wasps will look to rebound against the Division I opponent, who is coming off a 47-7 loss to Charleston Southern.
The Bucs have given up a lot of yards and points thus far, with an average of 423.7 yards per game and 43.7 points per game. As the leading rusher, Chris Thompson will be relied on to get the running game going against a Bucs defense that gives up 272.7 rush yards per game. The sophomore is currently averaging 4.7 yards per rush and has found the end zone twice. Quarterback Kevin Saxton is averaging 202 yards a game through the air with three touchdowns. Saxton has played in only two games in his career in which he did not throw a touchdown pass and both of those games were against Maryville. Last year, Saxton followed that game up with a two touchdown game. He will look to pass to freshman Kelman Simpson, who continues to lead the Wasps in receiving with 11 catches for 105 yards and a score. Senior linemen Paul Cozens, Matt Boyda, and Cody Bowman will look to keep the quarterback upright this week, following a three sack game last week. Overall, the Wasps offense will look to improve on their 386 yards per game average versus a team that already yields many yards.
The Wasps defense held the Maryville offense to 294 yards last week and sacked their quarterback three times. On the season, E&H is allowing only 263 yards and 18 points per game. Linebacker Andrew Long led the squad in tackles and tackles for a loss with 11 and 4, respectively. In addition to Long's great stat line, safety Ryan Byrd continues to lead the team in tackles with 19 on the year. On offense, the Buccaneers have used two quarterbacks throughout the year. Austin Herink is completing 70% of his passes, while Nick Sexton, a lefty, has thrown five interceptions on the season. Junior cornerback, Tre'von Lightfoot, will look to take advantage of any mistakes the QBs make, as he leads the Wasps in interceptions with two on the season. Senior linebacker, Rennel Marshall¸ will be the man to stop a rushing attack that averages 156 yards a game. With a brand new program, the Bucs have been prone to making mistakes, evidenced by their 11 turnovers in three games. The Wasps defense will need to capitalize in order to defeat this Division I opponent.
The game vs. East Tennessee State University is set to kickoff at 1:30 p.m. at Kermit Tipton Stadium in Johnson City, Tennessee on Saturday. This game has been designated the homecoming game for the Buccaneers and is a sell-out.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston '15