Tre Lamb, ETSU dominate UVA Wise in home opener, 61-0

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – In front of 9,155 fans, the Bucs took it to visiting Division-II opponent, UVA Wise, on Saturday night.

The Blue and Gold won by the second-largest margin of victory in program history, 61-0 over the Highland Cavaliers.

Ray Coney forced a fumble on the visitors’ first play from scrimmage to set ETSU up nicely in enemy territory. Two plays later, Jaylen King hit Cameron Lewis for a 12-yard score, making it 7-0.

After a three-and-out from UVA Wise, the Bucs quickly found paydirt again. This time, a nine-yard connection from King to Ephraim Floyd for a 14-0 edge.

UVA Wise found some footing in the middle stages of the first half, forcing a turnover on downs, and moving the football on offense. But, it didn’t turn into points.

King hooked up with AJ Johnson on a fade route in the back of the endzone to push the lead to 21-0. The Bucs defense followed that up with a score of their own, as Nick Hunter took a deflected pass back for a touchdown.

A missed extra point kept the score 27-0.

King tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the game to Xavier Gaillardetz, as the 37-yard pitch-and-catch led to a 34-0 ETSU lead at halftime.

In the second half, Gino English stepped in under center and tossed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Burns, his first as a Buc, for a 41-0 lead.

Ewan Johnson kicked a pair of field goals to extend the lead further, before Trey Foster and Torey Lambert each tallied a rushing touchdown of their own to round out the scoring.

“All we went out there to do was our keys – our identity, our position keys,” ETSU linebacker Nick Hunter said Really, we went out there and gave effort.”

“I just wanted to get better for my teammates,” King said. “I feel like my guys deserved it. They deserve the best version of me and I have a bunch of great guys around me.”

The Bucs tied a single-game program record with five passing touchdowns on the day, while King’s four passing touchdowns were a career best.

“Yeah, my goal was to come out and clean up the passing game,” ETSU head coach Tre Lamb said. “I thought that’s where we were lackluster last week. I thought we’ve got to get better there before we go compete against a good opponent.”

Fourteen different Bucs recorded at least one catch in the win. Lewis saw a team-high four targets for 51 yards and a score. Burns caught three balls for 76 yards and his touchdown.

On the ground, ten different ETSU ball carriers combined for 254 yards and two scores. Bryson Irby led the way with seven carriers for 71 yards.

For ETSU, the focus turns to a Top-5 team in North Dakota State, who travels to Johnson City next Saturday.

“We’re going to be tested next week,” Lamb said. “We’ve got to play a near-perfect game. Could be the number one team in the country coming in here next week. One of the biggest games in school history – at our place.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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